Description:

Jamie should have known something was off about the church of the Right & the Real from the start, especially when the Teacher claimed he wasn't just an ordinary spiritual leader but Jesus Christ himself. But she was too taken by Josh, the eldest son of one of the church's disciples, and his all-American good looks. Josh was the most popular boy at school, too, and the first boy outside the drama geeks to give Jamie a second look. But getting her dad involved in a cult was not part of the plan when she started dating Josh. Neither was her dad's marriage to the fanatic Mira or getting kicked out or seeing Josh in secret because the church has deemed her persona non grata. Jamie's life has completely fallen apart. Finding her way back won't be easy, but when her dad gets himself in serious trouble, will Jamie be ready to rescue him, and maybe even forgive him? ** ### From Booklist Seventeen-year-old Jamie only joined the cultish Right & the Real Church of Christ because her boyfriend was a begrudging member, but then Jamie’s own father became a devoted convert. When Jamie refuses to sign the loyalty pledge demanded by the Teacher, she is disowned. Unwilling to be sent away to live with her deadbeat mother, Jamie takes up residence in a sleazebag, pay-by-the-week hotel, scraping for money and praying she’ll still get into the New York City acting institute of her dreams. Those expecting juicy details about cult life will be disappointed—little of the novel focuses on the church, though the glimpses we get of a naked Teacher being massaged by his various wives are indeed decadent. Instead, this is a story about homelessness and, of course, romance: that cute boy at the coffee shop sure seems nicer than her current boyfriend, eh? The best character by far is the hulking LaVon, the brusque ex-felon who keeps the room next to Jamie and becomes her staunchest defender. A not-too-intense look at some very intense situations. Grades 8-11. --Daniel Kraus ### About the Author Joëlle Anthony (www.joelleanthony.com), author of *Restoring Harmony*, lives in British Columbia, Canada.