The Long Way Home by Andrew Klavan Review

The Long Way Home by Andrew Klavan is the action packed sequel to The Last Thing I Remember. Charlie West used to be a normal high schooler. He had friends, a great training in karate, and even a sweetheart.
But fast forward a year later. Charlie's memory has disappeared and he must rebuild his past. Sounds simple enough, but several things stand in the way. He is on the run from a terrorist group called the "Homelanders" and he is a fugitive from the law, having been convicted with killing his friend and escaping prison. Is there no one he can trust?
But when Charlie makes his way home, he is joined by his friends to solve the mystery of what really happened during the night of the murder. What he discovers is both shocking and astounding.
What happens? You'll have to read The Long Way Home to find out.

This book was really well written as a mystery that keeps the reader guessing through the whole adventure. The characters seem so real, as the setting does. Christian themes are woven throughout the book, and though there were several problems, I couldn't put it down.
This book is great for the guys because of all of the action and martial arts but also for the girls who also like action and a sprinkle of romance. Speaking of romance, I did like the way the author keeps the romance there, but it doesn't have all of the drama. The relationship is clean, self-sacrificing, and quite sweet.
The friendships in this books are strong and unshakable. Though there is much teasing (which is normal of most teenagers), I loved reading the conversations between Charlie and his best friends. 

As I mentioned before, this book was really well written, and I only found two places in the whole book that were questionable. Near the beginning, Charlie is attacked by one of the Homelanders and takes a set of keys along with money from his assailant. Of course, this makes a way for Charlie to escape with style and survive, but what Charlie thinks is what I found to be interesting.
"Yes, I know the Ten Commandments...But this didn't feel like stealing. The guy was...my killer...I figured he owed me at least this much." [p. 12]
Wait...Charlie's stealing was deserved?
Charlie also hides the truth from his parents when camping out in an abandoned old mansion for fear that they wouldn't let him.
"It's not like I was going to lie about it...I was just going to tell the truth a little late, that's all." [p. 104]
Isn't hiding the truth the same as lying?
He camps out at the mansion for a project, which he gets a good grade on. He does get punished, but because of the grade, Charlie's punishment is drastically reduced. Cleaning out the garage for a day as opposed to being grounded for fourteen days shows some weakness on the part of the parents. If the good grade was really worth it, wouldn't the punishment be do-able?

All in all, I give this book four stars out of a possible five. This book is full of mystery and excitement. The relationships are kept clean and good. This action/adventure book is a great read, but, though it isn't preachy about Christianity, I wouldn't recommend sharing it with a non-Christian friend. Charlie got away with things that in my opinion, he shouldn't have. We should be careful to never be a negative examples for those on the outside looking in.

I recommend this book to Christian teenagers.

Technicalities:

Title: The Long Way Home. The Homelanders Book Two.
Author: Andrew Klavan
Number of Pages: 352
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Format: Hardback

***Note: I am a member of the Thomas Nelson Blogger Reviewers. Thomas Nelson provided me with a complimentary copy of this book to review.***

God Bless,