The Long Way Back

A Novel

By: Nicole Baart

Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell, Rebekkah Ross, Nicole Baart

When an Instagram-famous teenager mysteriously disappears, her mother grapples with the revelation of dark secrets in this twisty, atmospheric thriller—from the author of the “poignant, riveting” (Wendy Walker, author of Don’t Look for Me) Everything We Didn’t Say.

Mother and daughter Charlie and Eva never sought social media fame, but when a stunning photo of Eva went viral, fame found them. Now, after more than two years documenting life on the road in their vintage Airstream trailer, the duo has temporarily settled on the North Shore of Lake Superior. Eva is happily finishing her senior year of high school and applying to college, but Charlie longs for the adventures they left behind.

When Eva goes missing less than a week before her graduation, it’s Charlie who is immediately suspected of foul play—not just by their fans, but also by the police and the FBI. As a fight about one more road trip comes to light, and the truth about their relationship is questioned, Charlie realizes the rosy facade they portrayed online hid a complicated and potentially dangerous reality. Now, to clear her name and find out what has happened to her daughter, she’ll have to confront her own role in Eva’s disappearance—and whether she knows her daughter at all.

©2023 Nicole Baart (P)2023 Simon & Schuster Audio

Great story… a must listen!!!

Do you need one more book for your summer reading?! ADD THIS ONE!
This is a great story of mother and daughter, the tangles of social media and the mystery of The Long Way Back!

Underlying tones speak to real life issues

I can't say that this book was an immediate "love" for me. But as the story unfolds, it's hard not to see the real life correlations. I enjoyed the shifting narratives/POVs, which helped capture the emotion prevalent in this novel. Overall, seeing how opposing views can create fear, desperation and dread - from this fictional depiction, we can all walk away from this book understanding the fervor that change in our world creates.

This book is NOT another romance mystery without substance or facts, this book mirrors some of the reality we currently face in an easily relatable way.

Great book!!!

I really liked the various points of view in this book. The differing viewpoints of mothers and daughters is described well! Loved all of the travel that they embarked on and appreciated all of the issues brought up that we are facing with social media.

Suspenseful, unique plot and a positive message.

There is steady light suspense even in the beginning, but the pace really picked up when we got insight into Ava’s perspective around chapter 12. Chapters go back and forth from the current situation of Ava’s disappearance, to past events of Ava and Charlie’s traveling journey and social media documentation that led up to it.

The mother/daughter relationship drove the plot and heightened the mystery, with the isolation and lack of typical teenage social experience that could somehow be a motive or catalyst for Ava’s disappearance.

Their travels were beautifully described with so much sensory imagery, real, and accurately described. I even researched some vacation spots from their journeys.

Excellent narration, with 2 narrators, one from Ava’s perspective and the other Charlie’s. This made the character development even better, I cared what happened to them and wanted a resolution.

I loved that Ava was a mentally and physically strong female, not in an implausible way, but realistically, and imaginable. She took charge of her situations, and refused to see herself as a victim.

There is a SUBTLE theme throughout this novel of appreciation for our beautiful country (USA) and a respect for the varying perspectives and opinions between its citizens. It’s NOT a political message, neither right or left winged, but it has a cautionary message against radical views that don’t consider other perspectives. An overall message to build on the common ground between us all to achieve unity and peace.

It has a satisfying hopeful ending.

Well, written. This is not my first novel by Nicole Baart, and I so look forward to her next one.

I hated the plot, liked the narrators

The blurb for THE LONG WAY BACK and recommendations from a few writers I trust drew me to Nicole Baart’s latest release. In a sucker for missing girls and the social media angle sounded interesting.

Single mom Charlie turned me off from the start, so I was anxious for Eva’s POV. Charlie seemed to view parenthood from the lens of what was in it for her, rather than her role as to prepare Eva from the next stages of her life. Rather than help Eva improve her peer relationships or getting her daughter therapy, Charlie decides to take her young teen on a two year road trip, funded by social media followers. I understood why Charlie was the person she was based on her own childhood, but to me that wasn’t an excuse of cheating her daughter out of opportunities to overcome socialization issues.

I had so much sympathy and empathy for Eva.

But I didn’t enjoy listening to the audiobook of THE LONG WAY BACK, despite very good narration. I hated the plot and the resolution and constantly looked for how much time was left on the audio. If not for the narrators, I’d have skipped to the end and cut my losses.

Not for me

This book was not for me. I admire authors and appreciate the effort. Thank you.