See You in September
Norman, CharityIt starts off so innocently ... a group of friendly and helpful people, an idyllic valley near Rotorua, a chance to take stock. Before she knows it, young Englishwoman Cassy Howell's plans for a short holiday in New Zealand have been ditched and she opts to stay permanently, especially now that she has her unborn child to consider. The Gethsemane community is everything she could have ever wanted, but over time their leader Justin's claims that they are in the 'Last Days' raise all sorts of questions - just where will his faith take them all?
Fast-paced and gripping, this is an exciting story of a community in thrall to its charismatic leader.
Pages
424
424
Year
2017
2017
Reviews
29-01-2024
Our group all really enjoyed this book. It was well-written, and the story unfolded so cleverly and kept us guessing at the ending all the way though. Each of the characters, from Cassy, to her parents and sisters and other community members were really well developed, and we empathised with their struggles and decisions. The Rotorua setting and the juxtaposition of the rural ideal of the community and Cassy and her family's "normal" suburban UK homelife was well-drawn. A great read, and we all wanted to read more from this author.
18-12-2023
Most of our group enjoyed the book. It is easy to read and thought-provoking, with an unpredictable ending. It gave us plenty to discuss with its connections to cults in N.Z, and the symbolic connections with the modern cult of social media.
02-10-2023
All members found this an easy read. Some loved it and some really did not like the writing style and story line. Overall, it was well received and engaging.
26-09-2023
This was a very popular book with us all. It was very thought-provoking re how easily young, vulnerable people can end up in a cult-like situation. Heartbreaking for the parents and sister. We concurred that it was one of our best reads to date.
19-07-2023
Everyone enjoyed the book. Gave rise to interesting discussion regarding the definition of 'religion' and 'cult'.
11-10-2021
Very engaging book. Our club has quite a large age difference and it captured all of us. It generated a lot of discussion with the conclusion that we were all astonished by. How easily any of us could be 'lured' into a cult situation. Very believable.
26-04-2021
This book opened a great discussion and everyone loved reading it. Intriguing as to how someone could get 'sucked' into a cult, with many making comparisons to a 'group' here in NZ. Some found it disturbing learning about 'brain manipulation' but thought it compelling reading. All felt for the family and what they went through, asking "what would we have done...."
19-08-2020
Stimulated a lot of discussion about manipulating people by diminishing or embellishing their self-worth. We particularly liked the excerpts from the cult leaders' manual.
19-06-2019
Well-written. We felt that the author showed a good understanding of cults and the devastating effect that losing a child in this way would have on a family. Very believable.
14-05-2019
Most of us enjoyed this as a good yarn and wanted to see how it turned out. The snippets of 'how to run a cult' were fascinating and it was nice to read about a NZ setting. We had a lot of discussion around cult vs religion, how believable it would be in an area like this was set in. Some of us felt the characterization was a bit lacking and it was difficult to gain a mental picture of characters because of this and their names within the cult. We recommend it with conditions.
09-05-2019
We all found this a very readable book, well-written with plenty of tension. We liked the way the techniques for bringing new members into the cult were laid out, explaining so much about how a cult works. The characters are rather stereotyped and lightly drawn but the book certainly holds the reader's attention.
16-04-2019
This led to lots of discussion about cults, and cults in New Zealand. Some of us thought it was a bit slow to start but great when you got into it and it seemed to end quickly. We did wonder if there was a sequel coming Lots of characters to keep track of, but overall an enjoyable read that we would recommend to others.
15-04-2019
We rated 'See You in September highly, and it generated a great deal of discussion.
15-04-2019
All members of the group enjoyed this book. The Cult Leader's manual at the beginning of every 2nd()chapter explained how a cult works and was very readable. It was a sign of a good read that we couldn't put it down.
03-04-2019
Led to lots of discussion. One of those "could not put it down" books. People in the group have already enjoyed Charity Norman books before and since.
02-04-2019
We all gave this book the thumbs up although several found it somewhat disturbing. We thought the story was told in a very clever way that drew you in quite quickly. It provoked a lot of discussion about religious cults, travel, personality and family dynamics. We liked the New Zealand setting for the story.
18-02-2019
Our group collectively really enjoyed this book. We felt it was very well-written, very realistic and riveting. Highly recommended.
18-02-2019
A great read - loved by all.
18-02-2019
This book provoked a lot of discussion. It was a significant insight into mind manipulation and how these cults develop and survive. The discussion involved cults around in NZ today. Most of the group found it disturbing but informative, and once into the body of the story, we found it hard to put down.