The Way Back

All she wanted was to escape. But why does she still feel trapped? The Way Back is a gripping psychological drama.

Charlie Johnson is 13 and in her first year of high school. She loves her family, netball and Liam, the cute guy who sits next to her in Science-but most of all she loves horses and horse-riding. Charlie’s parents have leased her a horse, Tic Tac, from the local pony club, but one day they go out for a ride in the national park and only Tic Tac returns…

Four months later, long after the police and the SES have called off the search, Charlie is found wandering injured and filthy miles from where she was last seen. Her family rejoice in her return, but can anyone truly recover from what Charlie’s been through?

When a life has been shattered, how do you put the pieces back together? A moving, haunting and all-too-real-novel that takes you beyond the headlines and explores a family’s worst nightmare with compassion and insight.

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READING NOTES

“A gifted writer who knows how to weave the complexity of relationships into a beautifully crafted story.”

Mia Freedman

"This moving story will stay with you long after the book is finished... A well-written and emotionally
gripping read"

— Canberra Weekly

"Ladd has great empathy for all her characters, ensuring all voices are heard & the complexities of their relationships fully explored. The result is gripping, heartbreaking and sobering."

— Courier Mail

"Kylie Ladd is adept at both depicting and manipulating emotions. Her ability to convincingly take us into the thoughts and feelings of everyone from 40-something parents to a teenage brother to a damaged and abandoned loner is really impressive. It is yet another thing that distinguishes this book." Read full review.

— Sisters in Crime

"An assured piece of writing that centres on a topic that sadly continues to be relevant today. Sometimes I had to remind myself that I was reading a piece of fiction as elements of the story prompted memories of actual missing children cases with the author herself referring to such cases as part of the narrative. I would recommend this novel for those who enjoy contemporary and topical Australian fiction." Read full review.

— Readings Bookstore

"Kylie Ladd has a gift for weaving together multiple perspectives and having them collide at the searing height of their disagreement. Not only is The Way Back an empathetic portrayal of trauma and convalescence, it’s also incredibly erudite in its ability to capture the minds of its characters. Child-abducting psychopaths, worrisome mothers, traumatised daughters, and disenchanted police officers are all-dimensional, real, and compelling." Read full review.