A white 12-year-old slowly reacclimates after fleeing a futurist cult in this heartening tale by O’Shaugnessy (Lasagna Means I Love You). After living for six years on the Ranch—a self-sustaining, off-the-grid farm in New York helmed by the ill-tempered Dr. Ben—Fern Silvana’s “world cracks open” when she and her mother escape against Fern’s wishes to a coastal town near San Francisco. Initially, Fern is furious and desperate to find a way back to the Ranch. But as she gets to know the people of Driftaway Beach—especially Scottish and South Asian American classmate Eddie and kind tea shop owner Babs—and becomes reacquainted with pleasures and technologies banned on the Ranch (dancing, fantasy fiction, K-Pop, medicine, sugar, TV), Fern’s resolve wavers. Wistful first-person narration probes Fern’s conflicting emotions as she fumbles for a sense of belonging and struggles to think for herself. Driven by a growing self-awareness that she can choose who and what she believes, this is a moving portrait of a girl undergoing drastic change and fitting the broken pieces of her world together to find her place in it. Supporting characters are intersectionally diverse. Ages 10–up. Agent: Pete Knapp, Park & Fine Literary. (Apr.)

Gr 3–7— Twelve-year-old Fern's life takes a sharp turn when she and her mother sneak out of the Ranch, an off-the-grid farm in New York that has been her home for the last six years. Even though the ranch might be considered a cult and her mom says its leader Dr. Ben is dangerous, it's the home that Fern remembers most. The two escape to Driftaway Beach, CA, living in a motel where her mother works. When Fern becomes desperate to return to the only life she knows, she makes a long-term plan to return to the Ranch. But as time goes on Fern finds friendship in Eddie and Babs. She discovers that she loves science and learning about new things. Now that she has a taste for this world, she is conflicted when she thinks about returning home. This coming-of-age story centers a girl trying to decide what is right as she struggles to change from one culture to another. The first-person narrative is believable and thought-provoking as Fern reconsiders everything she's thought to be true. VERDICT A unique story and welcome addition to the library for fans of contemporary middle grade fiction.— Nancy Hawkins