Scan barcode
meowzik's review against another edition
4.0
This book was simultaneously awful and amazing. Melamed's writing is nuanced - it's descriptive, it evokes such imagery from a few sparse words, and she captures the eerie atmosphere completely. At the same time, the subject matter is awful - and how the girls deal with it, as if it's normal, is abhorrent. Overall, it was a fascinating read.
blodeuedd's review against another edition
4.0
I wish I could write this well written awesome review, but sometimes you are at a loss for words to do the book justice. I will do my best.
The book stayed with me as I read, it stayed with me when I finished it, and I still think about it and want to pick the author's brain. To know, to know...
Cults are scary. They truly believe they serve their God and their ancestors, but as you read on you realise they serve their own good. There are those who serve, there are those who blindly follow and there are monsters.
I want to say so many things! But spoilers! It felt like a punch to the stomach when the realisation hit me of what this cult is about. I felt sickened to the core. And as I read on something else hit me, what if...what...if? This cult is so wrapped about in their lies and cruel ways and as the daughters start to question things so did I..what if? Yes I am being cryptic but when you start to question you will understand.
On an island there lives a cult. Girls are married young. You obey your father, you obey your husband. You have 2 children. They grow up, you die. That is life. But before that there are the summers and at first I was all why? But the summers of freedom is both a curse and a blessing. They get to run wild, to be children, and well to escape the mosquitoes. But then you realise that most are just to indoctrinated that everything that happens is just a part of life. Sure the summer of freedom is lovely, but normal life is good too. And that is not the way things should be. All these poor children, all these poor families.
I really can not do it justice. You have to read it for yourself and feel that kick in the gut when things come together. To see these brainwashed sheep go on about their lives and, just read it!
A well written thought provoking book. One of the best I have read this year. Might be the best book I have read this year.
And yes be warned, there are trigger warnings. It is a cult after all.
The book stayed with me as I read, it stayed with me when I finished it, and I still think about it and want to pick the author's brain. To know, to know...
Cults are scary. They truly believe they serve their God and their ancestors, but as you read on you realise they serve their own good. There are those who serve, there are those who blindly follow and there are monsters.
I want to say so many things! But spoilers! It felt like a punch to the stomach when the realisation hit me of what this cult is about. I felt sickened to the core. And as I read on something else hit me, what if...what...if? This cult is so wrapped about in their lies and cruel ways and as the daughters start to question things so did I..what if? Yes I am being cryptic but when you start to question you will understand.
On an island there lives a cult. Girls are married young. You obey your father, you obey your husband. You have 2 children. They grow up, you die. That is life. But before that there are the summers and at first I was all why? But the summers of freedom is both a curse and a blessing. They get to run wild, to be children, and well to escape the mosquitoes. But then you realise that most are just to indoctrinated that everything that happens is just a part of life. Sure the summer of freedom is lovely, but normal life is good too. And that is not the way things should be. All these poor children, all these poor families.
I really can not do it justice. You have to read it for yourself and feel that kick in the gut when things come together. To see these brainwashed sheep go on about their lives and, just read it!
A well written thought provoking book. One of the best I have read this year. Might be the best book I have read this year.
And yes be warned, there are trigger warnings. It is a cult after all.
lizaroo71's review against another edition
3.0
Talk about a book to read while the Me Too movement is happening. Wow. This is intense. I am not sure I understand completely the reasons behind the decisions of the community on this island, but I found it compelling and kept reading.
The narrative is told in rotating characters (all female) that are about to reach what is called "fruition" on this island in post-apocalyptic America. Women are definitely the subjugated sex here and while the details are not graphic, you get enough hints to understand what is happening and shudder.
The backbone of the plot is that the girls are lead in an uprising by frail Janey who refuses to eat in an effort to stave off getting her menstrual cycle. The girls want a voice and a choice about what happens to their bodies and Janey is using the only power that she has available to her: food.
I need to stew on this one a bit more, but I liked the characters (when I could keep track of them - that took a few pages to follow) and I found the world she built unbelievable in that we are not given too much of what is behind the curtain, but just enough to fill in the details.
The narrative is told in rotating characters (all female) that are about to reach what is called "fruition" on this island in post-apocalyptic America. Women are definitely the subjugated sex here and while the details are not graphic, you get enough hints to understand what is happening and shudder.
The backbone of the plot is that the girls are lead in an uprising by frail Janey who refuses to eat in an effort to stave off getting her menstrual cycle. The girls want a voice and a choice about what happens to their bodies and Janey is using the only power that she has available to her: food.
I need to stew on this one a bit more, but I liked the characters (when I could keep track of them - that took a few pages to follow) and I found the world she built unbelievable in that we are not given too much of what is behind the curtain, but just enough to fill in the details.
harridansstew's review against another edition
4.0
This book...man. Horrible and amazing. I think I need to read it again.
gilmoremk's review against another edition
5.0
This book was definitely disturbing, and yet it was impossible to put down. You can for sure see that the author has experience working with children in harrowing circumstances. It was an amazing story where you can't help but start questioning what you're being told, and not told, about the world and the way that the characters live in it.
routergirl's review against another edition
3.0
This was a hard-to-stomach book for the weird relationships between the men and their daughters. But I enjoyed it for the rest of it, really - it's a bit derivative of other scifi where women are second class citizens, and where older people are gracefully (and sometimes not so gracefully) put down like sick animals. But overall decent.
acciolibris's review against another edition
2.0
No. There was no way I could finish this book. I admit my rating is based almost solely on the subject matter, but no. Too disturbing. Too wrong. Just no.
danidsfavereads's review against another edition
5.0
I have had a few days to process my feelings for this book and I think I am ready to put my thoughts to the page.
This story is terrifying and electrifying and inspiring all at the same time.
The story follows the lives of four girls - Vanessa, Caitlin, Janey, and Amanda - who live within a cult on a small island. The original 10 ancestors created a "bible" filled with rules the community follows. Every man has a role and the women support them. The girls, at first sign of puberty attend the "summer of fruition" where they find their husband and subsequently get married. Before this time, the children spend their summers running around freely. An unspoken understanding is that fathers abuse (both physically and sexually) their daughters. At the end of one summer, one of the girls sees something that leads to secrets that are threatened to be exposed. The girls on the island go a strike in an effort to make things change.
At the beginning of the book I found myself having to re-read passages to make sure I understood exactly what was being alluded to, and to follow who was being discussed. As the story progresses, you cannot help but root for these girls and hope that everything will turn out okay.
Without giving anything away, I was hoping for a different result after the "strike". However, knowing some of the psychology behind cult, I can understand how it might not have made that much of an impact. My thought is that if this story were to continue, this year on the island would have lasting repercussions for the remaining community.
I was continually heart broken by the idea of what these girls had to endure by the hands of their fathers. The thought that one of the ancestors believed this to be acceptable astounds me.
I was interested to see who could write so vividly about this topic. And reading that the author is a
psychiatric nurse practitioner who worked with traumatized children really impressed me.
This book is one of those that will keep you thinking long after you turn the final page.
This story is terrifying and electrifying and inspiring all at the same time.
The story follows the lives of four girls - Vanessa, Caitlin, Janey, and Amanda - who live within a cult on a small island. The original 10 ancestors created a "bible" filled with rules the community follows. Every man has a role and the women support them. The girls, at first sign of puberty attend the "summer of fruition" where they find their husband and subsequently get married. Before this time, the children spend their summers running around freely. An unspoken understanding is that fathers abuse (both physically and sexually) their daughters. At the end of one summer, one of the girls sees something that leads to secrets that are threatened to be exposed. The girls on the island go a strike in an effort to make things change.
At the beginning of the book I found myself having to re-read passages to make sure I understood exactly what was being alluded to, and to follow who was being discussed. As the story progresses, you cannot help but root for these girls and hope that everything will turn out okay.
Without giving anything away, I was hoping for a different result after the "strike". However, knowing some of the psychology behind cult, I can understand how it might not have made that much of an impact. My thought is that if this story were to continue, this year on the island would have lasting repercussions for the remaining community.
I was continually heart broken by the idea of what these girls had to endure by the hands of their fathers. The thought that one of the ancestors believed this to be acceptable astounds me.
I was interested to see who could write so vividly about this topic. And reading that the author is a
psychiatric nurse practitioner who worked with traumatized children really impressed me.
This book is one of those that will keep you thinking long after you turn the final page.
eamwilliams504's review against another edition
2.0
Surprised I finished this but really surprised how much I disliked it after the good reviews I had heard
I skimmed the last 3rd of this book just to find out how it ended
Slow and boring and frankly, gross
No info on how they started the island group full of pedos and women who put up with them- don’t waste your time with this
I skimmed the last 3rd of this book just to find out how it ended
Slow and boring and frankly, gross
No info on how they started the island group full of pedos and women who put up with them- don’t waste your time with this
michelinaz's review
5.0
This was SO GOOD! A feminist book about a dystopian society that lives on an island run by a patriarchal cult? Oh yes.