Megan Cooley Peterson

The story itself is FASCINATING. The author really puts you in Piper's shoes, giving you a look at life through the eyes of a "believer", while also allowing us to experience the utter shattering that comes from everything we think we know to be a truth becoming a lie. As absurd as it was to see her way of life as the right way, you could see the argument for the other side, and yet you could also see what it felt like to be the "Them" introduced to her little world, trying to understand show more what had happened, trying to help them come back to a version of themselves they don't even remember existing. Her relationship with Cas was something normally written in the stars, and her heartfelt care for the "littles" was truly touching. It felt right in the end when her new ID was revealed because she wasn't truly the former her or the current her, but a new her trying to reconcile all the pieces she'd been left with.

High recommendation for older teens through adult readers.


**ARC received for review; opinions are my own show less

Very compelling. The time jumps between Piper's time as a "daughter" of the cult that stole her and after she was rescued kept me intrigued from beginning to end, waiting to connect all the dots and see the entire picture. My only criticism is that, though the author frequently did an excellent job of conveying the inner turmoil Piper experienced as she tried to reconcile the truth with the lies, there were dialogue-heavy times in which she swung back and forth with no explanation of what show more she was feeling. Those moments made it harder to understand how she could go from fanatical devotion to Father and Mother to making bold statements of doubt, but that was a minor point for me. show less

Piper faithfully believes what Mother, Father, and the Aunties tell her. Preparing for the end of the world, having her husband chosen for her, and staying in the fenced compound that used to be an amusement park will keep her safe from the ‘outside’ where there is violence and evil. She cares for the younger children and does chores, never doubting the authority of Mother and Father who live in another compound far away and only visit infrequently. One day, after she has been given show more hallucinogenic drugs in an initiation to the adult ‘community’, Child Protective Service agents enter the compound, and take all the children and teens away. Piper is now living in a locked house with a locked fence with a woman, Jeannie. She is determined to escape. Slowly her memories come back to her and challenge the life she thinks she remembers.
Literary Merit: The chapters are divided into ‘Before’ when she is living in the compound, and ‘After’ when she is living with Jeannie. You are never sure if her memories are real or which group are the ‘good guys’, which keeps you guessing right up to the last minute. The author has first-hand experience living in a religious cult so the fear/salvation-based story feels authentic.
Characterization: Piper is at first trusting and responsible then believably panicky and confused wondering why the cult members are not rescuing her. Other characters are faithful and obedient or questioning but all are fearful.
Audience: Older teens and adults who like reading thrillers, about cults or true crime, or liked the book ‘Educated’ by Tara Westover.
Recommended: Yes show less

Read this in one sitting. Not what I expected. Definitely a story of survival, learning about real truth and accepting it. I cannot imagine what it would be like to be ripped from my family and thrown into a cult, only to be pulled away and try to figure out what’s right and what’s wrong, to learn to trust again. Brainwashing someone is wrong on so many levels. The author definitely brings across Pipers voice on the pages. Being divided like that, not knowing what is truth and what is show more fiction, has got to be horrific. show less