Leaving Fishers [Hardcover]

Margaret Peterson Haddix (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 1997

Lonely at her new high school, Dorry finally finds a group of students who like her and want her as a friend. This powerful story of a girl's entrapment in a cult and her struggle to break away with her spirituality intact is a riveting novel that breaks new ground.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A lonely new girl is drawn into an evangelical Christian club, then disillusioned by its cultishness; PW praised the author's "evenhanded" treatment. Ages 12-up. (May)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

Grade 7-9. For high school junior Dorry Stevens, the move to Indianapolis from the small town where she has always lived is difficult and lonely. When Angela invites Dorry to join her and her friends for lunch, Dorry is flattered and excited. Through her new friends, she learns about The Fishers of Men, a religious group to which they all belong, and meets Pastor Jim, its charismatic leader. The group invites Dorry to parties and eventually to a retreat where she decides to join the church. Angela, her guide and discipler, not only engages Dorry in Bible study and church activities, but also gives her tasks to discipline her and make her a better Fisher. Dorry's parents worry about the ever-increasing control Angela has over their daughter's life. After a disastrous attempt to convert the children she is babysitting for to the Fishers, Dorry makes the agonizing decision to leave the group in spite of their harassment to stop her. With this decision comes the understanding that she has been involved in a cult. The realistic ending is not "happily ever after," but one of self-realization. Haddix has written a thought-provoking, riveting novel with strong, though rather sterotypical, characters?the victim, the recruiter, the charismatic leader. Her carefully constructed plot reels readers into the book in much the same way Dorry is reeled into the Fishers. Although the ending is slightly didactic, it does not detract from the forceful impact of the book.?Janet Hilbun, Sam Houston Middle School, Garland, TX
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing; 1st edition (November 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 068981125X
• ISBN-13: 978-0689811258
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (53 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,241,744 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I grew up on a farm outside Washington Court House, Ohio. As a kid, I liked to read a lot, and was also involved in 4-H, various bands and choirs (I played flute and piano), church youth group, the school newspaper, and a quiz-bowl type team. I was pretty disastrous as an athlete, although I did run track one year in high school. After graduating from Miami University (of Ohio), I worked as a newspaper copy editor in Fort Wayne, Indiana; a newspaper reporter in Indianapolis; and a part-time community college instructor and freelance writer in Danville, Illinois, before my first book was published. I've moved around a lot as an adult, having also lived in Luxembourg (during a college semester abroad) and in Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania. Several years ago, I moved back to Ohio with my husband and kids; we now live in Columbus, Ohio. My husband trains investigative journalists, and my kids are in high school, so there's always a lot going on around our house.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Leaving Fishers Review, February 24, 2000

By 

Amanda S (Indiana) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Leaving Fishers (Mass Market Paperback)

Alone. That's what Dorry Stephens was. Dorry had just moved from a small town in Ohio to Indianapolis and had no friends. Then Fishers came and wanted to be Dorry's friends. They even invited her to join their church. Or cult. As Dorry becomes more involved with Fishers, the less she is involved with everything else. She no longer has time for her family or school.

I think Margaret Peterson Haddix wrote this book very well. She took us through Dorry's mind like we were her, or at least knew her. Its one book I've read where the main character isn't popular, pretty, and rich. She doesn't even have that giggly best friend. Its very realistic about the people and Fishers itself. A few things I didn't like were that it got a little slow in a few parts, some things happened more than once, and the ending was too predictable. You could definitely see it coming. I think the flaws of the book are covered by the good points. The book was very good and I would definitely recommend it.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Leaving Fishers Book Review, February 8, 2000

By 

Lindsey (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Leaving Fishers (Mass Market Paperback)

"You are damned Dorry Stevens! You are one of the lost! " Angela called after her............. Dorry Stevens was just a regular teenage high school student attending Crestwood High in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. Noone liked her, noone ever talked to her, and noone even cared that she was there. Dorry was awfully lonely. All she wanted to do was go back to Bryden, Ohio, USA. Thats where all of her friends were. But her mom and dad wouldn't let her. One day, while eating lunch at school, a beautiful blonde haired girl comes up to Dorry and asked her to eat lunch with her and her group of her friends. Dorry almost choked, and she was soooo happy. So day by day Dorry ate lunch with the group. Soon Angela, the blonde haired girl, persuades Dorry to join a religious group she's in called Fishers of Men. She says it's a wonderful experience and the answer to everything. So Dorry figured "Why not? My parents don't care, they don't attend church! I don't think they even believe in God!" So 1 Saturday night, Dorry goes to a Fishers party and absolutely loves it. Then Angela asks Dorry to go with her to the church on Sunday. So she does. Time goes by and Angela tells Dorry more and more about Fishers. The only thing she doesn't tell her is that it's an evil, brain-washing cult. Soon Dorry finds herself spending less time with her family and doing wierd things. Will Dorry realize Fishers is a cult? Will she stay or quit? I wont tell you, go get the book and find out. Margaret Haddix is a great author and even though she based this particular book at a high school level, she uses words that you easily understand. Even at a junior high level. I really enjoyed this book. I will tell you that for me, the beginning was kinda boring, but by the 4th or 5th chapter you really start to enjoy it. So go get this book and read it and DO NOT just skip to the end, you won't understand a thing unless you read it from beginning to end.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Provocative and Terrifying look into Cults, April 15, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Leaving Fishers (Hardcover)

Leaving Fishers is one of the creepiest, most fascinating books I have read in a long, long time. In this book, Dorry Stephens is a sweet, shy and lonely girl who is new in school and friendless. A group of attractive and well-dressed girls and boys come to her and accept her in their group. Soon she is swept into the Christian sect to which they all belong--the Fishers of Men--and finds herself enjoying the unconditional love and security she find with her new group of friends. However, once she gets more deeply into the group, she finds that she is compromising every aspect of her well being to live up to the expectations of the cult. By the time she realizes this, she has no idea what to do--and she fears the wrath of the group if she disobeys in any way. After I read this, I took a whole new look into religion--both the good and bad aspects of it. I highly recommend this book for the over-12 crowd (lots of complex and mature subject matter). It will cause you to think long and hard about the things a lonely person will do for friends and how once you've been brainwashed into doing something, it is nearly impossible to stop.