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Welcome to a new entry into the ongoing series exploring popular YA genres, tropes, and themes as seen through the eyes of those writing them. Each guest piece offers insight into a topic that’s beloved–or deserves more attention–in the world of YA, including hallmarks, highlights, and books that exemplify the theme at hand.
Ryan Douglass launched the series with a look at YA retellings and reimaginings. Since then, Carolina Ixta explored activism and hope, Stacey Lee offered up her experiences and insights into Gothic YA, and Diana Ma dove into the popular world of franchise novels (where were Power Rangers YA books like hers when I was a kid?).
I’m thrilled to welcome bestselling YA author Kody Keplinger for the latest entry into the series. Keplinger may be best known for The DUFF, but she’s written several books for both young adult and middle grade readers. Following the publication of Poison Ivy: Thorns with illustrator Sara Kipin for DC in 2021, she’s back.
Where Lost Girls Go was released on July 10. It’s a cult story. While it’s fiction, like so many other excellent YA novels that explore the topic, it’s pulled from reality. But what, exactly, makes for a good cult story? What are the elements that draw readers in and keep them seeking out stories that explore them? What are some of the YA titles that exemplify what makes cult stories so fascinating?
These are the questions Keplinger dives into. Without further ado!
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Why Are We All Fascinated by Cults?
I’ve been fascinated by cults since I was a teenager. At the time, I thought this made me strange or morbid. I assumed it was the result of having a mother who exposed me to true crime far too young (looking at you, Forensic Files). But when I reached my twenties and confessed my intrigue to others, I quickly discovered that I was not alone. Not at all. In fact, cults seem to be a particular interest for many people.
I’ve been in a Discord server for at least five years with a handful of other people, where we exclusively discuss media about cults.
But why are we so interested in these high-control groups? When I sat down to write Where Lost Girls Go – a project my editor strongly encouraged me to pursue because she, too, is fascinated by cults – I had to start with this question. And while there are many answers to be found, I’ve developed a theory as to the primary reason we are drawn to these stories: because we want to know if it could happen to us.
Would we be like Shawn in that iconic episode of Boy Meets World (the source of many millennials’ initial intrigue in this topic, I’ve learned), drawn in by the promise of community? Could we withstand the celebrity lure of Scientology? Is it possible that someone could come into our lives and convince us to cut out our friends and family, as the kids at Sarah Lawrence did?
There’s a reason so many pieces of media focus on the leaders of these cults more than the victims or survivors. We want to study these people and reassure ourselves that, whatever power they have, it would never work on us. So often I hear the refrain of, “How could anyone buy this?” or “I’d never fall for this.” But, I think, secretly, a lot of us carry at least a speck of doubt.
And it makes sense that a lot of people first develop this fascination as teens, because it’s a time in our lives when we’re just starting to separate ourselves as individuals, defining who we are, and when our social lives feel like the entire world. It makes sense that that’s a period in our lives when the concept of a cult would become terrifying and intriguing. It’s a social group that, in some ways, promises that you’ll never be an outsider, but, at the same time, many ask you to leave that identity you are just beginning to forge at the door.
While writing Where Lost Girls Go, I did a lot of research, particularly focusing on survivors and victims of high-control groups, more so than leaders. And what I learned is that anyone – yes, anyone – no matter how smart, how strong, how successful, can be vulnerable to the lure of one of these groups. If the right person comes along at the wrong place and time, they can feel like a hero rather than a predator. It’s a scary thought, but it’s one that has given me so much empathy for the people who end up in cults.
And I’m certainly not the only YA author who has come to this conclusion. There are other amazing books by authors who explore the inner worlds of teens drawn into these dangerous dynamics. Because, again, a lot of us are fascinated by this subject. And there is so much to say, especially when you consider how different some of these cults are from one another.
Here are a few of my favorite YA novels about cults and cult-like dynamics.
 The Scammer by Tiffany D. JacksonI was drawn to this book immediately upon reading the summary. Partly because Tiffany D. Jackson is one of the most compelling voices in YA today and partly because the scenario in this book – about a college freshman whose roommate’s brother moves into their dorm and begins exerting control over their lives – reminded me of the cult at Sarah Lawrence College. This book is full of tension and perfectly captures the vulnerability of that first year of real adulthood. |
 The Smaller Evil by Stephanie KuehnI’ve been a fan of Stephanie Kuehn for a long time. I think she has one of the most potent and unique voices in YA, and The Smaller Evil is one of my favorites. It follows a boy with anxiety and chronic illness who goes to an expensive self-help retreat, and what happens when he’s the only witness to the leader’s mysterious disappearance. This is a wild ride and, as is the case with every Stephanie Kuehn book, goes in directions I never could have predicted. |
 Agnes at the End of the World by Kelly McWilliamsThis one is very unique and took me by surprise. It follows Agnes, a girl born into a religious community under the control of a man calling himself a Prophet, but when an Outsider causes her to question what is and isn’t sin, things get complicated. Even more complicated because, when she realizes she needs to escape, she discovers that a viral pandemic is sweeping the outside population. McWilliams really does an amazing job of exploring the complicated relationship the survivor of a cult has with her faith and uses the heightened, genre elements to emphasize the danger and fear of leaving the only community she’s known. |
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KODY KEPLINGER grew up in a small Kentucky town. During her senior year of high school, she wrote her debut novel, The DUFF, which is a New York Times bestseller, a USA Today bestseller, a YALSA Top Ten Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers, and a Romantic Times Top Pick. It has since been adapted into a major motion picture. Kody is also the author of Lying Out Loud, a companion to The DUFF; That’s Not What Happened; Run; Shut Out; and A Midsummer’s Nightmare. Kody lives in New York, where she teaches writing workshops and continues to write books for kids and teens. You can find more about her and her books at kodykeplinger.com.
Can’t get enough of cult stories? I recommend tuning in to this fantastic interview with Candace Fleming from last year, wherein she discusses what drew her to writing a work of YA nonfiction about Jonestown, Death in the Jungle: Murder, Betrayal, and the Lost Dream of Jonestown.
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