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undermeyou's review against another edition
3.5
I. Wish. A. Woman. Wrote. This. Idk. It wasn’t bad. But it wasn’t the truth the way a woman would write.
yanise26's review against another edition
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Incest, Sexual harassment, and Sexism
nicolemhewitt's review against another edition
5.0
3.5/5 Stars
This review and many more can be found on my blog: Feed Your Fiction Addiction
I think I really liked this book. Okay, so that might sound a bit odd, but the book itself is a bit odd, and I wasn’t always sure what I was reading. The book chronicles a young woman who is trapped in a polygamous cult community. She is supposed to become the fifth wife of a much older man very soon. She is torn between horror at this thought and duty toward her family (her abusive father is depending on her to bring the family out of poverty). In the meantime, she starts to fall for the son of one of the other men in their community. Unfortunately, the romance was a bit too close to instalove for me, so I wasn’t particularly invested. And even though I understood that Hanna had loyalties to her family, especially her mother and slightly disabled sister, I still couldn’t help but just want to scream for her to leave!
But then, there’s a bit of magical realism that’s introduced, and the book got a whole lot more interesting to me. I found myself intrigued by this element and trying to figure out if it was real or if there was some other explanation. I ended up liking the book a lot more during the second half—both because I enjoyed the magical realism and because I started to develop a bit more sympathy for Hanna and her impossible situation.
I ended up giving this book 3.5/5 Stars.
***Disclosure: I received this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. No other compensation was given and all opinions are my own.***
This review and many more can be found on my blog: Feed Your Fiction Addiction
I think I really liked this book. Okay, so that might sound a bit odd, but the book itself is a bit odd, and I wasn’t always sure what I was reading. The book chronicles a young woman who is trapped in a polygamous cult community. She is supposed to become the fifth wife of a much older man very soon. She is torn between horror at this thought and duty toward her family (her abusive father is depending on her to bring the family out of poverty). In the meantime, she starts to fall for the son of one of the other men in their community. Unfortunately, the romance was a bit too close to instalove for me, so I wasn’t particularly invested. And even though I understood that Hanna had loyalties to her family, especially her mother and slightly disabled sister, I still couldn’t help but just want to scream for her to leave!
But then, there’s a bit of magical realism that’s introduced, and the book got a whole lot more interesting to me. I found myself intrigued by this element and trying to figure out if it was real or if there was some other explanation. I ended up liking the book a lot more during the second half—both because I enjoyed the magical realism and because I started to develop a bit more sympathy for Hanna and her impossible situation.
I ended up giving this book 3.5/5 Stars.
***Disclosure: I received this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. No other compensation was given and all opinions are my own.***
beastreader's review against another edition
2.0
This book started out as a gradual read for me. It took me a slow while to get into the story and the characters. Yet, I don't think that I fully ever connected with Hanna, Daniel or any of the other characters in the story. Sadly, this did not help my reading situation. As it made it hard to stick with the story. Additionally, it made for slow reading.
When it came to Hanna, I wanted her voice to be stronger. It seemed to get muddled by her conflict to family and duty and love. Which in my case, I did not experience a great love connection between Hanna and Daniel. It seemed more that Hanna was in love with the idea of someone who was on the outside and could show her that there was more to life than what she was used to. Plus, the story seemed to stray on the lighter side of what cult life is like then digging deeper. Had that happy medium been found along with stronger voices lent to the characters, this would have different reading experience for me.
When it came to Hanna, I wanted her voice to be stronger. It seemed to get muddled by her conflict to family and duty and love. Which in my case, I did not experience a great love connection between Hanna and Daniel. It seemed more that Hanna was in love with the idea of someone who was on the outside and could show her that there was more to life than what she was used to. Plus, the story seemed to stray on the lighter side of what cult life is like then digging deeper. Had that happy medium been found along with stronger voices lent to the characters, this would have different reading experience for me.
bunrab's review against another edition
3.0
Odd book, interesting premise, not nearly well enough fleshed out. some gaps in thinking and behavior that need explaining, a jump of 7 years to a happy ending, with no explanation... interesting story about family pressures and cultural pressures, from inside a far-outside-the-norm culture, but it could have been more interesting if we had more detail.
sfujii's review against another edition
3.0
Another reviewer said it best - interesting premise, but not well executed.
Predictable and shallow. Random library selection fail.
Predictable and shallow. Random library selection fail.
marshaskrypuch's review against another edition
4.0
This was a quick and absorbing read. Hanna's dilemma was a compelling one and the writing is gorgeous. I didn't mind the touch of magic realism, nor the instant attraction between Hanna and Daniel. The one thing that did bother me was inconsistency in terms of Hanna's freedom. It was hard to suspend disbelief that she wasn't watched or caught during some of the antics she got up to, that such a prized bride-to-be in this polygamous society was allowed to wander on her own as much as Hanna was.
That said. I loved the shape of the story, the finely-tuned individual characters and the originality of the story line. Teens would love this.
Thank you, Netgalley, for the e-review edition of this book.
That said. I loved the shape of the story, the finely-tuned individual characters and the originality of the story line. Teens would love this.
Thank you, Netgalley, for the e-review edition of this book.
thegeekybibliophile's review against another edition
3.0
Rating: 2.5 stars rounded up to 3 stars.
The secluded, polygamous community of Clearhaven is the only place seventeen-year-old Hanna has ever known. Days away from her eighteenth birthday, Hanna is expected to become the fifth wife of a wealthy man in the community—a marriage that will also serve to improve her impoverished family's financial status, to boot. Hanna isn't looking forward to marriage however, especially after she meets a young man named Daniel who makes her question everything she's ever believed.
What I liked:
A story set within a polygamous community is always a sure-fire way to pique my interest. I suppose it's because I heard so much about Warren Jeffs and the FLDS on television for so long. (To be clear, this novel has nothing to do with the FLDS, though the dynamics between the wives of Hanna's father, Jotham, reminded me of things I'd read in former FLDS members memoirs.) This is what made me want to read the book when I saw the description of it.
The relationship Hanna had with her brothers and sisters, particularly with Emily was nice to read about. Emily has scoliosis, and Hanna was made responsible for her care. As a result, the sisters were very close.
The questions Hanna had about the outside world, her thoughts about Brother Paul (the religious leader of Clearhaven) and others within both the community and her family were interesting to read about.
What I didn't like:
When Hanna rebelled against marrying Edwin, her father used her love for Emily against her. Jotham threatened to have eleven-year-old Emily marry Edwin, if Hanna would not. Yes, I get it: Jotham is a despicable, abusive father who only cared how he would benefit from Hanna marrying Edwin... but to use her disabled little sister to force her hand? Really? I'd rather he did something that surprised me. Using Emily was too simple a solution, not to mention, a distasteful one.
The magical aspects of the story fell completely flat for me. These events never made sense to me, and the meaning behind Hanna and how she "fell from the sky" completely escaped me. The author's note at the end explained it... and it still didn't make sense to me, because I certainly hadn't come close to figuring it out while I read the book.
Final thoughts:
While certain portions of this story were enjoyable to read, this book wasn't at all what I expected it to be. I would have enjoyed reading this much more if the magical aspects had been left out completely—the story made a lot more sense prior to introduction of that.
I received an advance review copy of this book courtesy of Park Row Books via Edelweiss.
The secluded, polygamous community of Clearhaven is the only place seventeen-year-old Hanna has ever known. Days away from her eighteenth birthday, Hanna is expected to become the fifth wife of a wealthy man in the community—a marriage that will also serve to improve her impoverished family's financial status, to boot. Hanna isn't looking forward to marriage however, especially after she meets a young man named Daniel who makes her question everything she's ever believed.
What I liked:
A story set within a polygamous community is always a sure-fire way to pique my interest. I suppose it's because I heard so much about Warren Jeffs and the FLDS on television for so long. (To be clear, this novel has nothing to do with the FLDS, though the dynamics between the wives of Hanna's father, Jotham, reminded me of things I'd read in former FLDS members memoirs.) This is what made me want to read the book when I saw the description of it.
The relationship Hanna had with her brothers and sisters, particularly with Emily was nice to read about. Emily has scoliosis, and Hanna was made responsible for her care. As a result, the sisters were very close.
The questions Hanna had about the outside world, her thoughts about Brother Paul (the religious leader of Clearhaven) and others within both the community and her family were interesting to read about.
What I didn't like:
When Hanna rebelled against marrying Edwin, her father used her love for Emily against her. Jotham threatened to have eleven-year-old Emily marry Edwin, if Hanna would not. Yes, I get it: Jotham is a despicable, abusive father who only cared how he would benefit from Hanna marrying Edwin... but to use her disabled little sister to force her hand? Really? I'd rather he did something that surprised me. Using Emily was too simple a solution, not to mention, a distasteful one.
The magical aspects of the story fell completely flat for me. These events never made sense to me, and the meaning behind Hanna and how she "fell from the sky" completely escaped me. The author's note at the end explained it... and it still didn't make sense to me, because I certainly hadn't come close to figuring it out while I read the book.
Final thoughts:
While certain portions of this story were enjoyable to read, this book wasn't at all what I expected it to be. I would have enjoyed reading this much more if the magical aspects had been left out completely—the story made a lot more sense prior to introduction of that.
I received an advance review copy of this book courtesy of Park Row Books via Edelweiss.