Occulted
"Insightful and riveting." -- KIRKUS
"A tense, thrilling account of escaping a cult." -- FOREWORD
"This inspiring tale of bravery and rebellion is just what readers need right now." -- SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL
It's 1997 and young Amy Rose has always known that something is off about her community. She's forbidden from going to school or even going outside; after all, their leader says there's no use knowing anything about a world that's about to end. When the Hale-Bopp comet soars across the sky for the first time in over 4,000 years, Amy thinks it's a good omen signaling the start of an amazing new future. Instead, it brings news of a horrible tragedy at a similar compound just down the road called Heaven's Gate. Televised news reports invade the temple walls and Amy hears a new word that suddenly explains everything: cult.
Now, she must risk everything to indulge in secret trips to an abandoned off-limits library to learn what she was never meant to know: that Gandhi was not a space alien, that Star Trek wasn't real, that her community was built on a lie, and most importantly, that banned books can give her everything she needs to escape.
Occulted is a shocking graphic memoir about the power of literary freedom. Survivor Amy Rose, Banned Book Club co-author Ryan Estrada, and artist Jeongmin Lee tell a haunting, inspiring tale of bravery and rebellion, about how to recognize those who try to control you, and how to fight back.
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"Insightful and riveting." -- KIRKUS
"Rose and Estrada imbue young Rose's harrowing story with emotional heft." -- PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
"With engaging, manga-influenced art that gives a child's-eye perspective to its events, the graphic memoir Occulted is a tense, thrilling account of escaping a cult." -- FOREWORD
"This inspiring tale of bravery and rebellion is just what readers need right now." -- SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL
"Rose, Estrada, and Lee have given us a child's-eye view of the little rebellions needed to be an individual against stacked odds. A wise reminder of the many forms of resilience." -- Grace Moore, Women at Warp
PRAISE FOR RYAN ESTRADA "Highly recommended for readers passionate about activism or
political history, or for those who are simply looking for an excellent comic
book." -- SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL, Starred Review (Banned Book Club) "The messages of hope are universal, as are the poignant
reminders that change can happen when people are willing to speak up." -- PUBLISHERS
WEEKLY, Starred Review (Banned Book Club) "A tribute to young people's resistance in the face of
oppression." -- KIRKUS (Banned Book Club) "The [kind of] daring memoir that comes once a generation. There
is nothing else like this on the bookshelves." -- BLACK NERD PROBLEMS
(Banned Book Club) "A fun adventure tale with a lot of personality, this is a strong
addition to middle grade graphic novel adventure collections." -- SCHOOL
LIBRARY JOURNAL (Student Ambassador)
