The Long Way Home (The Homelanders)

The book The Long Way Home by Andrew Klavan is a continuation of the first book, The Last Thing I Remember, in the Homelanders series. I particularly enjoyed this book because of the action mixed with mystery. The main character, Charlie West, being a fugitive accused of killing his best friend Alex, allows for constant action. In the first book, Charlie wakes up strapped to a chair, not remembering the past year. In this book, he is always either being chased by the police, or trying to figure out what had happened to him and why. When he finds his friends, they help him, and also don't understand how he could have killed Alex. The Long Way Home is mainly about Charlie's quest for information, and trying to figure out if he really did kill his best friend.

I really liked how Andrew Klavan included characters like Josh, Rick, Miler, and Beth. I was able to relate each of their personalities to one of my friends because of the detail put in to describe them. The character I can relate to the most besides Charlie is Josh, because he is a tech geek. Andrew Klavan also included moralistic characters like Charlie's karate teacher, Mike. Throughout the book, Charlie narrates about Mike's teachings, especially a specific quote Mike taught him; "Never give in - never, never, never, never," said by Winston Churchill.

Throughout the book, and especially at the end, you are left in suspense, wanting to read more. I found myself constantly questioning and predicting about what would happen next. For example, there is a part where Charlie is in a library looking for news articles on the murder of Alex, when these thug looking men close in on him. He then has to find out how to escape. At this part, I started to think about how I would escape, which I didn't think I could. The only way to know if Charlie escapes is by reading the book.

The book The Long Way Home has not failed to entertain me, and I doubt that the next book in the series will. I recommend this book to anyone who likes action, adventure, or mystery. Overall, this book was one of my favorites of all time.

Andrew Klavan's, The Long Way Home, sequel to The Last Thing I Remember and second book in "The Homelanders" series is a satisfying fill of suspense, thrill, and wonder. Main character, Charlie West, picks up right back where he left off in Book One. Charlie had woken up to being captured and tortured by a group of terrorists, with no recollection of the entire past year of his life, during which time he had been accused of murder. Now, after his escape from them, Charlie is continuing his dangerous journey on the run from the police, who believe he murdered his best friend, the same terrorists who are now trying to end his life. Secrets are unfolded and forgotten events in Charlie's life become more and more clear when he returns to his home town, where, surprisingly, his friends are there and ready to aid him on his terrifying quest to clear his name, and save his own life.
The thrill and adventure of The Long Way Home make it a difficult novel to put down. But, aside from action and suspense, the book has a strong emotional effect on the reader. As soon as it seems Charlie has lost all hope as a fugitive, he finds his old friends who want to help him. This turn of events took some of the edge off of the novel, but also made the plot much more interesting at the same time. The book ties up many loose ends from The Last Thing I Remember, although Klavan has not spared his readers of all new questions and mind-blowing cliffhangers in this good read.

Charlie West was an average teenager - living an ordinary teenager life with the friends, the school, church and of course the teen-aged drama complete with the fighting for the affections of a young lady...

All of this changed when Charlie wakes up to discover a chunk of his life is missing - an entire year that he can't remember. A year where evidently he had become involved with a group of terrorists, had been convicted for the murder of an ex-best friend and who knows what else. Charlie doesn't remember what happened, but he knows now that he is a hunted man who needs some serious answers soon. He heads home to get those answers .

This is a good book for those who enjoy suspense fiction. I've thought a couple of times while reading this book that it would make a great movie. It has a good story line, is laid out well and does leave you wondering what will happen next.

I would recommend this book to a younger crowd - so it's very appropriately labeled as young adult fiction. I still enjoyed it though myself.

I for one missed the first book in this series - but was still "hooked" before I finished the first chapter. Definitely a "riveting" read. I enjoy the suspense, and though it is a juvenile fiction book - it kept me - an adult very interested throughout. I look forward to the release of book 3 - and to find out what happens to Charlie. Apart from a kiss or two - the book was pretty decent - even for a younger juvenile. Though the "ideas" of terrorists and murder might require a bit higher maturity level. I plan allowing my 14 year old to read this book.
In this book by Andre Klavan, 18 year old Charlie loses his memory - and a year of his life. He is somehow framed for murder while at the same time terrorists are after him. A seemingly impossible situation, Charlie, relying on God and a slim hope to clear his name, goes back home. Facing incredible danger, his old friends and his true love join him in his quest to find the truth. Juvenile Fiction by Thomas Nelson Publishers.

I was a little wary of reading this as I hadn't read the first in the series but I was pleasantly surprised on how well I could jump in. There are tons of flashbacks and it's almost like The Lion King 1 ½ in the way that it's sort of a new story but it includes all the things that are familiar, or should be familiar if you have read the first book.

There were some great scenes that really had a lot of tension and had me flipping pages pretty fast. I didn't really expect that, I thought it was going to be more mentally focused on a mystery but it held it's own with things like the Jason Bourne movies and 24.

There are some good messages in this, some good morals that come out and you can tell that the book is written with a purpose. It borderlined a little cheesy, but the story was good so I guess that can be forgiven. Maybe someone who reads this kind of book will think differently, but I definitely thought it was obvious.

I gave it 4 out of 5 stars. It's missing one because the moral of the story seems to be spelled out to the reader and I kinda find that annoying sometimes. But it really was a good book in the end.

It isn't often that the second book is as good as the first, but this time it is. Great story to get younger guys reading, I will be passing it off to my little (or not so little since they are now taller than me) brothers. Great story line, plenty of tension to keep you wanting to read. If you plan on reading this book, you should read the previous book first for sure or you will be lost!

When I was a teenager, I would have loved to have books such as this available! It has all it take; a hero, action, adventure, suspense, chases, bad guy, and good guys. Plus, it is a series so at the end of the book the reader who wants mroe knows there will be more! I highly recommend this book for youth who long for good, moral adventurous reading!

With great themes of patriotism and religious faith, this novel for young people is the latest in the quest of its protagonist to find out the truth of why he woke up with a year of his life missing and with almost everyone's hand against him.

My 12 year old son enjoyed the series more than I did. Lots of action and thoughtful twists. He practically inhaled this story when it arrived so I am pleased to recommend it to other middle school readers.

My 14 yo read each book in the series in a day. He devoured them and couldn't stop talking about how much he loved them--and he can be picky. I think what piqued his interest was the '24 for teens' theme. I'll be posting this review for each book--I haven't personally read them, just wanting to pass on my son's enthusiasm!

i love this book so much right now i am on the next the matter of the thruth
Spolier Spolier Spolier Spolier Spolier Spoiler Spolier Spolier

Charle meets watermen and starts to get his memeries back that is all i will say SO READ THE BOOK

I really liked this book. I read it and decided I would have liked to read the first one. It is a stand alone book, the author does a good job of describing what occurs in the first book. I would like to finish the series. It is interesting and action packed..very hard to put down. The characters are well developed but could have been developed a bit more. It is not of huge substance but nice as a book to check out of reality for a while.

"I promised God I wouldn't stop trying. But am I the good guy or the bad guy?"
Charlie wakes up one morning with no memory of the events of the last year. Now he's on a run for his life from both the bad guys and the good guys. The bad guys say he is one of them. The police say he killed his friend. His other friends say he didn't. How in the world is he supposed to know who's side he's on? And will he even stay alive long enough to find out? A group of terrorists are trying to take over the country and they want Charlie to believe he's one of them. Charlie has no memory to rely on. He has to learn to trust in something even deeper than memory. He has always stood up for what is right before all this started. Now he has to decide if he is going to do so again. With hired assassins coming after him with knives and races against police cars there isn't much time to stop and think about it though. Charlie determines to learn the truth about his friend's death and about himself. But doing so puts him even more at risk.

This book is definitely suspenseful. I found myself wanting to be naughty and skip pages to find out what happens! There is violence and talk of drugs. As for the overall spiritual theme, partly it would be apologetics, partly it is trust in God, mostly it's just a thriller novel though. Charlie doesn't do much turning to God for help. He takes all matters into his own hands rather than praying for wisdom or help. If it were a secular novel it would get a high rating and it is well-written, but for a book that's supposed to show people how to live a life of faith, it doesn't do as well.