The residents of the Blithedale farm wish to make it into a modern Arcadia, free from the pollution of society. But they form such a varied, self-interested group, that their efforts are in vain. The misogynistic Hollingsworth wants to turn it into a sanctuary for reformed criminals; the exotic feminist Zenobia is helplessly attracted to Hollingsworth; and the narrator is an unreliable dandy with voyeuristic tendencies. Henry James called The

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""It's time to come Home. All five of you. Or else." Saskia was a damaged, lonely teenager when she arrived at the lakeside commune called Home. She was entranced by the tang of sourdough starter; the midnight call of the loons; the triumph of foraging wild mushrooms from the forest floor. But most of all she was taken with Abraham, Home's charismatic leader, the North Star to Saskia and the four other teens who lived there, her best and only friends....

Joining a psychologist's utopian experiment involving children collectively raised apart from their biological families, a pregnant teen struggles with the group's growing hostilities and funding challenges while fighting her feelings for the doctor.

"HALCYON is the answer for all Americans who want to escape, but paradise isn't what it seems. A beautiful island in the middle of Lake Ontario--a self-sustaining community made up of people who want to live without fear, crime, or greed. Halcyon is run by Valerie Kemp, aka Mother Moon, benevolent and altruistic on the outside, but hiding an unimaginable darkness inside. She has dedicated her life to the pursuit of Glam Moon, a place of eternal beauty...

On her first day at a new school, Lily befriends one of the daughters of infamous avant-garde painter Evan Trentham. He and his wife are trying to escape the stifling conservatism of 1930s Australia by inviting other like-minded artists to live and work at their family home. Lily becomes infatuated with this wild, makeshift family and longs to truly be part of it. As the years pass, Lily observes the way the lives of these artists come to reflect...

"Starbird has spent the first sixteen years of her life on a commune in the woods of Washington State. When she gets her Calling to become a waitress at the farm's satellite restaurant in Seattle, it means leaving behind the only place she's ever known and entering the World Outside"--

"Ever since childhood, Emma and Sophie were bound by a passion for painting. Like all young best friends, they promised to never lose touch. But the girls came from different worlds, and their paths diverged when Emma went to an elite college and Sophie worked her way through state school. After a decade they've reconnected, both in a time of need. Emma has been struggling with depression since her college years, and she's lost herself under the suffocating...

"Amy Connell and Lan Honey are having the best childhood, growing up on a West Country farm--with three families, a couple of lodgers, goats, dogs, and an orphaned calf called Gabriella Christmas. The parents are best friends, too. Originally from the city, they're learning about farming: growing their own vegetables, milking the goats, slaughtering chickens, and scything the hay-- "Mind your eyes! Careful, that's sharp! Don't break your neck!" The...

When Julie visits Gold Moon Ranch, a farming commune in California's gold rush country, the back-to-the-land lifestyle seems idyllic at first. But peculiar problems keep cropping up, almost as if someone was trying to shut down the commune! Then, on a secret trip to an abandoned gold mine, Julie stumbles on a mysterious message that hints at long-lost treasure. Julie is desperate to find it, before danger closes in on Gold Moon Ranch.

"At an airstrip near the California-Mexico border Wyatt and Billy, two motorcyclists, sell a large quantity of cocaine to a pusher who handles the transaction from his chauffered Rolls Royce. Once Wyatt (who is called Captain America because of the stars and stripes on his jacket and bike) has concealed the cash in his cycle's gas tank, the two young men ride off, vaguely intending to reach New Orleans in time for Mardi Gras. Unwelcome at motels because...