The book I've borrowed: See you in September by Charity Norman

Charity Norman's See You in September offers an insightful and thrilling look at family, faith and finding where you belong.

I had been avoiding reading this book as I thought the subject matter would be either tough reading and overly heavy going, or even worse - a schmaltzy unbelievable cautionary tale.

Dear reader, I was wrong.

New Zealand based author Charity Norman has written a gripping tale of a young woman lured into joining a doomsday cult and falling under the spell of its charismatic leader.

The story follows Cassy, a 21-year-old English girl who sets off for her OE in New Zealand. A fight with her boyfriend leads to her accepting a lift from a van full of happy, smiling strangers, and her life is never the same again.

We follow her into Gethsemane, a New Zealand based farming collective set beside the idyllic Lake Tarawera, but we also witness the panic and grief of the family she has so happily left behind.

As the cult tightens its grip on her, her family are forced to let go, as she refuses all contact and rejects them entirely. Only, of course, parents never really do let go and they fight for their daughter through the years.

As Cassy becomes more and more entrenched in the cult's rituals, she marries and has children, further locking her into staying, even as she begins to question some things around her.

The cult's tentacles wrap themselves tighter and tighter around her, taking away not just contact with her family, but her free will itself. From taking birth control to choosing a name for her own baby, all decisions are no longer hers but rather made by the cult's leader.

As the story is told, so excerpts of a fictional book, The Cult Leaders Manual, are entwined into it. That manual is basically a guide to ensnaring new acolytes, with statements such as "the stupefying properties of sleep deprivation cannot be overstated".

Under Charity Norman's skilful pen this guide is the perfect way to explain what is happening to Cassy and gives a sympathetic look at those who fall under a cult's hold. It creates a sense of tension, between what we, the readers, know and understand, and what Cassy does not yet grasp or see.

The book is an adult book but I would not hesitate to recommend it to a teenager. In fact, I would encourage an older teen to read it before they go off on any form of OE themselves. Cult proofing, if you will, or at the very least a reminder that there is, in Cassy's mother's words, "a whole industry built around the manipulation of minds".

- This regular column showcases some of the books available to borrow from the Stratford or South Taranaki book catalogues. The books are chosen by our editorial team.

Reserving items is free. Library members are notified by email or a phone call when reserved items are ready to collect.

All of the books reviewed in this column are available to borrow through the library system.