Description
Seed loves you. Seed will never let you go.
Fifteen-year-old Pearl has lived her whole life protected within the small community at Seed, where they worship Nature and idolise their leader, Papa S. When some outsiders arrive, everything changes.
Pearl experiences feelings that she never knew existed and begins to realise that there is darkness at the heart of Seed. A darkness from which she must escape, before it's too late.
A chilling and heartbreaking coming-of-age story of life within a cult, Seed will take readers on a journey of gripping self-discovery reminiscent of The Handmaid's Tale.
Review
Imagine being born in a cult where one of the women is your mother but you don’t know who and a man called Papa S makes all the rules and is revered by all. This is the situation in Seed.
It is an idyllic lifestyle where Mother Nature, talking through Papa S, guides their small community. This is Pearl’s life, with no contact with the outside world.
But life changes abruptly when a woman arrives with her two children, teenage Ellis and younger sister Sophie. Ellis brings many ideas that sound unbelievably stupid to Pearl - that men have walked in the moon; and the magic oil that the cult rub onto engines to counteract the pollution caused by those in the outside is really just a hoax.
Could this be true or is Ellis not to be trusted?
Pearl is coming of age which means she could be chosen to be a companion of Papa S. She was taught to believe that this was the ultimate honour, but she is beginning to have her doubts. But Pearl has her friends, teenagers Jack and Kate, and she won’t leave the group unless they are by her side. Will they risk all that they know to start a new life on the outside?
This is a great middle secondary novel challenging the reader to think for themselves and understand that they need not always accept what is presented to them.
The characters are believable their situation is as well, although sometimes scary, it shows us to look beyond for the truth.
Reviewed by Rob
