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3.84 AVERAGE
3.84 AVERAGE
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
***TRIGGER WARNING: SA***
This book was an enlightening, sad, terrifying, infuriating, unique piece of work. I wish I could give it a 3.5.
I didn’t know what to expect beyond what I believed to be a book focused on a young girl who struggles to realize she is in a small-town religious cult after her mother abandons her.
What I did not expect, was that the majority of the book would sexual assault being masked by those in the town as the truly horrific concept of being done “in the name of God.”
It’s really interesting the way they start with Lacey May — the way her voice is at the beginning of the book vs the end really changes and reflects her journey and enlightenment. She begins with a voice so naive and pained for the ways her mother has harmed her that she would do anything, believe in anything, anyone, if it meant a life better than the one she had before.
But very quickly in the book you realize why her mother was really cast out by their manic, narcissistic church leader, even though she was not good to Lacey either. It’s so sickening to see in this story how easily a town, desperate for rain and salvation and prosperity again, would allow such terrible things to happen “in the name of God.”
It was definitely hard for me to get through for that reason.
This story was very much a Handmaid’s Tale vibe meets small-town-cult story.
I felt like the side characters could have been a bit more fleshed out, but i liked the way the author ended it, in many ways.
This book was an enlightening, sad, terrifying, infuriating, unique piece of work. I wish I could give it a 3.5.
I didn’t know what to expect beyond what I believed to be a book focused on a young girl who struggles to realize she is in a small-town religious cult after her mother abandons her.
What I did not expect, was that the majority of the book would sexual assault being masked by those in the town as the truly horrific concept of being done “in the name of God.”
It’s really interesting the way they start with Lacey May — the way her voice is at the beginning of the book vs the end really changes and reflects her journey and enlightenment. She begins with a voice so naive and pained for the ways her mother has harmed her that she would do anything, believe in anything, anyone, if it meant a life better than the one she had before.
But very quickly in the book you realize why her mother was really cast out by their manic, narcissistic church leader, even though she was not good to Lacey either. It’s so sickening to see in this story how easily a town, desperate for rain and salvation and prosperity again, would allow such terrible things to happen “in the name of God.”
It was definitely hard for me to get through for that reason.
This story was very much a Handmaid’s Tale vibe meets small-town-cult story.
I felt like the side characters could have been a bit more fleshed out, but i liked the way the author ended it, in many ways.
challenging
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Godshot, at first glance, is about a young girl raised up in a religious cult. But if insight into a cult is what you are looking for, this is not the book for you. We follow Lacey May in a coming of age story as she navigates life in a broken community surrounded by drought and despair. Most critical to Lacey’s development is her relationship with her mother. The novel closely examines mothers and daughters and the bonds of unconditional love in those relationships (whether it exists or not).
I am torn between loving Godshot and mildly abhorring it. So I’ve settled in the middle at 3 stars. Chelsea Bieker has some really amazing moments. You cannot deny she is a great writer. Here is where she excels: deep and cutting moments that sum up the characters’ pained existences. She whips out lines like, “The loneliness of a monster can only become sentimental after it is dead” and I can’t help but sit with it for a moment. There is so much insight into womanhood in these pages. Here is where she flounders: dialogue. Conversations among characters would often lead to large plot action, but nothing about the conversation made sense in getting the reader there. It gave a choppy feeling to the already hazy narrative. There was a feeling of plot events simply happening to Lacey instead of Lacey taking actions in her own. I know this was intentional and it lent credence to Lacey’s helpless position but it also served to alienate the reader.
Difficult circumstances and desperation led to a lot of wild and unique things happening to Lacey. By all rights, it should have been riveting but somehow even with all of the craziness going on, the book dragged a little bit. We got a lot of Lacey sitting around in the heat and wishing for rain. I wasn’t bored necessarily, just unattached.
Overall: this was a really interesting examination of human nature in times of hopelessness, but not perfectly executed.
I am torn between loving Godshot and mildly abhorring it. So I’ve settled in the middle at 3 stars. Chelsea Bieker has some really amazing moments. You cannot deny she is a great writer. Here is where she excels: deep and cutting moments that sum up the characters’ pained existences. She whips out lines like, “The loneliness of a monster can only become sentimental after it is dead” and I can’t help but sit with it for a moment. There is so much insight into womanhood in these pages. Here is where she flounders: dialogue. Conversations among characters would often lead to large plot action, but nothing about the conversation made sense in getting the reader there. It gave a choppy feeling to the already hazy narrative. There was a feeling of plot events simply happening to Lacey instead of Lacey taking actions in her own. I know this was intentional and it lent credence to Lacey’s helpless position but it also served to alienate the reader.
Difficult circumstances and desperation led to a lot of wild and unique things happening to Lacey. By all rights, it should have been riveting but somehow even with all of the craziness going on, the book dragged a little bit. We got a lot of Lacey sitting around in the heat and wishing for rain. I wasn’t bored necessarily, just unattached.
Overall: this was a really interesting examination of human nature in times of hopelessness, but not perfectly executed.
dark
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
emotional
sad
Was excited to read but couldn’t get into it, will try again
dark
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Loveable characters:
Complicated
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No