The Long Way Home

by Karen McQuestion

Four women bound by chance take the trip of a lifetime in Karen McQuestion’s heartwarming novel The Long Way Home.

For Wisconsinites Marnie, Laverne and Rita, life isn’t working out so well. Each is biding time, waiting for something better, something to transport them out of what their lives have recently become. And then there’s Jazzy: bubbly, positive and happy even though she hears voices of the departed. Brought together by a chance meeting, the women decide to join Marnie on a road trip from Wisconsin to Las Vegas where she intends to reunite with Troy, the boy she raised as her own—and who she’s been separated from since her boyfriend’s death. Little do they know that as the road trip unfolds, so will their lives—in directions they never anticipated.

Humorous, heartwarming, and bittersweet, the journey has something special in store for each woman.

Genres: Fiction, Chick Lit, Book Club, Contemporary, Audiobook, Travel, Paranormal

321 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2012

About the author

Karen McQuestion is an Amazon Charts bestselling author whose books have sold over three million copies. Some of her titles include The Moonlight Child, Dovetail, and A Limited Run.

Her publishing story has been covered by the Wall Street Journal, Entertainment Weekly, and NPR. Additionally she appeared on ABC's World News Now and America This Morning.

Her website:www.karenmcquestion.com\

Facebook! http://www.facebook.com/pages/Karen-M...

Reviews

[Deb · Rating 2 out of 5]

After so many good reviews on this book, I really looked forward to it. I was almost immediately disappointed. Four strangers decide to take a road trip together after barely meeting one another while each is struggling with their own demons. One of them is a psychic (hard to read about when you don't believe in that stuff), and she seems to be the one guiding the rest. The description made it sound like a long road trip with lots of adventure. It was actually brief and the women split up half way through. They travel with an elderly lady who has been hoarding prescription drugs leftover from her family and it constantly giving them out. No one seems to be concerned that they are taking a drug that was not prescribed for them. Then twice these women pick up a total stranger along the way and one ends up knifing them and then they go on to pick up another. Hello. Lessons??? There is no real bonds formed at all and the only reason I couldn't put it down, was because I couldn't wait for it to end. Sorry to those of you who were mislead like me.

[Toni · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book should be called the Lame Way Home. The only reason I kept reading was in hopes of it getting better, it never did! The characters are so naive they seem ignorant and the 23 year old psychic? Really? This book had no redeeming qualities. Save your time and read the Sunday comics, you'll probably find more depth.

[Mrs Mommy Booknerd http://mrsmommybooknerd.blogspot.com · Rating 4 out of 5]

This the first book I read by McQuestion and I have to tell you that I really enjoyed it. McQuestion has a genuineness that comes through the pages. She tells a story that any woman can relate to. The story is about how grief brought some very different women together and how each gave the other something that they did not even know they needed. I marveled while watching the women evolve and create bonds while they traveled across the county. I laughed, was moved, cheered and honestly, at times, wanted to yell at the ladies. This novel speak volumes to how grief can take over your life and how friendship can transform you!!! I highly recommend it and rate is 4.5 stars!!!!

[Di · Rating 5 out of 5]

So many feelings while reading this book! I loved it. This was my first book with this Author. Plan on reading more of her books 💙💙💙

[Keri Piercy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I discovered this book through an Amazon Kindle recommendation. It was a great story and page-turner. It isn't a book with any literary magnificence, or grand prose or anything like that. It was a fun little story with heartwarming characters and a good book to read as an escape.

[Tena · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic

I listened to The Long Way Home on audible. Usually, it takes me quite a while to finish a book if I'm listening but I could not wait for an opportunity to finish this book. I switched to the print version so I could find out what happened. The story centers around four women traveling across the country. Each person has her own reason for going on the trip. What starts out as four strangers trying to change the path they are on ends as four friends realizing you really can't change things. Sometimes life just happens and it's not always bad. The funny thing about The Long Way Home is I saw myself in each woman. Psychic Jazzy, Marnie who is looking for happiness, Rita who is looking for peace and Laverne who is just wanting to live before she gets any older. I really thought the book was going to be light-hearted and fun. And it was! But when you throw in a murderer, a motorcycle gang and knife-wielding hitchhiker the story was more than I expected! In a good way. I was disappointed when I realized I was reading the last page. I will miss my friends and being part of their stories. For adventure, laughter and surprises, I highly recommend The Long Way Home by Karen McQuestion.

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book. Would love to see it in a movie. Enjoyed that you got to learn about each individual, as well as the dynamics of them in the group. Definitely recommend.

[Sara · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mindless, and is definitely better on audio as the entire book is almost all conversation.

An entertaining listen but you have to suspend disbelief and it has no depth.

[Donna · Rating 1 out of 5]

I tried to read this book on my Kindle. The story involves women meeting at a grief support group. A much younger woman comes rushing in because she’s psychic. She doesn’t really belong there; she just arrives because voices tell her to go somewhere, and she wanders around until the feeling gets stronger, and she ends up there. Meh. It started to lose me at that point. I set it aside.

Since I’m supposed to read this for a book group, I decided maybe the audiobook would work. I could listen to it while I did other things. That was a mistake. The narrator is a female Mr. Rogers. She reads as if she’s reading to little children, and she drove me insane. I wanted to shake her and tell her to read faster or add some inflection or something. It was bad. I set it aside again.

I eventually picked up my Kindle again and tried for the third time to read it. I discovered it wasn’t the narrator. It’s the book. It doesn’t get better. It just drones on in an overly simplistic manner. It reads like a kid’s book with two-dimensional, boring characters. There’s no depth, and there’s nothing interesting about these people. The main character, Marnie, is grieving because the man she lived with has died. She calls him her fiancé, but they were never going to get married. I’m not sure why she misses this man so much. He sounded like a jerk. Marnie reveals that she fell out of love with him a long time ago.

[Excerpt: “I was living with someone,” Marnie said, sighing. “A man. He was my fiancé, but we never got close to getting married. We probably never would have married, actually,” she said, being truthful. Brian had talked of marriage but never gave her a ring, never even discussed setting a date. Over the years, she found herself falling out of love with him, but she never considered breaking up and moving out, not even once.]

Why the heck did she stay? Where is this woman’s backbone? Her car doesn’t start, and she has no clue what to do. Duh. Call a garage, call 911, walk to a corner store and ask for assistance. Do freaking something; don’t just sit there like a useless lump until the psychic comes along and rescues you. If no one had come, she would’ve sat there until she starved to death. For God’s sake, I hated this character. Marnie is TSTL.

The young girl who is the psychic was a little more interesting, but she is so ridiculously happy, and everything is so wonderful. If I was hearing dead people talking to me all the time, I’m not sure I would be full of sunshine and unicorns and rainbows. Give me a break. She’d be a little edgier, don’t you think? If the author had made her darker, I think I could have gotten into that, but no, Jazzy (her name is Jessica, but she prefers ‘Jazzy’) is so “jazzy”-like. Oh, brother.

I needed stronger characters with more depth and more intelligence. If they’re weak, that’s okay, but give me a reason why they are weak. Marnie is dull, and I don’t care what happens to her or Jazzy or the other two unfortunate characters that go on a mystery road trip with them. DNF at 12%.

[Christine Kallner · Rating 3 out of 5]

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from GoodReads' First Reads program. This review reflects my honest opinion.

By a series of coincidences, a group of women who were formerly strangers befriend each other and end up in a car on a road trip to Las Vegas. One of the women is psychic, one woman's boyfriend recently died, another is a reclusive widow, and the fourth is the mother of a young woman who was murdered. They are certainly an eclectic bunch and putting the four of them together makes for quite an adventure.

This was a fast-moving and enjoyable read; however, I found it a bit unbelievable. Don't get me wrong, I liked reading it and I was interested in following all the different plot lines to the end, but it definitely required a suspension of disbelief. By the third time a scene resolved itself by a stranger coming along at just the right time, I knew I had to just roll with it and stop thinking this story could have really happened. I know it's fiction, so it doesn't really matter if it could happen or not, but I do think it's a fair assessment.

The characters are endearing, but occasionally irritating -- I guess that's what happens when a group of strangers are thrust together. They each evolve, face challenges, and learn things about themselves. While it's not an overly "deep" novel, it offers a good message about overcoming life's obstacles and becoming a better person. Overall, this was a light, "feel-good" read, perfect for a lazy day at the beach.

See more of my reviews @ http://bucklingbookshelves.blogspot.com

[♥ Marlene♥]

This book had been on my wish list for years. Last week I purchased a month of Kindle Unlimited and this book was one of free books so I thought Yah! but after reading about one third I have to say Nah!

It is too rosy too not real too cutesy and I am not in the mood for a book like that where everything seems to be so unrealistic but is portrayed as being the normallest (<---made up this word I think?In Dutch we say normaal and normaalste) thing of the world.

Women that do not know each other go on a road trip. One has been a reclusive for years but when she speaks with Main Character she immediately likes to meet people and joins the rest of the crew.

It is not bad but just not my cup of tea.

[Lydia · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was not a fan of this book. A story about four female strangers on a road trip to las Vegas from Wisconsin in attempts to reunite one of the women with her estranged stepson was told haphazardly and was completely unrelatable. I've read other books by this writer that were somewhat interesting so I was expecting something a little better than this mindless novel. I would not recommend this book to any of my fellow readers.

[Dusya4 · Rating 2 out of 5]

Barely finished it. The writing was bad, the plot was mostly bad. The characters did not feel believable to me; the only one I liked was Laverne. Barely above a one star from me.

[Betsy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Three old women with problems meet an energetic, positive thinking young woman. Who happens to be psychic. The four of them end up going on a road trip together. The older women have to stop at least once an hour for a bathroom break and that shows up as a running joke. It’s a fast read and a pleasant book.

[Bonnie Wertz · Rating 5 out of 5]

friendship and trust

Loved this book. The book is a story of how women can change other women’s lives -friendship happens because of trust. These were probably the4 most odd people you would see getting together. It was fun to read and fun to read the ending

ROAD TRIP

[Jame Cleave · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful

I really enjoyed this book, keeps you entertained! I’m really enjoying this author. Can’t wait to see what I will read next

[Marlys Unrau · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book very much. It held my interest and put me in the car seat with the four ladies. I could see myself doing this trip.

[Donna Fredericks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very enjoyable story.

[Deanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I almost didn’t read this after reading some reviews. However, I’m glad I did!
My library does a thing each January thru February called “blind date with a book”. They wrap up the books so you pick one without knowing what it is. In other words, the library chose this one for me to read.
It was a delightful, easy going read. A road trip, only this one with newly found friends all in a different stage of life. I enjoyed it.

[Bridgette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another Great Read

m causation plays with the idea of intuition and psychic was abilities in everyday settings. This is a fun, laugh out loud, story.

[Karen Sheldon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Road trips are great

Four women take a unplanned road trip to Las Vegas to check on one woman’s stepson. Sweet story of friendships growing and a little bit of psychic ability thrown in along the way.

[Denise Johnson · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was okay, I guess. I couldn’t develop any rapport with the characters, and that is always a sad thing to say upon the conclusion of the book. It needed a better ending too; this ending sort of just faded away into the….

The four women who take this road trip could not be more different, so as a person who has driven a number of extensive road trips, I just can’t see this peacefulness happening. The ever-cheerful Jazzy is just completely unreal. No one is that chipper or cheerful 24/7. Marnie turns out to be not as old as I assumed she was from her conversation. Then the other two women are much older.

Maybe invest your time and money into a better book with more believable characters. This one is a snooze-fest.

[Anne G. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second book I have read from this author, and like the first one, I enjoyed it. This one had a little bit of everything. I will continue to read more of her books

[Pernette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Karen McQuestion's The Long Way Home is an entertaining and enjoyable read. I loved the characters with their own unique personalities and backgrounds and how they interact. Enjoyed the way the story unfolded and how the women dealt with the issues that came up on their trip. I would definitely recommend The Long Way Home.

[Nolan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this up as one of those cheap Audible Daily Deal books, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. There's a bit of paranormal stuff in here, but it's not so much that you want to reject the book as being silly. Young Jazzy has always had the ability to hear spirit voices, and most often the voice she hears is that of hear deceased grandma. Jazzy is compelled one night by her grandmother's voice to drop by a grief counseling session. Her bubbly positive personality uplifts everyone in the group, and soon all of them are talking about doing things they might not otherwise have considered. Marnie, for example, wants to go to Las Vegas to see her stepson. The boy was taken from her when his father, with whom Marnie lived, suddenly died. Rita's daughter was murdered when the girl was in her 20s, and Rita, too, wonders whether a change of scene wouldn't help her deal with her years-long grief. Laverne is Marnie's reclusive landlady, and she has never been out of Wisconsin. At the last minute, she throws in with the other women, and their cross-country extravaganza begins. Although Jazzy is the youngest of the women, it is she to whom the others look for direction. She communicates to them the need to stop at a specific Colorado locatoin that holds a clue to the whereabouts of the man who ended Rita's daughter's life. Before this road trip ends, all of the women have changed in positive ways.

I enjoyed this author's writing style; this isn't her first book, but it's the first book she has written that I've read. While it's true that parts of it seemed a bit contrived, I retained my interest in the book and found much to cheer for where the four women are concerned.

[Cindy · Rating 2 out of 5]

The writing - sentence structure, vocabulary, grammar - seemed appropriate for a story aimed at 3rd or 4th grade. It was grating.
The characters lacked depth and believability. As others have noted, the elderly LaVerne carried around a baggie of her family's prescription and OTC medications and cheerfully doled out uppers, downers and pain medications to members of the trip. She is never challenged, even by doctors in a hospital, for having and giving out these meds, and the others in her party treat her as their pharmacy. The young psychic Jazzy takes charge of the group, and they all follow her like sheep. The widow Marnie, who is actually mourning the loss of her stepson, not her ex-boyfriend, cannot distinguish between a 14 year old who has been abandoned in the middle of nowhere by his custodial parent and an 18 year old sociopath. Further, although mourning the loss of her own 14 year old and therefore supposedly "in tune" with 14 year old boys, she feels okay to allow the supposed 14-year old to leave a custodial situation to go hitchhike off to who-knows-where.
And then there is the whole subplot revolving around the murderer of Rita's daughter 10 years ago ...
I am sorry I listened to the whole thing ...

[Sandee · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really good cozy read, a few typos, but nothing extreme. I liked the storyline about four women who didn't know each other, each in a different situation that come together in a road trip to help one of them. It gives each ones story, going back and forth, and I really enjoyed it. Karen McQuestion is a new-to-me author, for Kindle reads, and has written five books. This one is free through Kindle Unlimited.

From Amazon:
Four women bound by chance take the trip of a lifetime in Karen McQuestion's fifth novel The Long Way Home.
For Wisconsinites Marnie, Laverne and Rita, life isn't working out so well. Each is biding time, waiting for something better, something to transport them out of what their lives have recently become. And then there's Jazzy: bubbly, positive, and happy even though she hears voices of the departed. Brought together by a chance meeting, the women decide to join Marnie on a road trip from Wisconsin to Las Vegas where she intends to reunite with Troy, the boy she raised as her own—and who she’s been separated from since her boyfriend’s death. Little do they know that as the road trip unfolds, so will their lives—in directions they never anticipated. Humorous, heartwarming, and bittersweet, the journey has something special in store for each woman.

[Eva · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a little surprised I rated this so high - there was a moment in the middle where I couldn't take the pace. I was tempted to skip ahead but that is difficult with a digital edition. In the end I enjoyed the book - a bit of summer fluff reading. The latter half of the book had me still wishing I could skip ahead because I was wondering what would happen next. The plot surprised me - I didn't see it coming and that always gets the author at least one star. Writing was easy and smooth - only one or two minor moments I would have edited. Digital edition is phenomenally cheap ($2.99).


(Full disclosure: this is what I read in triple digit heat and no electricity. My time to read was fragmented and uncomfortable - and this may account for my dislike of the book in the middle. Also - it was the only "fluff" I had available and I could not concentrate (see heat/lack of elec) on anything more weighty.)

[Jude · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book! It's a light, quick read, despite the storyline of the character whose daughter was murdered 10 years ago. It would make a cute movie and I found myself thinking of who I'd cast as the main characters.

The story is infused with a lot of humor, a trademark of McQuestion, and I found myself laughing out loud several times. In fact, I saw myself in one of the characters, but I'm not naming names.

There are more negative reviews here than on Amazon, and many are from people who don't believe in psychics, signs, or messages from those who have passed.

But since I'm a believer, I thought the book was a lot of fun, and I got a kick out of it.

p.s. There is one part about the GPS (named Garmina!)that I could totally identify with -- I laughed so hard because it brought back memories.

[Suzanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am not sure the title of this book was an appropriate one. I enjoyed the story of the four unique individuals and how they came to terms with the struggles in their lives. I find it believable that they would bond and and want to help and support each other. I liked how Karen McQuestion wove in that LaVerne's problem was sleep anpnea not depression alone. Hopefully it will cause others to think also. The circumstances of incidences that happen we think as an interruption-- breaking down on the side of the road, only to find that is where Rita's resolution needed to be and Jazzy meeting Carson--is an example to us to look for, or be patient with interruptions for what they might lead us to. What a delightful ending!