Title: The Sacred Lies of Minnow Bly
Author: Stephanie Oakes
Genres: Suspense, Young Adult
Format: Paperback
Pages: 400 Pages
Publication Date: 11/01/2016
Publisher: Speak
★★★★☆
A hard-hitting and hopeful story about the dangers of blind faith—and the power of having faith in yourself. Finalist for the Morris Award.
The Kevinian cult has taken everything from seventeen-year-old Minnow: twelve years of her life, her family, her ability to trust. And when she rebelled, they took away her hands, too.
Now their Prophet has been murdered and their camp set aflame, and it's clear that Minnow knows something—but she's not talking. As she languishes in juvenile detention, she struggles to un-learn everything she has been taught to believe, adjusting to a life behind bars and recounting the events that led up to her incarceration. But when an FBI detective approaches her about making a deal, Minnow sees she can have the freedom she always dreamed of—if she’s willing to part with the terrible secrets of her past.
Gorgeously written, breathlessly page-turning and sprinkled with moments of unexpected humor, this harrowing debut is perfect for readers of Emily Murdoch's If You Find Me and Nova Ren Suma's The Walls Around Us, as well as for fans of Orange is the New Black.
This book was so good.
It has all of the components of a book that I ought to be slapping straight onto my immediate "favorites."
I'll start by telling you what those things are, then I'll get a bit more personal.
But first, a trigger warning. If you plan on purchasing this book, please note that it contains a lot of potential triggers. It probably stands out as having that potential, as the book is religious in nature to begin with, but I also want my readers to be aware that this book contains graphic depictions of horrific physical violence and terrible, awful racism.
This book also has many excellent qualities that will have me recommending it for the next year. I'm quite sure that this is going to be on my list of best books that I've read in 2017.
The first thing that I loved about this book (and the thing which I feel is the most important in this sort of novel) is that the representation of a religious cult is well done. Ms. Oakes goes out of her way to define the religion itself in a unique way. She doesn't simply attack an existing religious group (such as the LDS), but fabricates a brand new cult with shades of many existing and previous cults.
I appreciate this, but more than this, I appreciate the way that she doesn't make religious people look foolish in general. She could have, but chose not to.
The remarkable thing (which I think that my religious readers [as I am] will appreciate) is that while Oakes (via Minnow) makes it clear that any belief in something we cannot see and prove is essentially ridiculous, she also manages to do this with respect to people who believe in something they cannot see and prove.
Well done, Ms. Oakes. Very nicely done!
There's so much more to this book, though. Obviously it's a book about religion and lies: The title says that right there. You're ready for that, going in.
What you're not ready for is a beautiful forbidden love story, told in teasing fragments that gives you just a little bit at a time. You're not ready for the religious girl in a cult commune to fall in love with the biracial boy in the woods. Or I should say that I wasn't.
And what I didn't expect, in spite of the reviews, in spite of the description of the book's plot, is the mystery of this novel.
If you know anything about me, mysteries have been falling flat for me (with a few exceptions). This one -- especially in terms of its mystery -- blew me away.
Here's what's great about a good mystery.
First of all, the solution makes sense. When you find out who the killer is, it makes sense that this person had motive and opportunity to commit a murder.
Second of all, you don't know who committed the murder so early on in the story that it's not worth it to keep reading.
Those are the two crucial components. It does help if the author doesn't simply tell you who the killer was.
The Sacred Lies of Minnow Bly has all of the components of a great mystery/suspense novel, and that's something that I (as someone who has read a lot of duds lately) can greatly appreciate.
More than that, Oakes has well-developed characters. Minnow is vivacious, a little bit sassy, and totally surprising given her cult upbringing. Her sister Constance has a phlegmatic temperament that is surprising next to her sister. Jude is more than just a token biracial boy intended to add diversity (and maybe some tension) to the plot: He has a personality (a lovable personality at that).
But do you know what my favorite part was? My absolute favorite part?
There was no love triangle.
This is my most despised trend in Young Adult fiction. I hate the dreaded love triangle that is so popular with young adult authors. It's lazy, and it's not enjoyable for me to read. I loved the fact that while there was a romance in this story (and it was one of the primary story lines), Minnow wasn't choosing between two great loves.
If you enjoy books that make a strong point about the human condition and a statement about the way that the law favors certain people over others, then this book might appeal to you. This is a novel that makes a statement in a beautiful way that is sure to touch your heart and your mind.
I loved Minnow Bly. I loved to hate the Prophet. I was fascinated by The Community. I enjoyed Jude.
This book is definitely one that I'm recommending. If you haven't read The Sacred Lies of Minnow Bly, then you need to get your copy now!
Please note that this review contains affiliate links. You help support my book habit by purchasing the books I review!
A copy of this book was provided by the author in exchange for my honest review. The thoughts and opinions contained herein are solely my own.
No comments:
Post a Comment