There’s been such a rise of young adult novels set in cultlike environments that, however queasy-making, has been difficult to ignore. The teens in the following works grapple with coming of age in restrictive communities and must eventually choose between forging their own path or holding onto the beliefs they’ve long-treasured. From Lisa Heathfield’s debut novel to acclaimed author Pete Hautman’s latest offering, these titles explore ideas of faith, family, and freedom with honesty and respect.

Fixmer, Elizabeth. Down from the Mountain. 276p. ebook available. Albert Whitman. Mar. 2015. Tr $16.99. ISBN 9780807583708. LC 2014027714.

Gr 9 Up –Fourteen-year-old Eva and her mother are members of the Righteous Path, a 17-member cult located in Colorado. Eva struggles to be obedient and is justifiably afraid of Prophet Ezekiel’s fierce moods and demands. Her faith is further shaken when her mother must suffer a difficult pregnancy without medical attention or proper nutrition. Eva and Rachel, the youngest of Ezekiel’s 10 wives, are sent down the mountain to purchase supplies and sell Eva’s handmade jewelry in the nearby town. Eva is fearful and amazed at the contrast between her stark, strict life and the freedom of the “heathen” world. She is also surprised at the kindness of the people she meets, contradicting everything Ezekiel has told them. Meanwhile, Ezekiel has become paranoid that outsiders may try to attack them and spends most of their money buying guns instead of food to last through winter. With the help of a young man whom she meets in town, Eva learns more about the broader world. Her forced betrothal to Ezekiel pushes Eva to take action, leading to a gripping climax. Fixmer, a therapist who has counseled former religious cult members, has written a taut psychological drama with believable and sympathetic characters. The first-person narrative sustains a tense mood throughout, with frequent referrals to tragic real-life cults, such as the Branch Davidians of Waco, TX. This book is similar in theme but less violent than Carol Lynch Williams’s The Chosen One (St. Martin’s Griffin, 2009). VERDICT Readers will be caught up in this realistic story of a brave girl rebelling against a fundamentalist society.–Martha Simpson, Stratford Library Association, CT

Hautman, Pete. Eden West. 320p. Candlewick. Apr. 2015. Tr $17.99. ISBN 9780763674182; ebk. ISBN 9780763676902.

Gr 10 Up– Since he was five years old, Jacob has lived inside the Nodd, 12 square miles of Montana land that he works on along with other members of the Grace. Jacob has been taught that the world is wicked and that the Grace will return to Heaven on an ark that the Prophet Zerachiel will be sending shortly—it is The Truth. Jacob’s world begins to turn upside down with the arrival of several beings. Tobias’s family travels from Colorado to join the Grace—and yet Tobias won’t stop questioning and pushing against The Truth. During his patrols along the Grace’s border, Jacob meets Lynna, a worldly girl with whom he should not interact—but he cannot help but be attracted to her. The third newcomer, a lone wolf, begins to slowly kill off the sheep and threaten the well-being of all the Grace. Jacob’s faith is tested as he struggles to reconcile what he knows to be The Truth and what is happening around him. Hautman delivers a captivating character study, studiously demonstrating the reasons why some people are drawn into cults and quietly revealing how unquestioned power turns rotten. Jacob is a realistic and relatable protagonist and his complex relationships with those around him—and himself—ring true. Eden West is both quiet and loud, understanding and judging, and absolutely engrossing. Readers will be quick to judge the Grace but may find themselves looking inward to their own beliefs as they move through the story. VERDICT A heartbreaking, uplifting, and fantastic read.–Emily Moore, Camden County Library System, NJ

Heathfield, Lisa. Seed. 336p. Running Pr. Teen. Mar. 2015. Tr $16.95. ISBN 9780762456345. LC 2014949872.

Gr 9 Up –Seed is at the center of 15-year-old Pearl’s life: it is the isolated family of which she is part, it is the house in which she lives, and it is the remote patch of land around that house where she sows and gathers crops for her family’s sustenance. Pearl is happy at Seed. She does not often leave because according to Papa S., the leader of Pearl’s family, Seed is pure and leaving risks contact with poisoned Outsiders who may taint Pearl’s spiritual core. The teen knows Papa S. is truthful, but when three Outsiders unexpectedly join the family, the patriarch’s word—and Pearl’s entire reality—is challenged. Heathfield’s debut novel is the first in a two-book series. Pearl’s development over the course of the novel is realistic and relatable, and readers will become attached and even frustrated with the heroine. The smooth pacing and sophisticated yet age-appropriate style of the work lend credence to the story as it transforms the everyday activities of Seed into complex issues of physical and emotional abuse, budding self-esteem and increasing self-reliance, fear as a means of control, and belief as an expression of faith or as a means of deception. VERDICT Seed will hold readers’ attention as the story’s mood slowly changes and the work builds to an ultimately stunning conclusion.–Maggie Mason Smith, Clemson University R. M. Cooper Library, South Carolina

Hoyle, Tom. Thirteen. 240p. Holiday House. May 2015. Tr $16.95. ISBN 9780823432943; ebk. ISBN 9780823433827. LC 2014028416.

Gr 7 Up –In this dark thriller by a first-time British author, a sadistic self-appointed messiah leads his brainwashed cult in murdering boys born on New Year’s Day of 2000. Now 2013, only a few remain, including protagonist Adam, who runs, fights, and kills for his life, aided by his love interest and neighbor, Megan. Interspersed with Adam’s action-packed running around are various scenes of gruesome murders, torture, and cinematically threatening posturing by the cultist leader, Coron, and his fit teenage disciples. Hoyle removes Coron’s mystique fairly early by explaining that the “Master” he serves is merely a “shadowy production, a sort of echo, in Coron’s sick mind.” He also ends the novel with a list of real-life cults gone bad. Descriptive passages (“Gasoline was spilled carefully, thoughtfully, arteries linking to veins”) and well-formed chapters, which almost all end in dramatic single-sentence cliff-hangers, keep this work thrilling, if readers can keep track of the very large cast of dispensable bad guys. VERDICT Though characterization and dialogue are a bit weak, this gruesome survival story will most likely garner a readership among violence-craving, action-loving anglophiles.–Rhona Campbell, Georgetown Day School, Washington, DC