Y/A Novel about mother and son that join a commune that turns out to be more like an evil cult and the children of the commune are severely abused

[Kristina]

I'm looking for what I *think* was a juvenile fiction novel that I read in the late 90s to early 2000s. What I remember of the plot is that a single mother takes her son (who I believe was around 14-15) to live in a commune that turns out to be more of a cult. The children and adults are separated, and while the adults are treated very well, the children are treated terribly. They have very strict rules and with awful consequences if they are broken. I believe one of the punishments was to be locked in a shed with no food or water for days. The children do all of the physical labor in the commune and are fed very little. The son tries to tell his mother what is going on but she doesn't believe him. The only specific detail that I remember is that the son was in charge of tending the rabbits and became attached to one who he named (I think) Juliet. After he broke a rule, Juliet was killed as a punishment. I believe he also had a girl he befriended at the commune and they hopped to escape together, but I'm not 100% sure about that part.

[Rainbowheart]

No Way Home?

[Kristina]

Rainbowheart wrote: "No Way Home?"

This might be it, thank you!

[Kris]

Here are descriptions of No Way Home by Marilyn Levy - Rainbowheart's suggestion - on Amazon. Should we mark your request as Solved?

"It's the summer of 1978, and Billy, 13, is spending six weeks in California with his mother, a member of a religious cult. Three years ago, the troubled woman abandoned him, and Billy has lived with his father ever since. The boy is sorry he agreed to the invitation for a reunion: he can't believe that this tired-looking, strangely dressed woman is his parent. Even more upsetting are the rituals of the commune she lives in: the pre-dawn chanting, spartan meals and rigid censorship of anything "Western." Escape seems impossible, as Billy resists with difficulty the brainwashing techniques of his captors, who transfer him to Denver, then France, while his worried Chicago family tries to locate him. Levy's riveting, poignantly humorous tale is well written, and her first-person narrative has the voice of a sweet Holden Caulfield (Billy's hero). Yet it's mystifying that Billy's intelligent father would permit this visit; equally bewildering is the youth's forgoing several possible opportunities to solicit help. Readers will see him through his predicament, however; this novel is hard to put down. Ages 10-up."

"Grade 5-8-- The dated theme--a child is kidnapped by a fanatic Hare Krishna-type cult of which his mother is a member--severely reduces this novel's appeal to today's readers. Levy does write a good novel, and the brainwashing of the teenage protagonist, Billy, by cult life is scary, and will draw readers in. Billy's mother is portrayed as a zombie, and his father and grandparents are fascinating, long-suffering people who care about their grandson and who go to great lengths to get him away from off-balanced people..."

[Rainbowheart]

Never mind the previous suggestion, I found it!

A Good Courage

The rabbit that the boy was attached to was named Ophelia and she was killed by one of the elders.