Must-Read Teen Books About CultsLike this list

15 items

• The Deep Well

  Creedle, Laura,

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  Twelve years after surviving a horrific massacre that killed her dad, April is thrust back into the past when a message hints that her dad is alive, forcing her to confront a cult that believes she will be given universe-altering powers on her…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• You Belong to Me

  Krischer, Hayley,

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  It's "The Substance" meets "Girl in Pieces" in this new YA psychological thriller exploring the dark secrets of the wellness and beauty world, brimming with sapphic romance, class exploration and friendship clashes.

• Together We Rot

  Arndt, Skyla,

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  A teen girl looking for the truth about her missing mother forms a reluctant alliance with her former best friend in exchange for hiding him from his cult-leading family.

• Hell Followed With Us

  White, Andrew Joseph,

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  Trans boy Benji is on the run after escaping from the fundamentalist cult that infected him with a bioweapon. Now Benji must team up with a local LGBTQIA+ youth center to take down the cult that never accepted him!

• There Will Come a Darkness

  An Age of Darkness Novel

  Pool, Katy Rose,

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  A century ago, Seven Prophets ruled the land and guided all of humanity, then suddenly vanished, leaving behind one last prophecy: the birth of the Last Prophet is nearing, and only they are capable of saving the world.

• The Special Ones

  Bailey, Em,

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  Esther lives on an isolated farm where she is not allowed to leave the front porch of the farmhouse, ever. She is one of the Special Ones, so-called spiritual guides, held by "him." If she does not cooperate, she will be "renewed."

• The Cemetery Boys

  Brewer, Zac, 1973-

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  Enormous hospital bills force Stephen’s family to return to the tiny town of his roots. There, he pines for punk girl Cara, and he delves into legends of gruesome creatures and mysterious murders in this darkly funny book.

• After the Fire

  Hill, Will, 1979-

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  Moonbeam survived the standoff with the FBI and the fire that destroyed the Holy Church of the Lord's Legion. Moonbeam's complex, brutal story unfolds as she recounts memories of her life to an FBI agent and a psychiatrist.

• Mirror in the Sky

  Khorana, Aditi

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  Tara is a student at an academically intense high school on scholarship. Her world becomes even more challenging when she discovers a message from an alternate Earth, received from light-years away. On this planet, there's another Tara, living an…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Smaller Evil

  Kuehn, Stephanie

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  Arman, having had enough of his life thus far, steals two thousand dollars and hastens to a so-called self-help program in Big Sur as a chance to "evolve." While on retreat, Arman is the only witness to his mentor's suicide. Or was it murder? Arman…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Blood and Salt

  Liggett, Kim

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  While hunting for her missing mother, Ash becomes trapped in the cult her mother escaped from. There, Ash faces haunting visions, carnivorous corn and possible possession by an immortal ancestor.

• Agnes at the End of the World

  McWilliams, Kelly,

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  What's more terrifying: a cult or a pandemic? Agnes faces this choice, although she always liked her quiet home life in Red Creek. A chance encounter with a boy from the Outside leaves her questioning, and soon she escapes with him into a dying…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Sacred Lies of Minnow Bly

  Oakes, Stephanie (Young adult author)

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  The Kevinian cult took away Minnow's life, family, trust and, when she attempted to escape, her hands, too. With the murder of the Prophet and following the fire that destroyed the compound, Minnow is at the center of the question: What really…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Come November

  van Dam, Katrin,

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  Come November 17, Next World Society plans to leave the environmental disaster that is Earth behind. Rooney's mother and younger brother are all-in. How can Rooney protect her family and keep them together, especially if Departure collapses?

• The Cresswell Plot

  Wass, Eliza,

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  The strict rules of God, as told to their father, provide the structure of Castella's days. When her father announces the family will soon be called home to God, Castella knows she needs to act now to save her life and the lives of her siblings.