More Cults Sects and Religious Conflict for Young Adults
Explore gripping adult books on cults, sects, and religious conflicts. Uncover intense stories of faith, power, and survival in these must-read novels for young adults.
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The Storyteller's Beads
by Jane Kurtz
Running for their lives to escape the political upheaval in Ethiopia, two young girls, Rahel and Sahay, must overcome their fear and prejudice and turn to each other to survive in the debut novel of the author of Fire on the Mountain.
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Converting Kate
by Beckie Weinheimer
After moving from Arizona to Maine, sixteen-year-old Kate tries to recover from her father's death as she resists her mother's dogmatic religious beliefs and attempts to find a new direction to her life.
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Monkey Town
by Ronald Kidd
When her father hatches a plan to bring publicity to their Tennessee town by arresting a local teacher for teaching evolution, the resulting Scopes trial prompts fifteen-year-old Frances to rethink many of her beliefs and her relationship with her fa
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The Romance Reader
by Pearl Abraham
Widely applauded when it was published last year, Pearl Abraham's debut novel The Romance Reader possesses that quality that distinguishes all great fiction—a fresh look at the universal truths that bind us together. Like Chaim Potok, who revealed the Orthodox Jewish world from a young man's perspective in The Chosen, Abraham explores new ground, offering readers a tender story of a young Hasidic woman facing the challenges of growing up and the demands of her religion. Rachel Benjamin is the daughter of a quixotic rabbi who dreams of building a synagogue in the secluded upstate New York bungalow colony where his family now lives. As the rabbi's eldest daughter, Rachel is expected to set an example for her five siblings and for the other girls in the community: she must wear thick opaque tights with seams; she is forbidden to wear a bathing suit in public; and she can never read books in English. But like all young adults, Rachel bristles at the stringent rules set by her family and her religion, rebelling in ways that become increasingly apparent. Whether sneaking sheer nylons in and out of the house or applying for an illicit library card that will allow her access to the romance novels that she loves, Rachel is determined to do things her way. Dreaming of a life that mirrors that of the heroines in her favorite novels, Rachel craves the independence she will never have as a Hasidic woman in an arranged marriage. And yet, as her impending marriage draws inevitably nearer, the pulls of family and faith weigh against the frightening and unknown world beyond her own. This coming-of-age tale is both unusual and familiar—an intriguing, heartfelt look at the power of family and religion in the Hasidic community and the universal desire to leave the nest.
