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3.84 AVERAGE
3.84 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
dark
emotional
hopeful
tense
Unfortunately unimpressed. I had fairly high hopes for this, but it didn't meet my expectations. The characters had enough bizarre, unique details about them to feel fairly realistic, but Bieker struggles to give them life.
Funnily enough, I think the premise of Godshot would have been a great setup for a "new weird fiction" novel.
Funnily enough, I think the premise of Godshot would have been a great setup for a "new weird fiction" novel.
“It hurts.”
“Get used to it,” she said. “Women have a long history of suffering.”
How to describe this book... well, it's a book about women and girls. About mothers and daughters, and the often difficult relationships between them-- about what it is to love so deeply a mother who has failed you. About religion and the way it can be used to control women's bodies. It feels dystopian due to the claustrophobic, stifling feel of the novel, but it's not really.
The [b:White Oleander|32234|White Oleander|Janet Fitch|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1501159524l/32234._SY75_.jpg|1223333] comparison is a good one. I also think this might be the kind of thing [a:Elana K. Arnold|5772357|Elana K. Arnold|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1331582486p2/5772357.jpg] would write if she turned her talents to adult fiction. A gritty, ugly, yet oddly empowering tale about girls. I'm also surprised no one has thought to pull out the ol' [b:The Handmaid's Tale|38447|The Handmaid's Tale|Margaret Atwood|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1578028274l/38447._SY75_.jpg|1119185] comparison. The religious zealotry, the single narrow perspective, the control, the idolization of pregnancy and pregnant women… I can see the parallels. Though the main difference here is that they didn’t have to overthrow an entire system and install a new government. It was simply the use of fear that got people to believe a charlatan was a messiah.
The book is set in the fictional town of Peaches, California, which is experiencing a devastating drought. The lush greenery of the past has been replaced by cracked earth, and the local residents, in their desperation, turn to Pastor Vern to guide them away from sin and towards a new world-- one where God rewards their faith with water. To do this, they are given assignments, but they are warned not to speak of their assignments with one another.
I don’t know why I loved her the way I did, in this aching way that could not be explained, other than she was my mother. There was no reason beyond that.
Lacey May's mother is everything to her; her whole world. So when she is exiled from the church, Lacey May cannot understand why she abandons her completely and runs away with a man. What follows is Lacey May's search for her mother and her search for the truth about the community in which she lives. When she is given her own assignment, the story takes a dark turn.
It's a bildungsroman of sorts. Lacey May is an extremely sympathetic character-- naive in a lot of ways (but without being irritatingly so) plus smart and resourceful in others. Her mother is a very complex woman. I spent the whole book stuck halfway between pity for her and anger at her selfishness. This is intentional, I feel. The author wants us to have the complicated relationship with her that Lacey May has.
For nothing could take away who my mother and I had been when we had loved each other, when we’d driven the town, heads back screaming along to her favorite songs, the way she looked so melancholy and how she’d rested her chin on my head while we slow danced in the living room to “Tears in Heaven.”
Beyond this, it is quite hard to explain all that the book does. [b:Godshot|41719463|Godshot|Chelsea Bieker|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1566934783l/41719463._SY75_.jpg|65077739] takes on so many themes relating to girlhood and growing up and religion. One thing I love is when authors figure out how to tell old stories - in this case, about a difficult mother/daughter relationship - in new, creative ways.
Whether it is about love for a mother who doesn't deserve it, or love for a religion that is a lie, at its heart, it feels like this book is about how growing up and changing can mean opening your eyes and losing faith in the false gods you've always believed in. It's about looking back over everything that has happened to you and being able to reevaluate it through new eyes. And, I guess, it's a bittersweet story about letting go.
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It’s not so common for an author to so deeply embody what a destitute, religious, impoverished town feels like without feeling gimicky, but this book does it. It is so raw in how it captures the town of Peaches, California, which has spent so long in drought that it sees its church and pastor, Vern, as the only hope for the town.
Lacey is a tough character to love at first. She falls into the same naivety as the rest of her town and unashamedly tries to convert anyone she meets into a deep fear of God and love for Vern. But as the church’s influence spreads into some pretty dark territory, we see how she is forced fo grow independently. Somehow, she becomes the most lovable character I’ve read in a long time.
I can’t recommend this enough. The writing is fantastic, and each character is so well fleshed out that you feel pain when they do. An easy 5 stars!!
Lacey is a tough character to love at first. She falls into the same naivety as the rest of her town and unashamedly tries to convert anyone she meets into a deep fear of God and love for Vern. But as the church’s influence spreads into some pretty dark territory, we see how she is forced fo grow independently. Somehow, she becomes the most lovable character I’ve read in a long time.
I can’t recommend this enough. The writing is fantastic, and each character is so well fleshed out that you feel pain when they do. An easy 5 stars!!
challenging
dark
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
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:
Complicated
Not what I thought it would be, but still good. The daughter is much more engrossed in the cult than the back cover leads you to believe. Still an excellent story of a young girl grappling with faith, a mother who leaves her, found family, and more.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape
Moderate: Alcoholism, Sexual violence, Suicide, Violence, Grief, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, Abandonment
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes