The Boundless Sublime – Lili Wilkinson

“Ruby Jane Galbraith is empty. Her family has been torn apart and it's all her fault.

The only thing that makes sense to her is Fox - a gentle new friend who is wise, soulful and clever, yet oddly naïve about the ways of the world. He understands what she's going through and he offers her a chance to feel peace. Fox belongs to a group called the Institute of the Sublime - and Ruby can't stay away from him. So she is also drawn in to what she too late discovers is a terrifying secretive community that is far from the ideal world she expected.

Can Ruby find the courage to escape? Is there any way she can save Fox too? And is there ever really an escape from the far-reaching influence of the Institute of the Sublime?

A gripping YA novel about an ordinary girl who is unsuspectingly inducted into a secretive modern-day cult”

Okay this was sufficiently disturbing and I admit I couldn't look away. I actually usually avoid cult books because I don’t understand how people can be so stupid, but honestly I was hooked in the sense that I felt like I was watching a train wreck. I couldn't look away.

Cult Leader: I know you're wondering if we're a cult.

Ruby: Kind of.

Cult Leader: Well we're not.

(We just live in a secluded commune, all dress the same, hate the outside world, believe we need to purify our bodies for end times, have a very restricted diet, worship the cult leader as a godlike figure, and abuse members when they don't do what they're told.)

I thought her attraction to Fox, a very innocent cult-grown boy, was adorable...but he to is just a distraction. I felt the book was promoting love can heal depression.

Until her focus changes, to the sickening adoration of the cult leader. Who they all call "Daddy". Like...no.

There were some seriously "NOOOOOO" plot twists at the end that had me shrieking. So yeah, I disliked, yet annoyingly empathised with, Ruby. I was vey invested in finding out if everything could work out. THIS BOOK WAS SO GRIPPING...READ IT.

Age 14+ - Mature content, light language. 

 

Age Rating 14+. Mature themes and ideas.