A unique and suspenseful coming-of-age story, the 2025 Newbery Medalist

The 2025 Newbery Honor went to The Long Way Home.
This junior novel was also selected as a book of the year by Kirkus Reviews and Booklist, two renowned book review magazines boasting history and tradition in the United States.
This junior novel deals with a pseudo-religious community.
A self-sufficient community called 'The Ranch' emphasizes environmental protection while talking about the dangers of science and technology, and strives to be self-sufficient through farming without harmful substances.
The concepts they put forward seem like something we should emulate in the midst of a climate crisis.
But the more I hear about this 'ranch', the more I have doubts.
The pinnacle of this is Dr. Ben, who is gaslighting people.
It seems like they are telling a good story, but they are judging and dividing people according to their own rules.
Nevertheless, the main character, Fern, who has lived here since childhood, thinks that the 'ranch' is the safest and most perfect home.
So I want to keep going back there.

This is the part that creates great tension in the readers of this book.
The paradoxical aspects of the entity called 'Ranch', which appears to be a pseudo-religion.
And even though the protagonist escapes from that place, the tension increases as he continues to try to return there and takes specific actions to do so.
I am overcome with anxiety about what will happen if I go back like this.
Also, the conflicts that arise when new people, friends, and even mothers reject him make the story both heartbreaking and engrossing.

In an interview, author Kate O'Shaughnessy said of the unique material she is tackling:
“I have always been interested in cults and their leaders.
It comes from my personal experience.
In the 1980s, a cult infiltrated the community where my parents were active.
“My parents weren’t interested in the cult, but many of my friends and people joined, and they turned their backs on us.” Based on the author’s own experiences, this unique material and suspenseful plot will have you turning back the clock in an instant.
This 2025 Newbery Honor winner has a captivating story that will keep you glued to the bookshelf, wondering, "What will happen to Fern?"


What is the true meaning of the space called 'home'?

The novel's protagonist, twelve-year-old Fern, constantly wants to return to the Ranch, a desire that readers find frustrating.
The newly settled seaside village of Drifterway is beautiful and pleasant enough, but why does Fern consider the ranch her home and long to return? Readers of this book will ponder this question and reflect on the meaning of "home."


For Fern in this novel, home is a stable place where she doesn't have to constantly move.
Fun hates the memory of wandering around with her mother until she was six, and one day, she suddenly got into a car and drove somewhere else as soon as she got home from school.
So, I feel like the place called 'Ranch', where I have lived for 6 years, is 'home'.
Once you settle down in one place, you can form deep relationships with the people you meet there.
Perhaps Fun hated the pain of separation from constantly moving homes, and was afraid of having to start over with someone new.
The meaning of 'home' may vary from person to person, but reading this book makes you realize that home is not a physical place, but rather a place of spiritual rest where you can truly understand each other with your loved ones.

What do the values ​​and common sense of the world mean to you?
"The Long Way Home" addresses the fact that "the world's values ​​and common sense" are by no means universal, but are reconstructed based on each individual's experiences and circumstances.
For the protagonist, Fern, common sense at the 'ranch' was an absolute truth formed while being cut off from the outside world.
Pyeon learned that computers and cell phones are dangerous tools, that food and clothing that are not made by oneself are harmful substances and should not be touched, and that books in the world are full of misconceptions and should not be read.
Rules like men should act like men and women should act like women, or that getting injections or undergoing treatment is not natural and should not be done, or that kittens born with disabilities are going to die anyway and should be killed early.
The values ​​of the ranch are focused solely on survival and community unity, and the conveniences and freedoms of the outside world are considered 'poison'.


But on her journey with her mother, Fern realizes that the values ​​she blindly followed were in fact very narrow and biased.
The fantasy novels Dr. Ben banned were quite informative and entertaining, cell phones should be used only when necessary, shots are necessary for the sick, and even kittens born with disabilities can grow up to be happy and healthy if properly cared for.
Of course, there is no need to deny all the common sense you learned at the ranch.
Recycling, trying not to create waste, and eating healthy foods are all good common sense.


Author Kate O'Shaughnessy describes the relationship between the cult known as "The Ranch" and its leader:
“I tried to make the basic philosophy of ‘Ranch’ in the book positive and beautiful.
And their leader, Dr. Ben, turns this beautiful idea into a dark reality.
By doing this, I wanted to show that dogmatism and the pursuit of power can distort anything.” The author says that rather than a certain philosophy or value being absolute, what matters is how subjectively one accepts and acts upon it.
This novel contains the hope that people will achieve true growth by following the values ​​they have chosen and acquired for themselves, rather than living according to the philosophies instilled by others.

A story about a mother and daughter finding each other

"The Long Way Home" is more than just a story about a girl trying to return home; it can also be seen as a family story about a mother and daughter's journey to understand each other's true feelings and restore their relationship.
First, this novel resonates deeply from the perspective of a mother who supports and waits for her daughter's growth.
Fern's mother knew better than anyone the perilous coming-of-age ceremony her daughter would face within the closed community known as the Ranch.
So, the mother leaves everything behind and makes the extreme choice of escaping to save her daughter.
But from Fun's perspective, this feels like a betrayal from her beloved mother.
Despite this, the mother does not resist her daughter's fierce resistance, but silently waits for Fern to experience the outside world on her own and realize the truth.
School, library, and new friends.
The mother patiently watches over Pun as she tries to find her own way in an unfamiliar environment, an act that shows deep trust and respect for her daughter.
Her patience and waiting become the most important foundation for Pun to choose her own life.

Next, let's look at it from the perspective of a daughter who is trying to understand her mother's position.
For Fern, 'home' was the ranch, and Dr. Ben's teachings were truth.
My mother's actions came across as incomprehensible and cruel.
However, through life in the outside world, Fun gradually realizes that the world he believed in was not perfect.
In particular, as she confronts her mother's past experiences before entering the ranch, her determination to enter the ranch, and the pain she endured there, she finally comes to understand that her mother's actions were not a simple escape, but a desperate love to protect herself.


Here, Mrs. Bev's role is also important.
Mom had previously rejected the attention and love of her godmother, Aunt Bevs, but when she returned, she gradually accepted her.
The relationship between Mom and Aunt Bevs is giving us a chance to look back on the relationship between our daughter Fern and her mother.
In conclusion, this novel deals not only with the physical journey of escaping and returning to a dangerous community, but also with the psychological journey of overcoming misunderstandings and distrust to understand and forgive one another.
A mother and daughter are on the verge of losing each other, but they never let go of each other's hands and are reborn as a true 'family'.