Scan barcode
thesapphiccelticbookworm's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Religious bigotry and Grief
Moderate: Violence, Murder, Toxic relationship, Adult/minor relationship, Death, and Suicide
Minor: Racism
alyssatuininga's review against another edition
2.0
The whole basis of the book as "The Polygamist's Daughter" and a look into this branch of polygamy is just silly. She barely knows her dad and they don't even really bother talking about religion to the kids. She lives a fairly "normal" poor American experience imo as a child. She goes to public school for the most part, talks about books and TV she experiences, sneaks out, has boyfriends and friends, and wears regular clothes. She is neglected by her parents, is expected to work long hours, doesn't get enough to eat, and one point is left with family in Mexico for a year. it is a sad story but seems to have little to do with polygamy.
The last bit of the book was the hardest for me. Essentially as she becomes an adult she moves from one cult to another. I couldn't take the hypocrisy of her condemning her parents for their kooky beliefs as she talks about her own. She uses to God to justify stupid things (ie God must have made me sick so I had to stay home and avoid tragedy, while other people in her family suffer because I guess God didn't care about them). She talks about years of therapy which she likely needed and then goes into this wacky rant about how she doesn't care about that her human father neglected and abandoned her because he is not her father God is her father. Clearly through the end of the book she does care and is still angry. Using religion to fix all her problems created by religion. just seems goofy to me and I just wanted the book to be over.
Graphic: Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Suicide, Death, and Abandonment
caitking98's review
4.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Grief, Emotional abuse, Abandonment, Child abuse, and Misogyny
Moderate: Suicide, Religious bigotry, Gun violence, Murder, Death, and Death of parent
Minor: Child death
arsenic_rose's review against another edition
3.5
Graphic: Suicide, Murder, and Gun violence
lizzzardbean's review against another edition
3.75
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Murder and Mental illness
Minor: Suicide
tanyafrey's review against another edition
3.75
Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Abandonment, Toxic relationship, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Confinement, Death of parent, Grief, and Suicide
pam_'s review against another edition
2.0
The main reason I chose to give this a mediocre rating is the evangelical Christian message that is heavily preached in the last third of the book. The tone of the book shifts so dramatically that it feels like you’re reading a Christian testimonial (and not a memoir about surviving/escaping a cult). This meant that while I picked this book up expecting one thing, I ended up getting something completely different by the end of the story. The entirety of the book’s events are used to push an evangelical Christian message. At one point, the author literally writes that God became the father she never had.
Ultimately, this is a powerful and gripping memoir. However, it devolves into a heavy-handed Christian testimonial by the end of it. This tonal shift was surprising, unexpected and off-putting.
Graphic: Child abuse
Minor: Suicide, Death of parent, and Suicidal thoughts
mondovertigo's review
3.25
Graphic: Grief, Religious bigotry, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Suicide, Mental illness, Child abuse, Murder, Gaslighting, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Sexual violence, Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, Gun violence, and Death of parent
Minor: Child death
thebranchlibrary_'s review against another edition
3.0
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Death, and Suicide
Minor: Gun violence
erica_reads_things's review against another edition
3.75
Would have rated a bit higher but the timeline was a bit hard to follow at times and some of the writing and phrases were noticibly repetitive. Small qualms though
Graphic: Ableism, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Sexism, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Misogyny, Religious bigotry, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Adult/minor relationship, Grief, Suicide, and Death
Minor: Fatphobia, Death of parent, Eating disorder, and Homophobia