Wake The Wild Creatures by Nova Ren Suma
Talia’s been forced to live with her aunt’s family, including her cousin Lake, with whom Talia has absolutely nothing in common. Through flashbacks, Talia’s story slowly begins to unfold, explaining why and how she ended up in this living arrangement–and where and how she plans on escaping.
alia’s mom founded a cult atop a mountain in the Catskills, and it was a cult that only invited women to be part of its world. Her mom founded it for good reason–rage, anger, injustice, a desire for a community that cared about women–but the settlement had so much mysterious around it, even for Talia who grew up there.
Suma does a fantastic job of world-building and her settings are lush and evocative. Talia is a complex character, forced to navigate her before atop the mountain community she grew up in with the new life at her aunt’s house, stumbling through what it is to be a “typical” high schooler. She’s ANGRY but that anger is a necessary driver for her. She uses it to unpack her past in order to build a future. . . and it’s one that will involve her cousin Lake, despite their initial hesitations toward one another.
If you love cult stories, this is going to be your jam.