The Dead Inside

Gr 9 Up–In 1985, when 14-year-old runaway Etler was given the choice by police to either go home or be placed into foster care, she chose the latter. At home, she was routinely molested by her stepfather; her mother knew but denied it. Although being in foster care worked well for Etler, she was later transferred by her parents to Straight Inc., a drug treatment facility that turned out to be a cultlike organization bent on "rehabilitating" teen patients through abuse and isolation tactics. Etler's harrowing story details Straight Inc.'s bizarre rules, routines, and practices and her eventual chilling transformation into a true believer. The writing is fast-paced, and references to 1980s slang, music, and culture abound. Fans of dystopian novels, books about cults, and survival stories will find this account impossible to put down. Previously self-published in 2012 as Straightling: A Memoir, this is the first installment in Etler's story, with a sequel already in the works. Back matter offers further information on Straight Inc. Readers will be relieved to learn that the enterprise closed in 1993 but should be unsettled to discover that similar facilities still exist.