February 5, 2024
A white 12-year-old slowly reacclimates after fleeing a futurist cult in this heartening tale by O’Shaugnessy (Lasagna Means I Love You). After living for six years on the Ranch—a self-sustaining, off-the-grid farm in New York helmed by the ill-tempered Dr. Ben—Fern Silvana’s “world cracks open” when she and her mother escape against Fern’s wishes to a coastal town near San Francisco. Initially, Fern is furious and desperate to find a way back to the Ranch. But as she gets to know the people of Driftaway Beach—especially Scottish and South Asian American classmate Eddie and kind tea shop owner Babs—and becomes reacquainted with pleasures and technologies banned on the Ranch (dancing, fantasy fiction, K-Pop, medicine, sugar, TV), Fern’s resolve wavers. Wistful first-person narration probes Fern’s conflicting emotions as she fumbles for a sense of belonging and struggles to think for herself. Driven by a growing self-awareness that she can choose who and what she believes, this is a moving portrait of a girl undergoing drastic change and fitting the broken pieces of her world together to find her place in it. Supporting characters are intersectionally diverse. Ages 10–up. Agent: Pete Knapp, Park & Fine Literary.
Starred review from February 1, 2024
Life outside a cult seems full of danger to a girl who yearns for the safety of her oppressive but familiar home. Twelve-year-old Fern's mother suddenly takes her from the only stable home she's ever known, the place they settled when she was 6, following years of upheaval. In the dark of night, the two escape the compound ruled by Dr. Ben, the patriarchal leader of the Ranch, their "sustainable futurist community." Driving away from New York, they end up in tiny Driftaway Beach, California. Fern immediately develops a plan to get back to Dr. Ben, whose messages she's internalized; after all, he claimed to be preparing them to survive war and climate change. But as she acclimates to life outside the Ranch, Fern begins to value being able to make her own decisions. Does she even want to follow Dr. Ben's vision of life? The Spirit of the Sea, a local myth about the ghost of a lighthouse keeper that haunts the cliffs above town, provides a parallel for exploring the psychology of grief and the truths we tell ourselves. Many tweens will relate to feeling controlled, sheltered, and lied to as they seek their independence. O'Shaughnessy succeeds in raising awareness by bringing the abuse of cult communities to light through a gripping storyline and beautifully imperfect supporting characters. Fern, who's cued white, matures in her understanding that what and who you choose to believe in is of consequence. A strong, emotionally intelligent story. (Fiction. 9-13)
COPYRIGHT(2024) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
March 15, 2024
Grades 4-7 *Starred Review* Twelve-year-old Fern can't remember much of her life before the Ranch, only that her early childhood was often difficult and unsteady. Happily settled into her existence at the commune under Dr. Ben's watchful eye, she lives off the land, eschewing modern conveniences of the evil outside world. Just as she is set to face a dangerous rite of passage, Fern is whisked away by her terrified mother in the middle of the night. After they abscond to a seaside town far away, Fern's mother thrusts her daughter into a noisy, unfamiliar modern world that she can't comprehend. She only has one thought: get back to the Ranch, the only place she's ever considered home. But as truths about the commune come to light, it slowly dawns on Fern that she's the only person who can decide what is right for her and must make the ultimate choice. The suspenseful story is immediately intriguing, skillfully conveying the high-stakes situation and effortlessly drawing the audience into the unusual settings of both the constrained Ranch and eccentric beach town. It's easy to connect with Fern as she questions her place in the world and the validity of authority around her, and she navigates her new world with care and curiosity. The evolving mother-daughter relationship is particularly well drawn. A tremendous testament to the power in plotting your own course.
COPYRIGHT(2024) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
April 1, 2024
Gr 3-7-Twelve-year-old Fern's life takes a sharp turn when she and her mother sneak out of the Ranch, an off-the-grid farm in New York that has been her home for the last six years. Even though the ranch might be considered a cult and her mom says its leader Dr. Ben is dangerous, it's the home that Fern remembers most. The two escape to Driftaway Beach, CA, living in a motel where her mother works. When Fern becomes desperate to return to the only life she knows, she makes a long-term plan to return to the Ranch. But as time goes on Fern finds friendship in Eddie and Babs. She discovers that she loves science and learning about new things. Now that she has a taste for this world, she is conflicted when she thinks about returning home. This coming-of-age story centers a girl trying to decide what is right as she struggles to change from one culture to another. The first-person narrative is believable and thought-provoking as Fern reconsiders everything she's thought to be true. VERDICT A unique story and welcome addition to the library for fans of contemporary middle grade fiction.-Nancy Hawkins
Copyright 2024 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
May 1, 2024
Since narrator Fern was six, she and her mother have lived on the Ranch, an isolated "sustainable futurist community" in upstate New York. Now twelve, Fern is completely accustomed to the unquestioned authority of Ranch leader Dr. Ben and his "ideals," which emphasize a reverence for nature. Readers may begin to realize long before the protagonist does that the Ranch's way of life has its flaws; as the story opens, a teen community member has died during a rite of passage. But still, when Mom recognizes those extremes and escapes to California with Fern, it's understandable that Fern finds the outside world scary and, even as she begins to reacclimate, is determined to find a way to go "home." As in Lasagna Means I Love You (rev. 3/23), O'Shaughnessy presents a high-stakes situation and zeroes in on a child narrator's believable emotions. That tight focus on the young narrator even when she is misguided or doesn't have all the facts allows readers to draw their own conclusions based on the gradually increasing information she has -- about the events that led her mother to choose the Ranch, and in separating what can sound like positive environmentalist values from the dangerous reality of a cult. Shoshana Flax
(Copyright 2024 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)
January 1, 2024
Since narrator Fern was six, she and her mother have lived on the Ranch, an isolated "sustainable futurist community" in upstate New York. Now twelve, Fern is completely accustomed to the unquestioned authority of Ranch leader Dr. Ben and his "ideals," which emphasize a reverence for nature. Readers may begin to realize long before the protagonist does that the Ranch's way of life has its flaws; as the story opens, a teen community member has died during a rite of passage. But still, when Mom recognizes those extremes and escapes to California with Fern, it's understandable that Fern finds the outside world scary and, even as she begins to reacclimate, is determined to find a way to go "home." As in Lasagna Means I Love You (rev. 3/23), O'Shaughnessy presents a high-stakes situation and zeroes in on a child narrator's believable emotions. That tight focus on the young narrator even when she is misguided or doesn't have all the facts allows readers to draw their own conclusions based on the gradually increasing information she has -- about the events that led her mother to choose the Ranch, and in separating what can sound like positive environmentalist values from the dangerous reality of a cult.
(Copyright 2024 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)