the right and the real by joelle anthony

17-year-old Jamie is madly in love with gorgeous hunk Josh. Unfortunately, Josh and his family are members of The Right and The Real, a religious cult, and Jamie's Dad has fallen victim to their trap. He ends up marrying another cult member, and at the creepy mass ceremony, Jamie is required to pledge herself as a member of The Right and The Real, and devote herself to their leader, the self-named Teacher, who, according to the cult, is Jesus Christ himself. When Jamie refuses to take the pledge, her brainwashed father uncharacteristically rejects her, and, taking the side of The Right and The Real and his new wife, Mira, kicks her out of the only home she knows, leaving her essentially homeless with the majority of her senior year ahead of her. Jamie is a survivor, and in spite of her grim situation (she ends up living in a cheap motel full of people on the edge), manages to survive, keep her dreams of attending art school in NYU alive, and save her father in the process. Another excellent title from the author of Restoring Harmony. Click here for Ms. Anthony's website and here for the booktrailer. Grade 8+

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