Where We Are

by Alison McGhee

From New York Times bestselling author Alison McGhee comes a stunning and heartbreaking story of two teens who fight to reunite when one of them is caught in the web of a sinister cult.

Micah and Sesame are true best friends. They safeguard each other’s secrets and share their dreams. Micah wants to save his parents from the cult leader who calls himself “the Prophet.” Sesame recently lost the last of her own family—her grandmother—and plans to keep a low profile until she turns eighteen to avoid foster care. Together, they never doubt they can build the futures they want.

Until Micah disappears. The Prophet has taken Micah, his parents, and the rest of his followers underground. And trying to take on the Prophet in isolation, surrounded by his followers, proves to be a dangerous mistake that leaves Micah hopeless and at the Prophet’s mercy.

Sesame, left alone, is wracked with fear over what could be happening to Micah. Never before have the two of them been so far apart—or needed each other more. But their faith in each other never wavers, and that may just be enough to save them both.

Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary, Audiobook, Fiction, Young Adult Contemporary

272 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2020

About the author

Alison McGhee writes novels, picture books, poems, and essays for all ages, including the just-published THE OPPOSITE OF FATE, a novel, and the #1 NEW YORK TIMES bestseller SOMEDAY, illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds. Her work has been translated into more than 20 languages. She lives in Minneapolis and California.

Reviews

[Lisaaa · Rating 2 out of 5]

2,5 Stars :Unfortunately, the book didn't really captivate me and the story dragged on quite a bit.

[Elizabeth Reed · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book had so much potential but instead was the most uneventful and boring cult book you could ever find. 253 pages of waiting for something to happen (it never does).

[Peyton (Taylor’s Version) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Moral of the story kids, don’t join cults! Unless it’s the Darkana (the darkling x prarthana)

[frannie.qb · Rating 3 out of 5]

I must say that - considering how this is a story about a cult - this book was quite boring and uneventful.

My main complaint is the lack of depth or characterization of the cult. Micah is "kidnapped" with his parents (who are complying "volountarily") by the prophet and brought to the South Compound.
They all wear white, they cut their hair, they gave all their money away, they're forbidden to have any contacts with the outside world... oh, sometimes they say bless the child. Same old story, nothing you couldn't find scrolling for 5 minutes a wikipedia page.
Cult leaders are supposed to be complicated, charismatic people with (undoubtedly) a few marbles missing here and there who can charm and gather a bunch of people and turn them into (not really but kind of) mindless followers. And there was absolutely none of that here. It wasn't believable.

Besides, didn't Micah sound a bit too childish for a 17 years old? Like.. in this day and age, how do you not recognize a cult and take it a bit more seriously?

On the plus side, I think his voice was top notch. The farther you go, the more he's repeating things over and over again, as if trying to keep his grip on reality while slowly losing your sanity - which is what I think would happen if you were being brainwashed and made to repeat the same chores over and over again in a very hostile environment. Maybe the decline happened a bit too fast, but still impressive.

The rest was: "oh, okay, that's good I guess". I liked Sesame, her best friends and the Jameses. Nothing blew my mind away and the conclusion was a bit too sudden and easy (because I mean, really? The potato??! -.-") but it was okay, it flowed well and the audiobook was nice to listen to - the narrators did a good job!


If you're here because you want to read a YA about an orphan girl who's trying to find her boyfriend on her own, this definitely might be for you! She offers a different perspective on things and has a unique passion and the Jameses are the sweetest (I always say you gotta have some gay characters in a story, always!!!).
If you're here for the cults... maybe you might want to keep on searching!

[msgotabookforeverysituation · Rating 2 out of 5]

this book was a very easy and quick read, i literally just flew through it

the focus on the cult topic was lowkey surprising bc the blurb on the back didn't say anything about it

for context: micah's parents are part of a cult and they kind of "kidnap" them and sesame, his gf, tries to find him
and listen, the cult and the struggles with it were SO well done omg, it was genuinely interesting and felt realistic??

SESAME AND MICAH ARE SO ADORABLE SHUT UP THEY ARE SO COUPLE GOALS!! no be their love is so pure and genuine, crying

however this book just wasn't that life changing to me, like it was fun, it was easy, it was relatable sometimes but it wasn't overly special yk

[Britt, Book Habitue · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars
The fact that the same writer crafted this AND Bink and Gollie (and many many others) says some amazing things about Alison McGhee.
This is definitely an older teen read (language warning!) but it is an incredible tale of how love and reaching out and asking for help can keep us all going.

[Hanna Braun · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ich gebe dem Buch nur 2 Sterne, weil es mir zu wenige Plot Twists gab. Es waren insgesamt 26 Kapitel und erst bei Kapitel 23 oder 24 habe ich ein Gefühl gespürt. Die 22 Kapitel davor ist immer das gleiche passiert und es gab nur ganz kleine interessante Details. Insgesamt hat mir das Buch eher nicht gefallen.

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wish this was more about HOW Micah’s parents got drawn into the cult.
Micah was portrayed as a smart observant kid-but to go along with the cult seemed very out if character and hard to believe.
I thought the constant references to places in Minneapolis was iff putting as it only means something to folks that know the area. I find this method distracting in any book. Too way to much time name dropping local haunts and artists…
I was more interested in just HOW a 16 year old girl could be left on her own after her parent dies… I found it unbelievable that there would be no welfare checks and she’d be left alone fir 2 years!!
She spends so much time searching and living in abandoned places in a big city without even once talking about a dangerous situation that would most definitely occur if this is how and where you lived.
I am not a fan of teen books that focus SO much on the idea of undying live between 2 teens. What it usually means is the teens involved are extremely lonely and lived starved in every way.
The idea if not asking for help IS very relatable though.
I did like the way the author described the feeling if wanting-
“There was a wall of want in the air between us. The closer we stood, the thicker it got and the harder it was to talk around it. Sometimes when you were near me I felt the air itself was trembling.” These thoughts and feelings resonated with me. Remember back to those first crushes, boy/girl friends and those weird butterfly feelings…well written overall but too long and wish it would have more about the lead up than the actual searching.

[Steph · Rating 4 out of 5]

Went into this expecting a middle grade story, and instead found myself reading an intense young adult novel - a difficult and flawed and beautiful journey.

“I mean, forbid someone to do what they love most to do? That’s when all the sirens in the world should go off at once.”

Warm.
Winter.
Snow.
You.
Remember?

It’s because no one stood up to him.

- - - - -

“When you come back from a different world, even if that different world is somewhere not far away, you are not the person you used to be.”

[Gracie McCoy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this book up at my local library on a whim simply because I have been more interested in Cults here recently and the psychology behind them. This book is a story about two best friends who are trying to reunite, but one of them is trapped in a cult. The Prophet takes Micah and his other followers underground. This story gave a twist on the understanding of cults and a lot of the psychological wounds that they leave behind. I personally enjoyed this book and it was a good story of friendship, but at times I felt that it was too kiddish for a real understanding of cults as a whole.

[Holly Ristau · Rating 4 out of 5]

What an intense read! I literally had to put it down and look away for a bit just to lower the anxiety level. This book is well-written with likeable, believable characters. It's a fast read with a rather abrupt ending, but I still would recommend. There was one highly unlikely aspect of the book that made this story less than plausible, but the tension of the story was so powerful, this reader just breezed past that part of the story and raced to read to see what would happen next.

[Samantha · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 - good story overall. There were many spots I felt like the author had googled Minneapolis facts or maps to aid in the writing. As someone who lives in the neighbourhoods she was describing, it felt a little too much, too unreal? Too many details on the street names/intersections took me out of the story at times.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was written really well!!

[Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.75 stars.
Why am I so into books with cults in them?

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reviewed in the January/February 2021 issue of Horn Book

[K · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was AMAZING. The writing was so poetic, and beautiful, and the plot was interesting, unique, and gripping. The characters were well thought-out, with good character development.

[Josh Newhouse · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was solid but it hit a bump about halfway through and slowed to a crawl... then it ended... I liked it overall.

[Tara · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick read for reluctant readers with alternating points of view. There are more interesting books about teens and cults than this one.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Guilty pleasure read.

[Jennifer]

YA- cult- girl lives alone-boyfriend and parents trapped in cult- did not like- slow moving

[Sophie Harmon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really want to give this five stars, but it lags in the middle and it gets repetitive. Despite this, I really enjoyed it.

[mw4h_0 · Rating 2 out of 5]

I haven't read the book, i can't finish it ,it's just so boring! I'm sorry Alison, I'm sure your other art is amazing !

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

Spoiler-Free Blurb: A closed off girl (Sesame) who uses poetry as band-aids is desperate to locate her best friend (Micah) after he is taken by a cult his family joined.

This young adult contemporary fiction is fast-paced, easy to read, and will have you desperately turning the pages to find Micha. While this plot revolves around a cult, it is not a thriller. It realistically shows how regular and innocent people can be brainwashed and follow a complete stranger into a new and potentially dangerous environment. It also shows through Sesame's point of view what can be done when on the opposite side of it. Through a dual POV you see the different side affects of stress and the many ways they cope through their journeys of survival, hope, loss, and love.

While this book was interesting and kept me on my toes, I did find a lot of Sesame's POV to be a bit dragged out and repetitive. I would have been far more interested in a single POV of Micah. I originally had it in my mind to give this book 4 stars, however, I felt slightly robbed by the end of it.

I would recommend this book to readers who like character-driven stories, who are not big fans of thrillers but still enjoy realistic crime, like young adult writing styles, and get a kick out of psychologically analyzing characters.

This book is thought provoking and may unhinge emotions.

[Kiana Reid · Rating 3 out of 5]

(3.5 stars)
A very interesting book, the concept, the execution, the characters.

[IReadIguess · Rating 1 out of 5]

Boring

[vickie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sehr fesselt, allerdings mag ich das Ende nicht, weil dann aufeinmal die ganze Spannung weg fällt.