Comment

May 17, 2018lindsaycostello rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
Powerful and important story. That being said, the writing and editing were both very weak. The text was tediously descriptive and monotonous, with lots of areas in which a good editor could have really helped. The writing was noticeably bad enough to detract from an otherwise enthralling and horrifying story. Many scenes, based on Ruth’s young childhood, felt far too detailed and fact-based to have been accurately remembered. Repetition was a common thread, with many paragraphs going over and over the same information. The end scene, when Ruth prepares to get married, felt like a lackluster fairy tale that cheapened the otherwise strong message about the horrors that a misogynistic culture enacted on her family. Instead of gaining insight into Ruth’s experience raising her brothers and sisters on her own, the reader is offered a rushed description of her monogamous husband and floral arrangements as a consolation prize for having made it through hundreds of pages of details on the family’s abusive upbringing. Ruth’s brother Matt, positioned as a low-key hero throughout the book, is revealed to have become a polygamist himself, one of many reasons the outcome of the book felt unsatisfying. I am empowered by Ruth’s strength and resilience, but wouldn’t recommend this book.