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Meadowlark
A haunting novel about the lasting effects of childhood trauma and the resulting choices we make for our children.
After growing up in an austere spiritual compound, two teenagers, Simrin and Arjun, escape and go their separate ways. Years later, Simrin receives an email from Arjun. As they reconnect, Simrin learns that he has become the charismatic leader of Meadowlark, a commune in the Nevada desert that allows children to discover their “gifts.”
In spite of their fractured relationship, Simrin, a photojournalist, agrees to visit Meadowlark to document its story. She arrives at the commune with her five-year-old daughter in tow and soon realizes there is something disturbing about Arjun’s beliefs concerning children and their unusual abilities. When she discovers that the commune is in the midst of a criminal investigation, her unease grows deeper still.
As tensions with police heighten, Arjun’s wife begins to make plans of her own, fearing the exposure the investigation might bring for her and her children. Both mothers find themselves caught in a desperate situation, and as the conflict escalates, everyone involved must make painful—and potentially tragic—choices that could change their worlds forever.
Gripping and beautifully crafted, Meadowlark explores the power and danger of being extraordinary and what it means to see and be seen.
265 pages, Hardcover
First published May 1, 2020
256 people are currently reading
3349 people want to read
About the author
Melanie Abrams
4 books74 followersMelanie Abrams is the author of the novels Playing (Grove Atlantic), Meadowlark (Little A), and the book The Joy of Cannabis: 75 Ways to Amplify Your Life with the Science and Magic of Cannabis. Melanie is a writer, teacher, editor, and photographer. She teaches writing at UC Berkeley.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 100 reviews
May 21, 2020
Found this to be an ok read right up until the the last 1/4 of the book. Boy did the ending just fall flat in it's face. It's a shame too because the story/plot had promise and the action was good.
Just not for me I guess.
My copy was provided by NetGalley for review, all opinions are my own.
Just not for me I guess.
My copy was provided by NetGalley for review, all opinions are my own.
April 13, 2020
I honestly couldn't put this book down, but night after night I forced myself to because I didn't want it to end. The characters spoke to me on a deep level...I couldn't beleive the author could create the inner life of so many different characters at various ages so beautifully. I was IN from page one and loved the journey. It's my favorite novel I've read in years. I highly, highly recommend especially if you love reading about women, girls, power, love, trauma, cults, mothers and daughters. SO DAMN GOOD!
May 6, 2020
Cool cover!
This novel was interesting to me. The story is told by Simrin, the main character. As a teenager she was in a spiritual cult with her friend, Arjun. They escape and go their separate ways. Simrin is an adult and has a five year old daughter, she receives an email from Arjun. He’s in the Nevada desert and has opened his own compound, Meadowlark. It’s a utopian type facility where they try to convince all children they’re gifted or have special powers. It was scary to read about the rituals and what goes on behind the gates. It was a tense novel that kept me turning the pages. It makes me think of the cults we hear about in our world today, and parents looking for their children or trying to bring them home. I want to read more from this author! I want to thank Goodreads and Little A for the opportunity to read and review this book.
This novel was interesting to me. The story is told by Simrin, the main character. As a teenager she was in a spiritual cult with her friend, Arjun. They escape and go their separate ways. Simrin is an adult and has a five year old daughter, she receives an email from Arjun. He’s in the Nevada desert and has opened his own compound, Meadowlark. It’s a utopian type facility where they try to convince all children they’re gifted or have special powers. It was scary to read about the rituals and what goes on behind the gates. It was a tense novel that kept me turning the pages. It makes me think of the cults we hear about in our world today, and parents looking for their children or trying to bring them home. I want to read more from this author! I want to thank Goodreads and Little A for the opportunity to read and review this book.
May 9, 2020
I’m interested in all things cult related. So much so that the descriptions of this book on Netgalley read something like this to me…blahblahblahcultblahblah. I requested it immediately, received and read shortly after. And yes, there was a lot of cult activity in this book. In fact the plot is bookended and shaped by it, but also in its own right it’s a fascinating psychological study of scars rendered in childhood as they play into adulthood. The novel utilizes split narrative, shared between Simrin, Bethany and Juniper. Respectively, a childhood friend/first love of, the present day wife and the daughter of Arjun. The man at the center of it all, who interestingly enough isn’t given a voice of his own. In fact, the reader can only perceive him through perspectivesof others. But then again Arjun is used to being seen and interpreted. Growing up in a yogi style spiritual compound (i.e. cult) Arjun was always the golden boy, the center of attention. A boy Simrin loved, a boy who made their austere existences tolerable. But their relationship didn’t last after leaving the compound as teens, they ended up going their separate ways and now about two decades later, they reunite…only to share a tragedy. In the years that passed, Simrin became Simone, a photographer of some (internet) renown who shares a six year old daughter with an amicable ex. And Arjun became Aaron, a man who started a commune focused on giving children all the freedom in the world, so in theory the polar opposite of his own upbringing. Aaron’s commune that shares the name with the novel has recently come under scrutiny after accusations by one of the members and, after reaching out from the blue, he invites Simone to shed the light on his commune’s innate goodness through photojournalism. Simone (or more like her inner Sinjin) still swoons at the golden glow of her beloved, so much so that it takes her who really should recognize these things too long to realize what her beloved has become. The thing is compound or commune are just different names for a cult and cult is always about a person’s (or persons’) ego. Beneath whatever initial charisma there is a profoundly disturbing psychopathy, egomania and self importance. And always, always, terrible dangerous ideas. And if you think SImrin takes too long to realize it, consider Bethany. A famous child star exploited by her mother, Beth is so desperate to get away from it all she changes her name, hooks up with the first boy who seems genuine, buys a remote property for them…and lo and behold some 14 years or so later finally realizes what sort of man she chose. Juniper, her carbon copy, provides some color commentary, mostly along the lines of what it’s like to be a child in a child oriented community, albeit one operated by a madman. So yeah, very cultish all around. But also very compelling, not an easy book to put down, I barely did. And it isn’t just the present tense narrative either, it’s just intense all around and it really draws you in. A very dynamic story, train crash dynamics. Tragic. But also such a terrific meditation of how one’s childhood affects the people they become in both subtle and radical ways and how seeing and being seen are not the same as recognition and are prone to warping perspectives. A very good read. Recommended. Thanks Netgalley.
April 7, 2020
Gripping and brilliant. An intelligent portrait of parenthood and selfhood.
October 22, 2021
Simone (formerly Simrin) was raised as a child in a cult founded on strict rules and regular meditation. As a teenager, Simrin and her best friend, Arjun, fled the cult - but the memories are a bit sour for Simrin as Arjun abandoned her in a motel and she was left to find her own way in life.
Many years later, Simone is a successful photographer and has a daughter, Quinn, who has synaesthesia but is separated from Quinn's father. Out of the blue, Simone receives an email from Arjun, asking for her professional help. Arjun is now leader of Meadowlark - a community set up to bring out the best in the members' children. Arjun's wife is a former child TV star who abandoned stardom and her controlling mother.
When Simone arrives at Meadowlark with her daughter, Quinn, she little realises that the community is in a stand-off with the authorities over an allegation of child abuse brought by a member's husband, who was forced to leave the community.....
I found this to be a good read rather than a great one - the storyline and characters were, for me, a bit two-dimensional and stereotypical. Having said that, I enjoyed the story overall but was a bit annoyed to be left to wonder what had happened to some of the characters at the end - 8/10.
Many years later, Simone is a successful photographer and has a daughter, Quinn, who has synaesthesia but is separated from Quinn's father. Out of the blue, Simone receives an email from Arjun, asking for her professional help. Arjun is now leader of Meadowlark - a community set up to bring out the best in the members' children. Arjun's wife is a former child TV star who abandoned stardom and her controlling mother.
When Simone arrives at Meadowlark with her daughter, Quinn, she little realises that the community is in a stand-off with the authorities over an allegation of child abuse brought by a member's husband, who was forced to leave the community.....
I found this to be a good read rather than a great one - the storyline and characters were, for me, a bit two-dimensional and stereotypical. Having said that, I enjoyed the story overall but was a bit annoyed to be left to wonder what had happened to some of the characters at the end - 8/10.
May 7, 2020
Sold as general fiction or literary fiction, this is a middling book that promises much but somehow fails to deliver a satisfactory ending.
The story begins with introducing us to Simrin, who now goes by the name of Simone, a woman brought up in the midst of a cult that she escaped when she was 15 years old. Now a successful photographer who makes her living creating photo-journalism pieces that have gained a great deal of popularity via social media, Simrin receives an email from a fellow escapee Arjun, who himself once held an almost mystical sway over the other devotees at the compound until he escaped with Simrin, no longer sure of his place or beliefs as had been taught to him his whole life. Arjun invites Simrin to come and see the group he was now created on his own in which the belief is that children have special powers that can be best accessed and developed if they are allowed to live freely, away from the confines of modern-day society, a group that is under current police investigation for allegations of child abuse. Arjun wants Simrin to make the case for his group that they are doing nothing wrong and turn the tables on the current belief that his group is a cult and that they are indeed guilty of all manner of wrongdoings. Simrin finds herself unable to resist the call of Arjun, just as she had when she was part of the cult and defies the needs of her own daughter, who has her own special abilities, and travels out to where Arjun has created a group of around 18 families who all hold to the ideas that he sells of children having special abilities. We are then taken through the plot in which past and current episodes are unravelled and the reader is left to decide what is right, wrong or indifferent. Truths are exposed and Arjun's wife and children are pulled into the mystery and Simrin is left to wonder what is really going on but is unable to ignore the reality and recognise that something is terribly wrong with the whole situation.
This novel promised so much. Anything to do with cults and people seemingly giving up their own ability to choose for themselves in deference of ceding their own power to the will of another is always fascinating. But this book fails to really draw the urgency of the situation, fails to make Arjun seem secretly sinister, his overall plans never revealed until the end when it seems as if it is just done for the ending of the novel rather than an important part of the story. It just didn’t feel like one was sitting on the edge of a knife whilst reading this story. It felt bland and empty. It did go into wonderful detail as to the cult that Simrin and Arjun had grown up in well, but it didn’t create enough threads between the past and the present to make the reader realise that the same sinister thread was woven between the two stories.
The character of Arjun was lacking the viciousness or the cunning that one often associates with cult leaders, with his ultimate plan only being revealed in the final few chapters when the rest of the story he had been pained as a normal guy. It didn’t give the reader the chance to see behind the scenes to understand that he wasn’t to be trusted, that he was the ultimate evil to be wary of. Simrin appears a little too gullible and her refusal to live in the real world even after fifteen years out of the cult seemed off, perhaps a little too forced. Simrin's daughter Quinn is as fascinating as a five-year-old can be and was a missed opportunity by the author to make the most of an interesting thread in the story. Another interesting backstory is that of Cassie / Bethany, who is Arjun's wife and mother of three. She has been a Hollywood child star in her past, where abuse was rife, and she has tried to ‘go to ground’ to avoid any interest in her life so as to be invisible as an adult. The ultimate betrayal she endures is truly painful.
This is a story that tried to bring the focus of what pulls people into cults and the devastating effects upon a person both within and outside of the group. It tries to be powerful and dark but doesn’t fully succeed. It isn’t a bad book, it just promised so much more that it didn’t deliver upon. It just wasn’t the psychological thriller that was expected.
The story begins with introducing us to Simrin, who now goes by the name of Simone, a woman brought up in the midst of a cult that she escaped when she was 15 years old. Now a successful photographer who makes her living creating photo-journalism pieces that have gained a great deal of popularity via social media, Simrin receives an email from a fellow escapee Arjun, who himself once held an almost mystical sway over the other devotees at the compound until he escaped with Simrin, no longer sure of his place or beliefs as had been taught to him his whole life. Arjun invites Simrin to come and see the group he was now created on his own in which the belief is that children have special powers that can be best accessed and developed if they are allowed to live freely, away from the confines of modern-day society, a group that is under current police investigation for allegations of child abuse. Arjun wants Simrin to make the case for his group that they are doing nothing wrong and turn the tables on the current belief that his group is a cult and that they are indeed guilty of all manner of wrongdoings. Simrin finds herself unable to resist the call of Arjun, just as she had when she was part of the cult and defies the needs of her own daughter, who has her own special abilities, and travels out to where Arjun has created a group of around 18 families who all hold to the ideas that he sells of children having special abilities. We are then taken through the plot in which past and current episodes are unravelled and the reader is left to decide what is right, wrong or indifferent. Truths are exposed and Arjun's wife and children are pulled into the mystery and Simrin is left to wonder what is really going on but is unable to ignore the reality and recognise that something is terribly wrong with the whole situation.
This novel promised so much. Anything to do with cults and people seemingly giving up their own ability to choose for themselves in deference of ceding their own power to the will of another is always fascinating. But this book fails to really draw the urgency of the situation, fails to make Arjun seem secretly sinister, his overall plans never revealed until the end when it seems as if it is just done for the ending of the novel rather than an important part of the story. It just didn’t feel like one was sitting on the edge of a knife whilst reading this story. It felt bland and empty. It did go into wonderful detail as to the cult that Simrin and Arjun had grown up in well, but it didn’t create enough threads between the past and the present to make the reader realise that the same sinister thread was woven between the two stories.
The character of Arjun was lacking the viciousness or the cunning that one often associates with cult leaders, with his ultimate plan only being revealed in the final few chapters when the rest of the story he had been pained as a normal guy. It didn’t give the reader the chance to see behind the scenes to understand that he wasn’t to be trusted, that he was the ultimate evil to be wary of. Simrin appears a little too gullible and her refusal to live in the real world even after fifteen years out of the cult seemed off, perhaps a little too forced. Simrin's daughter Quinn is as fascinating as a five-year-old can be and was a missed opportunity by the author to make the most of an interesting thread in the story. Another interesting backstory is that of Cassie / Bethany, who is Arjun's wife and mother of three. She has been a Hollywood child star in her past, where abuse was rife, and she has tried to ‘go to ground’ to avoid any interest in her life so as to be invisible as an adult. The ultimate betrayal she endures is truly painful.
This is a story that tried to bring the focus of what pulls people into cults and the devastating effects upon a person both within and outside of the group. It tries to be powerful and dark but doesn’t fully succeed. It isn’t a bad book, it just promised so much more that it didn’t deliver upon. It just wasn’t the psychological thriller that was expected.
May 21, 2020
“‘Swimmy’ he said, and behind her eyes, the burst of opalescent confetti. She had forgotten. Only his voice, only that word - the shimmery splinters of pearl covering her vision. He had said it often, just to let her see the shimmer, to enjoy the flash of pleasure. And then after, made her describe it, made her try to dissect the magic her brain was constructing, both awed and sullen at his own inability.”
Simrin and her daughter Quinn take a road trip to Fort Bragg in Simrin’s effort to keep up with her newly-popular photography blog. Then Simrin gets an email from a ghost of her past, Arjun, who grew up with her at Ananda, the Hinduist cult they escaped from as teenagers. Arjun founded his own commune and is receiving negative media attention because of a domestic dispute. He hopes Simrin’s photography skills can prevent further negative publicity...or does he?
I was NOT expecting this novel to be sooooo entertaining. You have a Hinduist cult mixed with a children’s commune tied together with a dash of sex. What more can you want? I devoured this book and had to force myself to put it down so as to not finish the book in one sitting.
You get thrown into this story just as much as the characters - this is one of the few books that I’ve audibly gasped at while reading. While it may be a tad predictable or move a little slowly at times, it most definitely redeems itself in the character dialogue and development.
Abrams does a masterful job of symbolizing religion in this novel as well. Even communities that converge with a mission of hope, love, and peace can be destroyed when one person believes they are above others. I really enjoyed the small meditation mantras woven throughout the story and how it affects the characters’ reactions and thoughts.
The only thing I wish had been different was the ending. It seemed a little misplaced and rushed, but sewed things together nicely for the most part. I hate the minor obsession Quinn develops with Arjun, but I guess it only makes sense.
April 22, 2020
A terrific read!!
April 12, 2020
An absorbing read
A most interesting novel. Told from the viewpoint of each of its main characters Melanie Abrams delves into the lives and thoughts of the children who inhabit the perfect world in the eyes of their parents. Is it paradise or is it prison? This is the dilemma to be faced by each as they start to think for themselves.
I found myself completely caught up in the way that the novel progressed. I look forward to reading more from this author.
A most interesting novel. Told from the viewpoint of each of its main characters Melanie Abrams delves into the lives and thoughts of the children who inhabit the perfect world in the eyes of their parents. Is it paradise or is it prison? This is the dilemma to be faced by each as they start to think for themselves.
I found myself completely caught up in the way that the novel progressed. I look forward to reading more from this author.
April 8, 2020
Such a great read. A beautifully written and highly addictive story about kids who grew up in a cult and the repercussions that unfold in their adulthood. Loved it – highly recommend.
October 5, 2020
A slim novel and a quick read, the plot was well developed and worked well with the characters. More fresh and original than expected, I enjoyed this title.
April 19, 2020
I found this to be an enjoyable read. The first and last third kept me hooked. I found the middle section plodded along a bit but it began to pick up pace again and I couldn’t put it down for the last 80 pages or so. I liked reading the story from different characters’ perspectives, each taking it in turn to move the story along. 3.5 stars ⭐️
April 7, 2020
This story is mostly told by the protagonist as she reflects on her past and deals with difficulties in the present. However, it moves in and out of first person narrative as Simone, or Simrin, as she was called at the Ashram where she spent much of her childhood, begins to lose control of her narrative. I enjoyed this work partly because it's an interesting, thoughtful, and, as far as I can tell, well researched tale of a very different kind of upbringing to my own, and because it is well written. I will seek out other works by this author. In case you are interested, it was categorised as 'literary' by Amazon. I'm not sure what their criteria are.
April 9, 2020
I love Melanie Abrams’s work—it is so edgy with such measured, cool, and artful prose. She is an artist for our time.
July 4, 2020
A very easy, enjoyable read that struggles in the final third.
Cults, parenthood and the hangovers of a stifled upbringing are the strongest elements explored by Melanie Abrams here. She does (what feels like) an authentic job of tracking the good intentions of alternative community living spooling out into the dawning realities of its pitfalls.
The pressure of a parent on the tiny choices they make for their child are carefully explored, especially with children who may be susceptible to different environments. Particularly perceptive is the focus on parents whose own issues may influence their children and by reacting against their own childhood, what additional problems might that cause? It's not a central plot point but something that stood out.
The role of photography, revealing truth and 'going viral' were very weak. It becomes the crux of the narrative which might have been workable but it's described with hardlyany detail, just broadbrush 'oh this will go viral in 15 minutes' or that some photos of some happy children might exonerate a criminal enquiry into child abuse! The end of the novel is ludicrous and has a character spiral out of control in such a slapdash finish.
Lots of the narration comes from very young female children that completely misunderstands the worldliness and means of storytelling that they would be capable of as a 6 or 13 year olds. Slightly out of Abrams experience it would suggest. This would be fairly harmless but again they affect key aspects to the resolution. If this is the case, it must be more credible and purposeful. It all becomes a little carried away, but not in a good way.
A fine airport style read with some compelling themes and plenty of intrigue. It fails in some aspects of plausibility towards the denouement and therefore a loss of interest combined with some inexperienced authorship producing inauthentic character choices. Much better when building a story that combining and concluding ideas and characters.
Cults, parenthood and the hangovers of a stifled upbringing are the strongest elements explored by Melanie Abrams here. She does (what feels like) an authentic job of tracking the good intentions of alternative community living spooling out into the dawning realities of its pitfalls.
The pressure of a parent on the tiny choices they make for their child are carefully explored, especially with children who may be susceptible to different environments. Particularly perceptive is the focus on parents whose own issues may influence their children and by reacting against their own childhood, what additional problems might that cause? It's not a central plot point but something that stood out.
The role of photography, revealing truth and 'going viral' were very weak. It becomes the crux of the narrative which might have been workable but it's described with hardlyany detail, just broadbrush 'oh this will go viral in 15 minutes' or that some photos of some happy children might exonerate a criminal enquiry into child abuse! The end of the novel is ludicrous and has a character spiral out of control in such a slapdash finish.
Lots of the narration comes from very young female children that completely misunderstands the worldliness and means of storytelling that they would be capable of as a 6 or 13 year olds. Slightly out of Abrams experience it would suggest. This would be fairly harmless but again they affect key aspects to the resolution. If this is the case, it must be more credible and purposeful. It all becomes a little carried away, but not in a good way.
A fine airport style read with some compelling themes and plenty of intrigue. It fails in some aspects of plausibility towards the denouement and therefore a loss of interest combined with some inexperienced authorship producing inauthentic character choices. Much better when building a story that combining and concluding ideas and characters.
April 10, 2020
I got this book as a pre release from amazon prime, I’m normally a super fast reader but this took me a few days because i just didn’t enjoy a bit of it. The writing put me off, the narration of all the characters and the overall story line.
All of the characters were annoying and completely unlikeable with no redeeming features. I only carried on reading until the end incase there was some kind of twist at the end that would make the book worth while, but there really wasn’t.
I tried so hard to like this book but if anything it just irritated me and left me feeling profoundly annoyed that I’d wasted three days of my life reading it.
All of the characters were annoying and completely unlikeable with no redeeming features. I only carried on reading until the end incase there was some kind of twist at the end that would make the book worth while, but there really wasn’t.
I tried so hard to like this book but if anything it just irritated me and left me feeling profoundly annoyed that I’d wasted three days of my life reading it.
August 10, 2020
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and thought it was going to be a 4* read exploring cults, femininity, and power. Whilst this book did have some wonderfully intriguing characters, a great writing style and a plot that I was hooked on, the ending just fell flat, hence my rating of 3*, not 4. I just hoped the threat of the cult and the leader's sinister nature would come more to fruition at the end, but nothing really stepped up at all.
June 4, 2020
"Meadowlark" started out rather strong in my opinion, but then it started to be rushed and too slow at the same time.
The whole situation escalated really quickly after a rather slow and character-driven start and it just felt rather exaggerated and forced towards the end.
The whole situation escalated really quickly after a rather slow and character-driven start and it just felt rather exaggerated and forced towards the end.
June 22, 2020
Simrin and Arjun are old friends, connected by the childhood they spent in the cloistered, cult-like commune Ananda. But a complicated escape attempt sent Simrin into the free world and Arjun back to Ananda, where the other residents’ reverence grew to a new and dangerous intensity. Decades later, Simrin--now Simone, with a child of her own--is surprised by how excited she is when she receives a message from Arjun, asking for her help. He is the head of a new community called Meadowlark, a group convinced that their children are remarkable--and that they can reach new levels of consciousness and success if given total freedom to do so. There are people, however, accusing Meadowlark adults of terrible crimes, and police are at the gate. Simrin agrees to help but isn’t sure what to believe. Arjun’s wife, Bethany, has her own reasons to fear the controversy--and Simrin. These women’s lives are about to collide, putting everything they love most at risk.
Meadowlark is a page-turning, gripping story about both the wonder of childhood and the adults who both envy and exploit it. Arjun’s attempts to access the children’s “gifts” are both pathetic and profound, calling into question what potential lies untapped and who has the authority, or the ability, to search for it. If there are no limits, how far might a child go? Who gets to say what “gifts” are worthwhile? And, more troubling--if there is no oversight, who will say 'enough'?
***Review originally written for the City Book Review. I received a free ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.***
Meadowlark is a page-turning, gripping story about both the wonder of childhood and the adults who both envy and exploit it. Arjun’s attempts to access the children’s “gifts” are both pathetic and profound, calling into question what potential lies untapped and who has the authority, or the ability, to search for it. If there are no limits, how far might a child go? Who gets to say what “gifts” are worthwhile? And, more troubling--if there is no oversight, who will say 'enough'?
***Review originally written for the City Book Review. I received a free ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.***
June 24, 2020
The blurb intrigued me. Simrin, a teenage girl is helped to escape from a cult, Ananda, by the cults own idolised boy, Arjun. Being the first to be born there he carries and nurtures some authority and power. Years later Arjun contacts Simrin who is now a mother and successful photojournalist, requesting that she comes and captures life in the new commune he has created. Meadowlark. Meadowlark is a safe community where parents allow their children to be free and discover their gifts themselves. It is the opposite to Ananda. Apparently.
The story is intriguing enough to make this a good read but I felt this book lacked pace in the first two thirds of the story, although made up for that in the final third. The introduction of other narrators to the story added great inside viewpoints but overall all the characters were missing some depth. However, the lure to understand life in a cult and a commune alongside the interesting revelations were enough to keep the pages turning.
The story is intriguing enough to make this a good read but I felt this book lacked pace in the first two thirds of the story, although made up for that in the final third. The introduction of other narrators to the story added great inside viewpoints but overall all the characters were missing some depth. However, the lure to understand life in a cult and a commune alongside the interesting revelations were enough to keep the pages turning.
April 28, 2020
Simone and Arjun grew up together in a cult and both left. Simone, known as Simrin on the compound, has found a life outside and has a daughter. Arjun, however, has become the leader of Meadowlark, a cult which is focused on children. Simone (unwisely you'll likely think) goes, at his request, to visit and finds more than she expected. Told from her point of view, as well as from others, this is a tale that will resonate with those interested in how minds can be formed and manipulated. The criminal investigation of Meadowlark only touches the surface of the problem - what happens when one is a child stays through adulthood. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. You, like me, might read this with a growing sense of horror. For fans of literary fiction.
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November 16, 2020This was totally riveting, and I sped right through it. If you like plot-driven narratives that also feature thoughtful characters, and/or stories about cults (and the ways in which some things are cultish that we might not think of as cultish), and/or writing that’s smart without being self-congratulatory and cinematic without being cheesy, for sure check this out. It feels current but also fresh—a story that’s wholly its own instead of derivative for marketing purposes. Brb, off to get my hands on the author’s previous book.
April 14, 2020
If you liked The Girls, you'll love Meadowlark. I love books about alternative living communities and this book does not disappoint. Tense, gripping, heart-breaking and satisfying, Melanie Abrams is a writer to watch. Can't wait for her next book!
May 1, 2020
Interesting read
An immersive read about the relationship between mother and daughter competing against childhood indoctrination. Not my normal read but I'm glad I persevered to the end.
An immersive read about the relationship between mother and daughter competing against childhood indoctrination. Not my normal read but I'm glad I persevered to the end.
July 6, 2020
I wasn't sure what to expect when I picked this book up but I was gripped from the beginning.
I think I held my breath for the last hour of reading! I had to stop myself rushing to find out what happened, I didn't want it to end.
A great story, believable characters, beautifully written
I think I held my breath for the last hour of reading! I had to stop myself rushing to find out what happened, I didn't want it to end.
A great story, believable characters, beautifully written
September 17, 2025
It was aite. I couldn’t get attached to any of the characters but the premise was what got me started on this book.
April 12, 2020
This kept my interest, the subject matter was different to anything I'd read before. Ebook was free with kindle first.
February 20, 2021
3.5/5
This was a wild ride! The characters are fleshed out beautifully, and Simran and Quinn made it difficult for me to put the book down. Photography, parenthood, spiritual homes, and the pressure of being special as a child - these are some elements explored in the story. The ending does fall a bit flat, and had quite a dramatic end play out for one of the characters. This was the first book I read which talks about a cult, and it is definitely one genre I'd like to read more of.
This was a wild ride! The characters are fleshed out beautifully, and Simran and Quinn made it difficult for me to put the book down. Photography, parenthood, spiritual homes, and the pressure of being special as a child - these are some elements explored in the story. The ending does fall a bit flat, and had quite a dramatic end play out for one of the characters. This was the first book I read which talks about a cult, and it is definitely one genre I'd like to read more of.
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