The Starling Girl

Seventeen-year-old Jem Starling feels increasingly out of step with the rigid beliefs and expectations of her close-knit Christian community. Quiet, observant, and yearning for a life beyond the narrow script laid out for her, she navigates youth group rituals, family pressures, and the lonely ache of adolescence while trying to reconcile faith with her own emerging desires.

When the charismatic youth pastor Owen returns to town, Jem finds herself drawn into a turbulent emotional orbit that forces her to confront the boundaries between devotion, attraction, and autonomy. As their relationship blurs lines and tests loyalties, Jem must decide what she’s willing to sacrifice to claim her own voice, making The Starling Girl a tender, tense coming-of-age drama about faith, temptation, and the messy work of becoming oneself.