A girl struggles to break the cultlike bonds tying her and her siblings to their tyrannical, religious father.Castella Creswell, a white teen called Castley, and her five siblings have always been ruled by the word of God as taught by their father. He makes them study not only the Bible, but his own book of revelations. They live in the woods and have been taught that they are the only pure people left and will be married to one another in a heavenly ceremony. But at 17, Castley has begun to question her father's rule and wonders if her siblings do too. Though punished to the point of abuse, her brothers and sisters defend their father and the visions of fire and brimstone that guide him—even when he tells them that they'll all soon be called home to God. And the only way to be called home to God is to die. Castley's forays into normal high school life are both delicious in their rebellion and heartbreaking in their revelations. As the siblings reckon with their faith in their father, they clash within and with one another, and it's a breathtaking, gut-wrenching coming-of-age saga from all sides. Readers will be swept into the Creswells' claustrophobic world and ache for them long after it's set aflame.A harrowing, pulpy page-turner along the compulsive lines of Flowers in the Attic. (Fiction. 14-18)

Debut author Wass fashions a haunting family portrait centered on the power of belief. After a lifetime of hearing that the Cresswell family constitutes the -only pure people left on earth,- 16-year-old Castley begins to suspect that her controlling and abusive father is not a prophet of God. With a dilapidated house, a neglectful mother, and food running out, Castley and her five siblings contend with their parents- rigid rules along with a combination of fascination and invisibility in town and at school. When her father pronounces that -soon God will be calling us home,- Castley seeks an escape. Befriending a fellow drama student and reaching out to a relative she hardly knows, Castley finds that those promising help are terrified as well. Wass deftly manages the distinct voices and personalities of the many Cresswells. The dark heart of the story, suggestive of incest and sibling torture, will move many readers to question, as Castley does, whether liberation from their -father-s vision- is truly possible. Ages 14-up. Agency: Madeleine Milburn Literary Agency. (June)

The six impoverished Cresswell teens live in a ramshackle house in the woods with a maniacally religious, abusive, and controlling father. As the only pure people left in the world, their father declares, the brothers must marry the sisters. Castley likes the thought of marrying her handsome younger brother, until their mother's disabling accident ends their homeschooling and lands them in public school. As they learn more about the outside world, the Cresswells begin to pull away from their father's "religion," and several even risk their father's vicious punishment to find romantic partners. Castley dreams of a normal life away from her father, but will not leave her siblings. When their father declares it time for the whole family to leave for heaven, Castley knows their time is running out.`Wass's book may struggle for readership, with the high revulsion factor of Castley's incestuous thoughts (and one kiss), and the graphic details of the father's emotional and physical abuse of his children. The characters are compelling, however, and the plot unfolds at a well-timed pace, dropping clues about the family's history as well as the father's plans for them. Castley's interactions with her classmates and their fascination with her bizarre lifestyle also ring true, as does their eventual failure to support her when she desperately needs it. While the denouement offers rapid-fire suspense, the overall message of the book is unfortunately vague, which might push the book into more lurid sensationalism than the author intended.Rebecca Moore.Rarely can a book that is uncomfortably difficult to read be considered "good." The Cresswell Plot is an exception. This book takes the themes of family and faith to new, disturbing reaches, and the protagonist spins between likable and despicable. Despite this, the book makes readers think and weigh their own values against those of the characters. There is little appeal for those looking for simplicity, but those who do read and accept its complexity will be floored. 5Q, 3P.Victoria Friend, Teen Reviewer.