Neat Review

Just got this from a reader on Amazon. I thought it was pretty kick-ass. I'm always up for reader reviews.


I bought this book for myself because I saw that it was about life for one boy at a Scientology boarding school. As soon as it arrived, I was still reading Janet Reitman's 'Inside Scientology' so I offered it to my teenager in the hopes that the book would take him away from his video games onto the reading list I planned for him for the summer.

My son could not put the book down until he was finished. I have never seen him like this about a book! When I told him I was going to write a review, he said to tell readers "This is an awesome book!" And indeed it is. I wish Janet Reitman had read it before she wrote about the exscientology kids in this new book of hers. She would have had a better perspective of what these kids are made to endure and perhaps ask more involved questions when she interviewed them.

This is an profound, touching and well written fictionalized story from the perspective of bright but dyslexic teenager who makes the choice to attend a boarding school he knows almost nothing about rather than become the failure his father has already decided he will probably be. Little does he know what he has gotten himself into and where it will take his life. We share in the often times harrowing adventure as he matures while learning to survive the Truman Show confines of the opressive and totalitarian Scientology based 'Lamia School', based, I suspect, on the infamous Delphian School of Sheridan, Oregon.

Now, I am a former long time scientologist who has seen first hand the harm that Scientology does to people and families. Especially the harm done to children. One only has to read the stories of other attendees of this school program, as well as the many exscientology kids testimonies on the internet, to understand.

This is, perhaps, the first book ever written about the life of a teenager entering the dark world of Scientology unawares. The fact that it is fictionalized is due to several factors:

1), who wants to be sued by Scientology? lol!

And 2) it gives the author option to allow the teen to take liberties with his experiences and imagination to arrive at his own form of retribution.

You follow the main character, Leif, through his efforts to make sense of and rise above the insanity and indoctrination while others succumb to one degree or another. In reading this, it reminded me of a magnified version of The Stepford Wives for teens. This is a good thing because the importances of a 14 year old are always magnified. It's the nature of the beast of puberty.

This is a must read book for readers of all ages but a word of of caution for parents that there is a small amount of profanity typical of teens and they may want to review it first. I suggest they do this anyway because it is an excellent look into the psyche of a teenager trying to make sense of and take a stand against evil influences. I am sure that this was a cathartic effort for Paul Csige and I am grateful that he has blessed us with this book. I hope many others, especially those concerned about cultic influences, make a point to read it.

-Mary McConnell