Set in the 1990's, Those Who Prey follows Emily, a shy girl who finds that going to college in Boston isn't quite what she expected it to be. Emily feels very lonely at college, she hasn't found her place or any real friends. Then, she is found by a group called The Kingdom. The Kingdom provides her with friends and a purpose and suddenly she doesn't feel quite so alone. Emily begins to dedicate all her time to the Kingdom, skipping classes and even volunteering to go on a mission trip to Italy.
However, things take a dark turn when the trip isn't what Emily thought it would be. She is stripped of her passport and money and cut off from her family back home. The Kingdom's practises become increasingly manipulative and dangerous and Emily realises that she needs to get out as soon as she can.
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Since studying sociology in school, i've always had a morbid fascination with cults and how they recruit their members. So when I heard about this book, I was instantly intrigued. I've never read any YA novel about this topic before.
I found the first section of this book really interesting. I could feel Emily slowly getting drawn into the cult and it kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time. I kept hoping that she would realise that this was bad and get out, but obviously this didn't happen.
The chapter headings in this book also added a lot to the story, in my opinion. They give you real insight into how the cult was drawing in and manipulating its members. It made Emily's experience even more disturbing and chilling to read.
One thing that really stood out to me in this book was the main character, Emily. I felt like I really understood her thoughts and motives. It made it easy to understand why she would get drawn in to such a fanatical group and be willing to leave behind everything for them.
There is also a section near the end of this book that deals with the healing process after getting out of a cult. This part was something I really enjoyed reading about and it was great to see the characters finally overcome the long-lasting control that the group had over them.
This book is also really thrilling! Throughout the book you never know who you can trust! Every character seems to have dark secrets and it kept me intrigued until the very end.
However, one problem I had with this book was that there were lots of things that were left unresolved at the end. I was left with quite a lot of questions that I think should have been answered in this book. I think the ending was a little bit rushed and some things could have been rounded off a little better.
Overall, if you have any interest in cults and how people end up joining them then I think you will definitely enjoy this book. This book definitely explores this difficult topic in a realistic and interesting way and it will keep you hooked throughout.
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If you've read this book, let me know what you thought of it! And let me know if you've read anything similar to this!
*thank you to simon & schuster for providing me with an eARC of this book. In no way does this affect my ability to give my honest opinion on the book*
