Girl in a Bad Place

October 1, 2017

Gr 8 Up-This novel tackles important issues of manipulation and safety with a fast-paced story that could be ripped from the headlines. Cara has been organizing Mailee's life since middle school, when she created their Book of Life Goals. Now it's the summer before senior year, and Mailee isn't sure why things are changing. When Mailee and Cara get an unexpected invitation to visit The Haven, a commune in the mountains, Cara is determined to go. The road up the mountain is treacherous, and Mailee wonders if this was such a good idea. When they finally arrive, the leader of the group, Firehorse, comes out to welcome them, except Mailee doesn't feel welcome at all. Firehorse lets Mailee know he doesn't appreciate her aura of skepticism. Cara enjoys being in nature, listening to Firehorse, and the company of the "Colonists" who live at the Haven. She gets more involved with the commune and pulls away from her old friends and interests. When Cara invites Mailee to her initiation ceremony to join the group, Mailee has to decide how far she is willing to go to support a friend. A too-tidy ending strains credulity, but this plot will keep readers turning pages until the end. VERDICT An additional purchase for libraries with a demand for realistic fiction.-Carly Wiggins Searcy, McNeese State University, LA

Copyright 2017 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 15, 2017
Best friends Mailee and Cara's bond is tested when Cara becomes enthralled with a charismatic cult leader the summer before their senior year. Disorganized Mailee has always depended on Cara's focus to make their future dreams of working in show business come true. So she's stunned when Cara decides to turn her life over to Firehorse, the alluring leader of the Haven, a small commune in the wilderness near their Montana home. Cara's been in mourning since her younger sister, Harper, died in a car accident and is initially attracted to Haven after a chance meeting with Avalon, a little girl who lives there. But Mailee is troubled by the commune's lack of basic resources and the small concrete prison she discovers on its outskirts. When Cara invites Mailee to a Haven "harvest celebration" that will culminate in her initiation into the commune, Mailee tries to free her friend--an attempt that nearly ends in tragedy. Though the plot is predictable and the climax preposterous, Mailee's extensive research into the veracity of Firehorse's anti-government rants is a well-timed nod to current "fake news" controversies. Mailee and Cara are white, Mailee's boyfriend, Gavin, is an enrolled member of the Blackfeet tribe, and secondary character Brigit is black. Title aside, a good place for young fans of Lois Duncan and Christopher Pike. (Fiction. 12-15)

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January 1, 2018
Cara has always been the one organizing her best friend Mailee's life; but when Cara gets swept up in a remote-Montana commune that seems more like a cult, Mailee must take charge for a change to save her friend. A riveting premise, topical issues, and a realistic portrayal of teen friendship are pluses, but the story is marred by its far-fetched climax.

(Copyright 2018 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)