Cyndy Etler was an adventurous teen. From a family with limited funds, she often felt left out because she wasn't wearing the right clothes or interested in the right things. So, when living in Monroe, a small city with little to interest her, she had a chance to spend time in nearby Bridgeport, she jumped at it. Bridgeport was a happening place, a place where she could get into a crowd that accepted her.

When she visited Bridgeport with her best friend, she met and hung out with some guys. And she had a chance to share some weed, which she had never tried before. She didn't especially like it. Cyndy liked to be in control of herself.

One reason Cyndy took advantage of opportunities to stay overnight was that she did not get along with her mother's boyfriend, Jacque. It's clear he wants her out. Wants her mom to himself. So he takes advantage of any chance to attack her, verbally and physically, and her mother does not stop him.

Thus Cyndi takes off at the age of 13. She camps out at a friend's house, and later finds other places. Ultimately, though, she knows she can't continue on her own. Her mother thinks the same thing, except she has a place in mind.

Cyndi is placed in a private boarding school. It's not what she thought it was. It's a place called Straight, Inc, and is designed for young people with drug problems. Only Cyndi doesn't have a drug problem. It doesn't matter because nobody believes her. And thus begins her journey into a kind of hell.

The activities in Straight are intended to humiliate the teens, so much so that they want to be part of the "good ones", the teens on higher levels. Yet a bad moment, a bad decision, can cause a teen at the top level, about to "graduate", to come crashing down and having to start all over.

Interestingly, in spite of the cruelty and lack of trust, when Cyndi is finally released she has bought all of the stories the staff has been telling her over the many long months. She believes she has been saved.

The organization evolved from a similar organization and, when threatened, morphed into yet another one. So such organizations still exist and are rarely challenged. Writing this book was Cyndi's way of exposing the hypocrisy and outright fraud, in hopes that others might be saved from it.

It's an interesting book. Etler is an intelligent, literate person, but she writes, for the most part, like an average young teen. At times the voice bothered me because it clearly wasn't her own, but it probably had been, to some extent, when she was 13 and 14. The voice must resonate with other teens as well, and the book is labeled "young adult".

Worth a read to find out the strange ways of these organizations. It's short and easy to read, so could be a good gift to a young person as well. ( )

Disturbing but an important read. Lots of references and additional resources if you want to explore the subject more. ( )

Cyndy Etler lost the lottery when it came to mothers. Not only did mom marry an abuser, she allowed Cyndy’s stepfather to abuse her. When Cyndy tried to take some control over her life, her mother had her committed to a “drug rehabilitation” program that was anything but a safe place. Cyndy’s tales of her incarceration and abuse there are horrific to say the least. It is a wonder she survived, much less thrived, and is able to help others today. ( )