“Fay once again draws readers into an absorbing world of domestic complications and heart-tugging characters … she deftly handles the intricacies and emotions of family life while keeping the pace brisk. She also incorporates characters from her previous novel, Shelter Me, and these glimpses into their future are a joy. VERDICT Fay is one of the best authors of women’s fiction, and her novels are not to be missed. A moving, introspective look at what it means to be family, and to be truly home.”
Library Journal, STARRED REVIEW
“Fay’s third novel follows the heartfelt journey of a man who has spent a lifetime escaping family ties only to discover a pull much more fulfilling than leaving. Fans of Fay’s first novel, Shelter Me (2009), will spot a familiar face in Sean’s hometown, and readers old and new will fall in love with the flawed, endearing cast of characters. A beautifully written novel infused with Fay’s generous spirit.”
–Booklist
“A touching exploration of a damaged family working to repair itself, with universal appeal …”
–Publishers Weekly
“As a longtime unabashed fan of Juliette Fay and her books, I don’t say this lightly: THE SHORTEST WAY HOME is her best yet. Sean Doran is splendidly human: heroic and frightened, charming and exasperating. It was wonderful to watch this wanderer of war zones and disasters come home to discover that loving the people in your life can be as exciting, as daring, as difficult an adventure as any.”
-Marisa de los Santos, bestselling author of Falling Together, Belong to Me and Love Walked In“With trademark wit and grace, Juliette Fay portrays a man forced to rescue his family as he reaches for his own freedom. Put up your feet, put aside the night, and get ready to lose some sleep.”
-Randy Susan Meyers, bestselling author of Waisted
“Powerful, beautifully written, and at times heartbreaking, THE SHORTEST WAY HOME is a meditation on the impossibility and the inevitability of finding our way home. In Sean Doran, Fay has created a hero that you can’t help but root for and one you will remember long after the book is finished. I loved it!”
-Julie Buxbaum, author of Tell Me Three Things and Admission
“A smart, sincere look at the meaning of home, the complicated nature of family ties, and how the things we run from are often what we need the most. Juliette Fay has created characters who will stick with you long after the final page.”
-Allie Larkin, author of The People We Keep
“Juliette Fay is a brilliant writer who restores my faith in fiction as a place where readers can find timeless answers to timeless questions: What is home? What is sacrifice? And what makes our lives truly meaningful? This is one beautiful novel, rich with depth and heart.”
-Julianna Baggott, bestselling author of Harriet Wolf’s Seventh Book of Wonders
“Juliette Fay has created a wonderfully complex character in Sean Doran, a loveably conflicted international aid worker who illustrates that it is possible to be selfless and selfish at the same time. THE SHORTEST WAY HOME is a touching and engrossing story about the lengths to which we’ll go to avoid where we’re meant to be, and the way the heart leads us gently back.”
-Nichole Bernier, author of The Unfinished Work of Elizabeth D.“THE SHORTEST WAY HOME is a heartfelt, amusing story that offers a fresh take on the age-old question of what happens when you come home again to find everything changed. Juliette Fay does a wonderful job creating this quirky, lovable cast of characters finding their way in life and love.”
-Shilpi Somaya Gowda, New York Times Bestselling Author of Secret Daughter
“Juliette Fay opens wide the concept of love in this eminently readable story of one man’s return to a past he fled decades before. The Shortest Way Home is full of heart and of understanding about the often awkward collection we call family.”
-Meg Waite Clayton, New York Times bestselling author of The Postmistress of Paris
“If you’ve ever thought you or anyone in your family might be just a bit less than perfect, read this book.”
-Nancy Thayer, bestselling author of Summer Breeze“Insightful, funny, and tender-hearted … full of beautiful and sometimes bitter truths about family, falling in love, and finding out who we are meant to be.”
-Amy Hatvany, bestselling author of Outside the Lines and Best Kept Secret