Jennifer Mathieu

by Jennifer Mathieu

[shannonmiz]

This book was amazing. I am always so fascinated by a religious cult situation, and while the Walker family may not be in a cult in the typical sense of the word, they are clearly not in a healthy situation. The girls are treated as second class citizens, only existing to do stuff for the men and make babies. Rachel doesn’t even have much of an education, just enough so that she can teach her younger siblings. All the people in the church are kept as sheltered as possible from the outside world, and if they dare try to forge their own path, they’re sent to a creepy “rehabilitation” (read: Brainwashing) camp.

Rachel has heard stories of people being sent away to this camp, and has witnessed them coming back as shells of their former selves. She’s also heard that a girl a bit older than her who had left the church has recently come back to town, and her curiosity is piqued. Rachel isn’t sure what she wants or should want out of life, but she does know that being a subservient baby maker isn’t it.

This book is hard to read, in the sense that you are left wanting to punch fictional characters and can’t. This “church” treats its congregation abysmally, stigmatizes mental health issues, and basically tries to paralyze the members into submission. The families are all quite poor, since they not only try to keep away from the outside world, but have gaggles of children to care for. When Rachel wants to read a book, she is caught and has to destroy it. It’s all so painful to read about, but I was so invested in her story, there was no way I was turning away.

It’s hard to say a lot about this book for fear of spoilers, but I will say that the most amazing thing about it is that religion is not vilified in any way. There are some lovely examples of religious groups that are so kind and wonderful, and the author is so careful to show that it is not all religions that are the problem, just this particular group of extremists. I am not religious myself, but I feel that people who are will really appreciate the tone of the book. It is also not at all preachy, it is about having the right to make your own choices and to live your own life. It’s about kindness and love and family and friendship. There is a beautiful poem that is referenced many times during the story, in the best of places. I am not going to share it, because reading it in context is much better.

Bottom Line: This book is fabulous. The characters, even the ones you won’t like, seem so incredibly real. I was so mad, so sad for Rachel and felt like she was a friend. The growth of some of the characters is overwhelming, and the fact that there are some who don’t grow makes it so realistic. This book was an absolute win.