Occulted - Paperback

by Amy Rose (Author), Ryan Estrada (Author), Jeongmin Lee (Illustrator)

"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.

Author Biography

Artist Jeongmin Lee (a.k.a. Min the Elephant) is an illustrator whose work attempts to introduce a touch of dark fantasy to the mundanity of life. She draws inspiration from dreams, nature, creatures, and the macabre.