September 12, 2022
Farr (Margie Kelly Breaks the Dress Code) explores themes of impending adulthood, growing apart, and challenging assumptions in this thought-provoking novel. Fifteen-year-old Lark Herbst has spent her entire life in rural Montana fortifying her home for potential imminent disaster with her doomsday-prepper, conspiracy-theorist parents. Though she can catch and gut fish like a pro, cultivate crops, and rewire a truck, she was never taught how to read. Her parents keep her isolated, steering clear of anything tangentially linked to the government, including public school. But when she gets her first period—and, unfamiliar with reproduction, believes she has miscarried despite never having had sex—she becomes privy to her naivety regarding the world outside her family’s compound. Unbeknownst to her parents, Lark enrolls in and attends school for the very first time, and as she breaks free from what she now recognizes as her elders’ indoctrination, Lark is forced to relearn everything she thought she knew—a task with profound consequences for both her family and herself. Farr’s uncomplicated prose complements a fast-paced plot with intense interpersonal stakes, as Lark evolves from a timid if stubborn recluse into a credibly resolute protagonist in this hopeful tale. Ages 14–up. Agent: Melissa Edwards, Stonesong Literary.
November 1, 2022
Gr 8 Up-Fifteen-year-old Lark knows very little about life. Starving, isolated, barely homeschooled, and taught to be fearful of the government by her conspiracy theorist father, it isn't until she gets her first period and believes she is miscarrying, like her mother has many times, that she begins to question what she knows about the world. Her only friend, a Native American neighbor named Alex, helps her sneak into school and begins teaching her how things are in the real world. Alex helps her realize that not all her father's ideas are as innocuous as they seem. When her parents discover what she has done, Lark must decide if she wants to be the person her parents are raising her to be, or if she wants to continue on her path toward new knowledge. Farr excellently portrays Lark's emotional struggles in a genuine way. Readers will be rooting for Lark to question her upbringing while being empathetic to her conflicting emotions about what she has been raised to believe. A romance between Lark and Alex is also introduced but not the primary part of the story. Some minor secondary characters also help Lark build confidence to forge her own path. VERDICT A unique tale of coming of age in an anti-government household. A first purchase for young adult collections where realistic fiction is in demand.-Ashley Leffel
Copyright 2022 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
August 15, 2022
A young woman being raised by parents who are anti-government survivalists faces difficult decisions. Lark's father's conspiracy theories and mistrust of the government have informed all of the limited home-school education she has received. As an undernourished 15-year-old, she struggles with reading comprehension, and she has no knowledge of basic facts of biology: When she begins her period, she is terrified it means she's miscarrying (like her mother did with many pregnancies) though she's never had sex. Set in rural Montana, this thoughtful novel sees Lark grapple with realistic fear and confusion as she secretly enrolls at a nearby Christian school and begins to learn that some of her father's teachings--like 9/11's being an inside job--are not true. She's further horrified when she learns from her friend Alex Marshall that the Montana Freemen, a group her father has described to her as heroes, were in fact racists. The precarious path that stretches out before thoughtful, curious Lark is vividly described and will easily evoke readers' sympathies. She recognizes that her parents love her but have neglected her education and health, and she wants more for herself. As her relationship with patient, kind Alex deepens into a romance, she also finds needed support. Lark and her family read as White; Alex is described as being part Native American, but there is no mention of his specific tribal affiliation. An engrossing, poignant tale of a difficult journey. (Fiction. 12-18)
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