NEED TO KNOW
\nThe Duff author Kody Keplinger’s latest YA novel will arrive in 2026PEOPLE can exclusively reveal the cover of Where Lost Girls Go, which follows a young girl living in a cult in the Kentucky woodsKeplinger tells PEOPLE that she was interested in exploring how “someone might lose themself and become vulnerable” in the book<\/p>\n
Bestselling author Kody Keplinger is taking on cults in her latest book.<\/p>\n
PEOPLE has an exclusive first look at The Duff<\/a> writer\u2019s new young adult novel, Where Lost Girls Go<\/a>, set to be published next year by Scholastic Press.<\/p>\n The novel follows Iris, who is one of five girls living in a cabin in the Kentucky woods. The group are under the leadership of Sol, who promises to keep the girls safe in exchange for their loyalty.<\/p>\n Iris is content to show her devotion to Sol, and with her life amongst her “family.” But when a new girl arrives at the cabin, she leads Iris to question the life she\u2019s living \u2014 and uncover the dark secrets that lie within her “family” too.\n<\/p>\n The cover of ‘Where Lost Girls Go’ by Kody Keplinger.<\/p>\n Scholastic Press<\/p>\n Keplinger debuted on the literary scene with her 2010 novel The Duff, which was published when she was just 18, and later turned into a film starring Mae Whitman<\/a>. Keplinger is also the author of several other novels for young adult and middle grade readers, including A Midsummer\u2019s Nightmare<\/a> and The Swift Boys and Me<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n Writing Where Lost Girls Go, however, gave Keplinger a chance to dive into one of her longtime fascinations.\n<\/p>\n Never miss a story \u2014 sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter<\/a> to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer\u200b\u200b, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.<\/p>\n \u201cI’ve always been interested in cults and other high control groups, but where most media focuses on the charismatic leaders, I’ve been more drawn to the people who fall under their spell,\u201d the author tells PEOPLE. \u201cIt’s so easy to look at people in these groups and think, How could you let it go that far? or I would never fall prey to that.\u201d\n<\/p>\n Kody Keplinger.<\/p>\n Aleksandr Karjaka<\/p>\n \u201cTime after time, though, we see that the members of these cults start as very normal people,\u201d Keplinger continues. \u201cI wanted to explore that.\u201d\n<\/p>\n Keplinger also turned to movies like Martha Marcy May Marlene, as well as the Hulu documentary Stolen Youth: Inside the Cult at Sarah Lawrence<\/a> for inspiration, through her focus always remained with the affected victims.\n<\/p>\n