The women of our faith all have Biblical names. We have given you the name Esther.

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 popular children's writer Fleur Beale. In Esther she creates an enthralling and utterly compelling portrait of a teenager going through her worst nightmare.

Accolades

Winner of New Zealand Post Children's Book Awards: Honour Award 1999.

About the Author

I was born in Inglewood, Taranaki. I met my husband at Teachers' Training College in Christchurch, we both got jobs in Hamilton, married at the end of 1969 and had two daughters who are now both adults and currently living in London. After Tim's death in 1998, I moved to Wellington, stopped teaching and became a full-time writer and manuscript assessor in between taking off overseas whenever I can - a monthlong trip to Brazil with my younger daughter was the most recent adventure.