A single mother and her bullied daughter spend 3 years on the road, sharing their journey on instagram. Then they settle down for the daughter’s last 6 months of high school. Misunderstandings occur and secrets abound and one day the mother wakes up on their boat to discover the daughter seemingly gone without a trace. Whatever you think happened, I guarantee you won’t guess the twist because I don’t think it totally makes sense, Regardless, I found the story engaging enough.

Baart has created a good thriller. The mother/daughter storyline is great. The content interesting. Not my most loved book but still well done. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

The Long Way Back is an amazing book unlike any other that Nicole Baart has written. From the first few chapters it draws you in and makes you want to keep reading to see what happens next.

A mother and her daughter, Charlie and Eva, have spent the last couple of years traveling around the country in a vintage Airstream trailer and documenting their travels on Instagram. This has made them somewhat famous. Now they have settled into a small town near Duluth, Minnesota and Eva is a week away from high school graduation. Then Eva disappears off a boat on Lake Superior while her mother was napping on the boat. The ensuing police investigation and events are gripping. The story is told from different perspectives and moves along at a good pace. I found it very interesting, even though it was a bit far-fetched at times. I enjoyed the relationship Charlie and Eva had, which was more complex than first glance would indicate. Even close relationships and tight bonds can have hidden secrets. I would highly recommend this book. I would give it 4 stars out of 5.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed the beginning of this book and the sorry of a mother daughter out on an adventure. Things change when the daughter suddenly goes missing! There was a twist in the middle of the book that I didn’t love, but I thought it was a good story.

I received an advanced copy of this book from Netgalley, but all opinions are my own.

Charlie and Ava are an Instagram famous mother/daughter duo who spent several years documenting their travels in a refurbished Airstream trailer. Now they've put down temporary routes in a small town outside Duluth, Minnesota. After they fight about what the immediate future will hold for them both, Ava goes missing.

The reader gets portions of the story from both Charlie and Ava's perspectives. And let me tell you, what Charlie thinks may or may not could be happening her daughter doesn't even begin to scratch the surface of what she is actually going through. It's very difficult to give much more detail about this book without giving spoilers. I will say, however, that as far fetched as the ending is, I absolutely devoured it. This book left me satisfied, questioning everything, and surely wanting to read more of Nicole Baart's work.

*A special thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for an electronic ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review*

This one went where I never would have expected. It was good, though. Overall I enjoyed it.
I’m not sure how I feel about the main character, Eva. Or her mom, Charlie, for that matter. I wanted to like them both, and I certainly didn’t dislike either of them, but it didn’t feel like I connected with either of them. Was I pulling for Eva? Sure. But was it only because I figured that was how the story would end? Probably.
I suppose I didn’t care for the way every character in this book did whatever they wanted, whenever they wanted, instead of taking direction. No one listened to anyone in this story.
At some points in the story, I did have a hard time visualizing what was actually happening as the words made it a little unclear for me. But that could have been because I wasn’t 100% focused.
Overall, it was decent.

Charlie and Eva are mother daughter instagram influencers who document their adventures traveling in a vintage airstream.When daughter Eva disappears the complications begin and mother Charlie has a difficult time!Lots of suspense and good writing will keep you reading!

Charlie and Eva Sutton is the mother daughter duo made famous by Instagram in Nicole Baart's The Long Way Back. After two years on the road, they settle down in Charlie's home town to take care of Charlie's foster family. The novel starts with Charlie waking up to her daughter missing from their boat on Lake Superior. From there Nicole brings together the emotions of Charlie's worry and Eva's longing to be free from the world that they've created.

Wow, Nicole Baart sure does know how to write addictive novels! Her latest The Long Way Back is a domestic thriller that hooked me from the beginning!

This novel centers around Charlie, a single mother raising her teenage daughter, Eva. The two have found notoriety from their instagram page that documents their adventures in their Airstream trailer. With her high school graduation only a week away, Eva goes missing. A panicked Charlie grasps at any clues to help find her daughter. It was at this point that I literally didn’t put my kindle down until the end!

Nicole Baart never disappoints! I really was on the edge of my seat most of this book! The mother/daughter relationship was extremely well written and realistic and I guarantee will have you thinking about these characters even after you’ve finished. The twists and turns were perfectly placed - my jaw was hanging wide open lol! I really think The Long Way Back would make a great book club selection—soooo much to discuss! I highly recommend this novel to everyone!

Review in progress and to come.

I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review

This book is so hard to rate. I loved the first part of the book. Originally, I would have given it 4 stars, then the story took a turn I definitely wasn't expecting. I was hooked from the start and couldn't imagine what happened to Eva. Did she voluntarily leave the boat? Did a crazed fan kidnap her? Why would the life raft be missing, along with all of Eva's stuff? I loved reading about their adventures. Eva and Charlie lived a like most people would dream of having. They pretty much got paid to be on vacation everyday. Even though Charlie and Eva were constantly exploring and meeting new people, Eva lived a very sheltered life. Eva spent almost all her time with her mom, so it wasn't unexpected that she wanted to get away. The second part of the book, the reader finds out what happened to Eva on the boat. The Gates just seemed to come out of nowhere and didn't seem to fit in with the first part of the book. What was the reason Abner was so interested in Eva, what was he going to use her for? I didn't love the ending. It felt like a bit of a let down, since it was supposed to be a huge event. The book sort of felt like two stories combined into one. I still enjoyed it.

Definitely recommend the book. It was interesting and full of twists and turns. There's no way to guess what happens to Eva. I enjoyed the characters, story and writing style. I didn't love Eva or Charlie. They definitely didn't always make the best choices. Charlie was extremely lucky nothing worse happened on the island when they were looking for orcas. Charlie and Eva lived their life on Instagram, they got tons of money and free stuff. Look forward to reading more books by the author. Loved the cover of the book.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Atria Books through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This is a book told in three parts, and it’s going to be difficult to review without spoiling anything but I’ll try my best.

Part One opens with Charlie waking up on her boat to find that, at some point while she was sleeping, her teen daughter, Eva, has gone missing. From there, the chapters alternate between the present and past to illustrate how Charlie and Eva cultivated an Instagram presence documenting their cross country travels in their Airstream. I was more engaged with the present timeline and the mystery of what happened to Eva. The flashbacks were interesting to an extent, but I didn’t feel that they added a ton to the story. (Their purpose makes more sense after reading the Author’s Note at the end of the book.)

Part Two is where we find out what’s happening to Eva. I won’t say much else about that so as not to spoil anything. This section is told in alternating chapters between the present and a series of college admissions essays Eva has written. Part Two read much quicker for me and is where I really started to get invested in the book.

Part Three is the culmination of events and alternates between Charlie and Eva. It ramped up in tension and kept me on edge wondering how things would play out, and the end result left me feeling emotional over it.

It was a little slow to start, but once I was invested, I was in. This was an interesting and engaging thriller with a lot of depth and surprises to it.

An interesting idea for a story, and I loved that I thought the book was about so many things that it was not really about at all. Thoughtful and interesting writing as I’ve come to expect from Baart.

Thanks to Netgalley for the free copy in exchange for an honest review

First off, I did not expect anything that happened to happen in this book! Just like Charlie and Eva's Instagram followers I had to know the truth.

Charlie and Eva are a mom and daughter duo who happen to be instafamous influencers. They have spent the past two years documenting their lives on the road. Sharing the beauty of nature and their favorite hidden spots. But now they have settled down so Eva can finish high school and get ready for college. Things take a weird turn when Eva goes missing right before graduation. Where could she have possibly gone? Charlie now is a frantic mom trying to piece together where her daughter went. But she also has to clear her name of being blamed for Eva's disappearence. Will Charlie's motivation and love be enough to find her daughter? Or will it be too late?

What I enjoyed :
- This was a fast paced and twisty read. I was able to finish this book in less than a day
- Charlie and Eva's relationship felt very relatable to most mother and daughter duos. You could feel the love from Charlie. But could also understand Eva's need for roots and stability
- This was really well written! I would definitely be interested in reading more by this author
- The twist! I did not see this one coming. I was on my toes till the end

This was a really fun and fast paced read. 3.5 stars out of 5! Rounded up to 4. Thank you Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

The first half of this book is seen from Charlie's POV. The writing is lyrical and Charlie's distress over Eva's disappearance is palpable. The second part is told from Eva's POV and after a twist that turns the book on its head. Wonderful meditation on Motherhood and social media.. And the things hidden behind a perfect Instagram post five stars.

Thank You NetGalley and Atria books for an early ARC of this. It's going in my top 10 favorite books of 2023.

This is the second book I’ve read by this author and what a great read it was!

The story starts out being told in the POV of Charlie, who is mom to a teenage daughter, Eva. They have a joint Instagram page where they share of their travels throughout the world with many followers. But one day on a boat in Lake Superior, Eva goes missing without a trace. Charlie is panicked and the Coast Guard and FBI are brought in to search. With no clues, Charlie becomes their Person of Interest.

Part 2 is then told from Eva’s POV during the same time frame. This part takes the reader down an unexpected rabbit hole with a story line I wasn’t expecting. The author did a great job with the secondary POV as well as interstitial chapters thrown in of Eva’s college essays, Instagram posts, voicemails, podcast transcripts, etc, to give the reader a broader view of the overall story.

Great book! Thank you to the author, Atria Publishing, and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy. I’m leaving my honest review voluntarily. 4.5/5⭐️ publication date June 13, 2023.

I absolutely loved Nicole Baart's Everything We Didn't Say, so as soon as I heard she had a new book coming out I added it to my most anticipated books of 2023 list. It had checked all my boxes for a family drama where complex, multilayered characters drive the story just as much as the actual mystery, and I couldn't wait to see what she'd come up with for her next book.

The Long Way Back alternates between past and present and focuses on the relationship of Charlie and Eva, a mother and daughter who became Instagram influencers while traveling the country in their Airstream and sharing photos and stories about their adventures. Their lives seem perfect initially, but soon the layers of their complicated relationship begin to peel back, exposing a changing dynamic and growing tension as Eva approaches her high school graduation. When Eva disappears from a boat during an afternoon on the lake, Charlie is forced to face the reality that she didn't know her daughter nearly as well as she had believed. The search is on to uncover clues to the events leading up to Eva's disappearance and her whereabouts.

At the halfway point of this book, I foolishly believed I knew exactly what type of story i was reading, and I felt I had a good idea what to expect for the second half of the book. I had settled in, gotten comfortable, and prepared for the mystery and mother/daughter drama to begin easing into a satisfying resolution. I couldn't have been more wrong! This story takes a sharp turn midway thru that I didn't see coming. I was so far off with my idea of where the story was headed that its now comical looking back. Things take a swift shift from slow burn family drama with a puzzling mystery to....well, I'll avoid spoilers and just say we shift to a completely unexpected but nonetheless engrossing thriller direction.

I really enjoyed this story, even though it went places I didn't expect it to go. I had to pause and shift mental gears when the plot changed direction, but ended up reading the 2nd half of the book in one sitting. This author again provided an ending that was satisfying without being tied up too neatly.

The Sutton Girls won me over in a big way and, I admit, its hard to believe their adventures and travel related Instagram aren't a real thing. The author did an awesome job bringing Charlie and Eva to life and off the page. Her portrayal of their complex, tangled mother and daughter relationship captured so many of the contradictory thoughts and feelings that go on during the teenage years.

In the end, The Long Way Back delivered the well developed characters and relationships I've loved with Baart's past books as well as a few twists and turns that caught me totally off guard. Baart's smoothly flowing, descriptive prose and thought provoking insights once again brought a special touch to her engaging, propulsive story. I look forward to seeing what she comes up with next!

Thank you to Netgalley and Atria Books for providing a copy for me to read and review.

Good thriller with an interesting concept.

Mother Charlie and her daughter Eva become an accidental Instagram sensation, and they decide to pack up their lives and hit the road in an Airstream, capturing their adventures on their account, "Eva Explores". This one starts off with a bang when Charlie wakes up on their boat in the middle of Lake Superior and finds that Eva has disappeared. No note, no trace of her, and the lifeboat is gone. She contacts the police, and instantly goes to the top of the suspect list.

This all gets kind of farfetched towards the end (not sure if I really bought the whole reason behind Eva's disappearance) but it was a wild wide, and I enjoyed the flashbacks from their road trips as well as the present day narrative. If you can suspend belief a little, you should enjoy this.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

What an exhilarating ride filled with suspense, anticipation and anxiety! Everything you need to know you’ve just read a very well written thriller.

Charlie and her teen daughter Eva have taken social media by storm with their cross country escapades through national parks and adventurers dream locations with their vintage airstream dubbed Sebastian. After two years on the road, they settle down at their home in Minnesota so Eva can attend her senior year of high school and apply for college. A week before graduation, Eva goes missing after taking out their lifeboat on Lake Superior and Charlie is soon a suspect in her daughter’s disappearance. Was the relationship portrayed on social media between mother and daughter real? Is Charlie to blame for Eva’s disappearance?

The story is a cautionary tale of the dangers that can lurk behind our best intentions on social media. Brava to Nicole Baart on this timely tale of social media and our cultural landscape. Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for the opportunity to read an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.
Publication date: June 13, 2023