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alicebme's review against another edition
3.0
Quick read. Purchased at Powells during our tenth anniversary splurge. Reminded me of creepy ass Chrysalis I went to on a dare in high school. Religion is scary. All of it. This is my opinion, not the author's. She actually did a good job balancing regular lazy ass religious people and overzealous cult members. Don't comment on this. It's not worth it.
ravensbuttons's review against another edition
3.0
Dorry leaves her small town and moves to the big city because her father was laid off from his job. She is completely alone. No one seems to acknowledge her existence at her new high school, and she is ignored and insulted when she tries to approach other teens.
No one bothers to get to know her, except for a tight-knit group of kids who call themselves "Fishers." They invite her to sit with them at lunch and then invite her to their church activities. They shower her with love and acceptance and call her "friend." Dorry is so happy to have some friends, so she doesn't mind that they are a little odd. She tries to not feel uncomfortable when they pray over their food at school and tries to ignore the fact that they constantly talk about religion.
Eventually, Dorry finds herself at a Fishers retreat, where, she is "willingly" baptized. Being a Fisher, she suddenly has to accomplish a number of tasks, follow rules, and she feels guilty if she can't live up to the Fishers' expectations.
She starts to alienate her family, her grades flounder, and she has to consider the cost of what pleasing the Fishers and God really means.
My Thoughts
This book does an excellent job at portraying an insecure teenager's probable reaction to acceptance, and in this instance, an acceptance of a cult. I've studied a little about cult psychology, and I could see it in this group, portrayed by Haddix, quite well.
The groupthink, the guilt, the love bombing are all there. It hit a little close to home with me. Especially the part where Dorry goes to the Fishers retreat. Some of the scenes remind me of my own personal experiences attending religious camps as a youth. Particularly the hyper-emotional campfire testimonies and discussions and the guilt associated with saying "yes" and "no" to certain religious questions and activities.
There is also a part where her love interest basically tells her that he will only date fellow Fishers (a very manipulative scene after Dorry leaves), and I know so many that join a religion just to be able to date or be with someone who won't accept them for who they are.
Overall, I'd recommend it to those interested in cult acceptance, recruitment, and groupthink. I wish the book touched a little more on moving on after leaving Fishers, as I think that the process of leaving can be rather difficult, and I feel like that part of the book was a little rushed.
No one bothers to get to know her, except for a tight-knit group of kids who call themselves "Fishers." They invite her to sit with them at lunch and then invite her to their church activities. They shower her with love and acceptance and call her "friend." Dorry is so happy to have some friends, so she doesn't mind that they are a little odd. She tries to not feel uncomfortable when they pray over their food at school and tries to ignore the fact that they constantly talk about religion.
Eventually, Dorry finds herself at a Fishers retreat, where, she is "willingly" baptized. Being a Fisher, she suddenly has to accomplish a number of tasks, follow rules, and she feels guilty if she can't live up to the Fishers' expectations.
She starts to alienate her family, her grades flounder, and she has to consider the cost of what pleasing the Fishers and God really means.
My Thoughts
This book does an excellent job at portraying an insecure teenager's probable reaction to acceptance, and in this instance, an acceptance of a cult. I've studied a little about cult psychology, and I could see it in this group, portrayed by Haddix, quite well.
The groupthink, the guilt, the love bombing are all there. It hit a little close to home with me. Especially the part where Dorry goes to the Fishers retreat. Some of the scenes remind me of my own personal experiences attending religious camps as a youth. Particularly the hyper-emotional campfire testimonies and discussions and the guilt associated with saying "yes" and "no" to certain religious questions and activities.
There is also a part where her love interest basically tells her that he will only date fellow Fishers (a very manipulative scene after Dorry leaves), and I know so many that join a religion just to be able to date or be with someone who won't accept them for who they are.
Overall, I'd recommend it to those interested in cult acceptance, recruitment, and groupthink. I wish the book touched a little more on moving on after leaving Fishers, as I think that the process of leaving can be rather difficult, and I feel like that part of the book was a little rushed.
ghoulbunny's review against another edition
challenging
dark
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
stephaniereads9b0f8's review against another edition
5.0
MPH is a fantastic author, and this is a great book. A girl is lost and alone after moving to a new town, and a Christian cult takes her in...
emmadstanden's review against another edition
3.0
wow if anyone is troubled about "god" don't go this way!
ajsterkel's review against another edition
3.0
I’m always searching for well-researched fiction about religious abuse, so when a fellow book blogger recommended Leaving Fishers to me, I immediately tracked down a copy.
The main character, Dorry, moves from a rural town to the city. She’s lonely in her new high school until she meets a group of kids who call themselves the Fishers of Men. They all attend the same church. Eager to fit in, Dorry quickly joins their church and makes a bunch of new friends, but soon her friends’ demands become overwhelming. They want her to spend all of her time with them. They punish her for her “sins” and convince her to give her college savings to their church. Dorry feels like she’s losing control of her life and decides to leave the Fishers. (That’s not a spoiler. Look at the title.) But, leaving isn’t as easy as it seems.
The research in this book is on-point. I have read a lot of nonfiction about cults and religious extremism, so I have a fairly good understanding of how these things work. Leaving Fishers follows the cult-initiation “script” so closely that I could almost predict what would happen next in the story. That might sound like a bad thing, but it isn’t. I love that the author actually did her research. So many authors don’t. They just repeat stereotypes and misinformation.
Unfortunately, the research is the only thing I love about the book. The writing is very bland, and I never got invested in the characters’ lives.
My main problem with the book is the character development. There isn’t any. I know that the Fishers’ religion has completely taken over the characters’ lives, but they should still have personalities, right? Dorry has a crush on one of the boys in the group, and I don’t know why. I don’t even remember his name because he’s a cardboard “hot guy” character. All of the characters are flat, even Dorry. I think this book would have benefitted from being longer and slower-paced. It’s only 260 pages. So much stuff happens in those pages that we don’t have time to learn about the characters. Everything feels rushed.
I also wasn’t a huge fan of the ending. I’m thrilled that the author did her research, but is it possible for a book to be too well-researched? At the end of the novel, Dorry meets an ex-Fisher who tells her all about cults. Their discussion is too educational for my tastes. Between the lack of character development, the rushed plot, and the educational ending, the book feels like a cautionary tale instead of an entertaining novel. The message is Watch out for cults, kids. I guess that’s a helpful message, but it’s too heavy-handed for me.
Leaving Fishers is one of the better-researched cult novels I’ve read, so if you’re looking for accuracy, I’d recommend this one, but I was expecting more than just a cautionary tale.
The main character, Dorry, moves from a rural town to the city. She’s lonely in her new high school until she meets a group of kids who call themselves the Fishers of Men. They all attend the same church. Eager to fit in, Dorry quickly joins their church and makes a bunch of new friends, but soon her friends’ demands become overwhelming. They want her to spend all of her time with them. They punish her for her “sins” and convince her to give her college savings to their church. Dorry feels like she’s losing control of her life and decides to leave the Fishers. (That’s not a spoiler. Look at the title.) But, leaving isn’t as easy as it seems.
The research in this book is on-point. I have read a lot of nonfiction about cults and religious extremism, so I have a fairly good understanding of how these things work. Leaving Fishers follows the cult-initiation “script” so closely that I could almost predict what would happen next in the story. That might sound like a bad thing, but it isn’t. I love that the author actually did her research. So many authors don’t. They just repeat stereotypes and misinformation.
Unfortunately, the research is the only thing I love about the book. The writing is very bland, and I never got invested in the characters’ lives.
My main problem with the book is the character development. There isn’t any. I know that the Fishers’ religion has completely taken over the characters’ lives, but they should still have personalities, right? Dorry has a crush on one of the boys in the group, and I don’t know why. I don’t even remember his name because he’s a cardboard “hot guy” character. All of the characters are flat, even Dorry. I think this book would have benefitted from being longer and slower-paced. It’s only 260 pages. So much stuff happens in those pages that we don’t have time to learn about the characters. Everything feels rushed.
I also wasn’t a huge fan of the ending. I’m thrilled that the author did her research, but is it possible for a book to be too well-researched? At the end of the novel, Dorry meets an ex-Fisher who tells her all about cults. Their discussion is too educational for my tastes. Between the lack of character development, the rushed plot, and the educational ending, the book feels like a cautionary tale instead of an entertaining novel. The message is Watch out for cults, kids. I guess that’s a helpful message, but it’s too heavy-handed for me.
Leaving Fishers is one of the better-researched cult novels I’ve read, so if you’re looking for accuracy, I’d recommend this one, but I was expecting more than just a cautionary tale.
operasara's review against another edition
5.0
Leaving Fishers by Margaret Peterson Haddix follows Dorry who is feeling unliked and alone after her family moves to a new town. After meeting Angela and her group of friends she finally feels accepted. She then agrees to attend a church party with her new friends and then she slowly becomes wrapped up in their religion, the Fishers. While things at the beginning seem bright and wonderful they soon get harsher and more demanding of Dorry's time and energy to the point where she is putting her academics and her family relationships at risk.
This is an interesting book that shows readers how cults slowly brainwash new members while also dispelling the myth that cults are always worshipers of strange religions by making the Fishers a Christian Cult. The author also makes sure to emphasize that faith wasn't the problem, it was the specific religion. I enjoyed this book and remained interested throughout. My only complaint is that the book ended too quickly. I would have preferred a longer resolution to the story as it ended very quickly and without as much drama as there should have been.
Appropriateness: There is no adult content in this book. There are a few mentions of sex but not in regards to anything the characters are doing. I would encourage parents to use this book as an opportunity to talk to their kids about cults, religion and faith. I recommend this book to readers 12+
This is an interesting book that shows readers how cults slowly brainwash new members while also dispelling the myth that cults are always worshipers of strange religions by making the Fishers a Christian Cult. The author also makes sure to emphasize that faith wasn't the problem, it was the specific religion. I enjoyed this book and remained interested throughout. My only complaint is that the book ended too quickly. I would have preferred a longer resolution to the story as it ended very quickly and without as much drama as there should have been.
Appropriateness: There is no adult content in this book. There are a few mentions of sex but not in regards to anything the characters are doing. I would encourage parents to use this book as an opportunity to talk to their kids about cults, religion and faith. I recommend this book to readers 12+
iamnotamerryman's review against another edition
3.0
Thought-provoking book about being caught up in a cult.