A graphic novel about a little girl and her time in a cult. Pretty good until the last part.

I am always interested in books about cults, be them written only or like this a graphic novel. So when I saw this one on Comics Plus I immediately went to read it when I had a chance.

Meet Amy Rose, a girl who has led a pretty normal life until the day that her dad takes her, her sisters, and her mom to a temple. We see that the dad is trying to get together again with his family, but we also see that things are falling apart. The teachings at this temple are all about aliens. Gandhi is an alien. Star Trek is definitely real. Meteors/comets are bad omens and as indeed happens coincidentally (or not so given that we know how cults go) something happens at another compound nearby. The leader is a total manipulative person and knows just how to wiggle her words to isolate the mother. It was heart-breaking to see the family fall apart. To see mom be more and more isolated and also more sick. To see the girl turn out more and more alone. See her have to do every chore possible. It wasn’t the easiest read and I just wanted to reach out and get the girl out of there. She needs a warm home. A safe home. Not this place that lies, betrays, and doesn’t care about her. I was so proud of her that even when things got tough she tried to stay upright. She tried going into the leader’s room (which is the library as well) and try to figure out the truth. Fill her brain with the right information, weaponize herself with facts and truth. She was so brave and I was just rooting for her. Though also fearing for her because the leader is not one to be messed with (as you can already see on the cover).

A lot of things happen through her time at the temple, you will have to read what happens there.

Sadly, the last part of the book is rushed.  I thought when THAT happened that we would go into a new part, but instead this last bit is just a couple of pages long. I would have liked to see much more. See her grow up (and not rushed), maybe meet her mom/get to say her goodbyes, she hasn’t seen her dad in many many years so I found it odd that she was so comfortable being around him with what for us readers seems instantly, what happened to the couple that took her in for a while and she almost called mom/dad? Did the cult ever stop? I got so many questions. While I appreciate that the cult parts are so detailed, I would have liked the same care to be applied at the aftermath.

The art was just gorgeous and I loved it.

But despite the rushed ending/last part, I am still happy I read this book and I am glad I found it through Comics Plus or I would have missed it.