For the past six years, Fern and her mother (white) have been living at the Ranch, where Dr. Ben controls all aspects of their off-the-grid, self-sustaining community. When Fern’s mother realizes that the cult is no longer safe for Fern, the two flee in the middle of the night. They make their way to California, where Fern’s mother has secured a housekeeping job at a motel. They receive additional support from Babs, a friendly local businesswoman and old friend of Fern’s grandmother. Taught to fear technology and the influence of society, Fern is furious at being uprooted. She quickly realizes how little she knows about the real world—like how to mail a letter. To say she’s behind in school is an understatement; she’s never heard of George Washington or Google. Determined to contact Dr. Ben and get her mom back on “the path,” Fern asks a private investigator for help and sets about earning the money to pay him. In the meantime, she finds a modicum of comfort in new friend Eddie (Indian/white), but almost nothing can shake Fern’s faith in Dr. Ben or loosen the iron grip that his ideology has on her. While aspects of the plot may stretch credibility, Fern’s emotional journey and psychological struggle to disentangle herself from the influence of a dangerous, charismatic leader are frighteningly believable.

Twelve-year-old Fern believes she's living a noble life--but what if everything she's been told is a lie? This is a huge-hearted story about a girl learning to question everything—and to trust in herself.

A NEWBERY HONOR BOOK • A CALIBA GOLDEN POPPY AWARD FINALIST • A KIRKUS REVIEWS AND BOOKLIST BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR

Fern’s lived at the Ranch, an off-the-grid, sustainable community in upstate New York, since she was six. The work is hard, but Fern admires the Ranch's leader, Dr. Ben. So when Fern’s mother sneaks them away in the middle of the night and says Dr. Ben is dangerous, Fern doesn't believe it. She wants desperately to go back, but her mom just keeps driving.

Suddenly thrust into the treacherous, toxic, outside world, Fern can think only of how to get home. She has a plan, but it will take time. As that time goes by, though, Fern realizes there are things she will miss from this place—the library, a friend from school, the ocean—and there are things she learned at the Ranch that are just...not true.

Now Fern will have to decide. How much is she willing to give up to return to the Ranch? Should she trust Dr. Ben’s vision for her life? Or listen to the growing feeling that she can live by her own rules?