I am Rebecca Read online

  A former high-school teacher, Fleur now lives in Wellington.

  Also by Fleur Beale

  Speed Freak (2013)

  The Boy in the Olive Grove (2012)

  Dirt Bomb (2011)

  Heart of Danger (2011)

  Fierce September (2010)

  Sins of the Father (2009)

  End of the Alphabet (2009)

  Juno of Taris (2008)

  The Transformation of Minna Hargreaves (2007)

  A Respectable Girl (2006)

  I Am Not Esther (1998)

  Copyright

  A RANDOM HOUSE BOOK published by Random House New Zealand

  18 Poland Road, Glenfield, Auckland, New Zealand

  For more information about our titles go to www.randomhouse.co.nz

  A catalogue record for this book is available from the National Library of New Zealand

  Random House New Zealand is part of the Random House Group

  New York London Sydney Auckland Delhi Johannesburg

  First published 2014

  © 2014 Fleur Beale

  The moral rights of the author have been asserted

  ISBN 978 1 77553 549 2

  eISBN 978 1 77553 550 8

  This book is copyright. Except for the purposes of fair reviewing no part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

  Design: Carla Sy

  Cover photograph: Marta Bevacqua/Trevillion Images

  Printed in Australia by Griffin Press an accredited ISO AS/NZS 14001 2004

  Environmental Management System printer

  The paper this book is printed on is certified against the Forest Stewardship Council® Standards. Griffin Press holds FSC chain of custody certification SGS-COC-005088. FSC promotes environmentally responsible, socially beneficial and economically viable management of the world’s forests.

  I Am Not Esther

  A classic bestseller that’s been in print for 16 years, this gripping young-adult thriller follows a teenage girl caught in a religious cult.

  Imagine that your mother tells you she’s going away. She is going to leave you with relatives you’ve never heard of — and they are members of a strict religious cult. Your name is changed, and you are forced to follow the severe set of social standards set by the cult. There is no television, no radio, no newspaper. No mirrors. You must wear long, modest clothes. You don’t know where your mother is, and you are beginning to question your own identity.

  I am not Esther is a gripping psychological thriller written by award-winning children’s author Fleur Beale. In Esther, she creates an enthralling and utterly compelling portrait of a teenager going through her worst nightmare.

  I am not Esther won an Honour Award in the 1999 New Zealand Post Children’s Book Awards and features in the latest volume of 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up, produced by UK publisher Quintessence.

  For more information about our titles please go to www.randomhouse.co.nz