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A review by okevamae
It's Not a Cult by Lauren Danhof
4.0
Glinda’s life isn't exactly what she’d always dreamed. She dropped out of her PhD program and she works as a wench in a dunking booth at a Renaissance fair. Her twin sister, once her closest friend, won’t speak to her, and her younger sister is an intolerable brat. Her only sort-of friend is a co-worker who has a crush on her, much to her discomfort. And the icing on the cake – her mom is in a cult, and she’s about to marry the cult’s leader and turn the family home over to become his commune. Glinda is the only one who sees how dangerous Father Arlon is – and due to her past mistakes, no one believes her or is willing to help.
Glinda is a complicated character. She’s frequently unlikeable. She’s standoffish, does childish things, and constantly shoots herself in the foot. But a lot of her behavior is rooted in trauma and grief, and that makes her understandable and more sympathetic, even when it’s hard to like the things she is doing. And you still want to root for her, partly because you want her to be redeemed, and partly because she’s the only one who sees the danger they are in.
The book is funny at some times, heartbreaking or harrowing at others. The pacing is a little uneven, but the story still kept my attention the whole way through. Overall it’s an entertaining read.
Representation: POC character(?), mental illness representation
TW: sexual assault, cultic abuse, drug addiction
I received an advance copy of this ebook from Netgalley in exchange for and honest review.
Glinda is a complicated character. She’s frequently unlikeable. She’s standoffish, does childish things, and constantly shoots herself in the foot. But a lot of her behavior is rooted in trauma and grief, and that makes her understandable and more sympathetic, even when it’s hard to like the things she is doing. And you still want to root for her, partly because you want her to be redeemed, and partly because she’s the only one who sees the danger they are in.
The book is funny at some times, heartbreaking or harrowing at others. The pacing is a little uneven, but the story still kept my attention the whole way through. Overall it’s an entertaining read.
Representation: POC character(?), mental illness representation
TW: sexual assault, cultic abuse, drug addiction
I received an advance copy of this ebook from Netgalley in exchange for and honest review.