First published 2021
Lauren Manning is a troubled teenager searching for belonging in online black metal communities when a recruiter offers her the acceptance she desperately wants. She abandons her middle-class family values and embraces white supremacist doctrine. Lauren leaves suburbia behind and enters a world of street violence and crime in Toronto. Her mother refuses to abandon her daughter despite Lauren's rejection of everything she was raised to believe. The novel alternates between mother and daughter perspectives as Lauren sinks deeper into extremist ideology and criminal activity. Her family watches helplessly as she transforms from suburban teen into a committed white supremacist. The story follows Lauren's complete immersion in the movement and her eventual struggle to reconnect with the mother who never stopped fighting for her. Love and family bonds clash against the pull of hate and belonging that drew Lauren into extremism.
Genres: fiction, contemporary, social-issues, family-drama
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, found-family
Setting: Toronto
Period: 21st-century
240 pages · Paperback · Tidewater Press
Content warnings: racism, violence