Just as Kay Boyle's short stories painted vivid portraits of post-war Germany for adult readers, so have Margot Benary-Isbert's novels traced a similar pattern for teenagers. ["The Long Way Home"] covers somewhat wider ground, detailing the journey of a 13-year-old orphan boy from an impoverished East Germany to a longed-for permanent home in California.

There is a basic honesty in Mrs. Benary-Isbert's writing, refreshing to find in young people's literature. Characterization is fully dimensioned, each personality being clearly defined without glossing or patly resolving weaknesses. And through the travels of a wide-eyed yet mature Christoph Wegener, American youngsters will discover the coast-to-coast wonders of their own land. It's a well-rounded picture. Certainly the most poignant section is the Chicago episode, when the young boy is placed with a kind but busily distracted family in a dingy Loop apartment—quite alone among strangers.

Gracefully the author has also threaded in characters from her other books.