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A review by slpugs
Gather the Daughters by Jennie Melamed
4.0
Trigger Warnings for those interested in reading this book: child abuse, sexual abuse (often implied, not graphic), suicide, self harm (through starvation, specifically). I hope this helps <3
I found this book while googling "Books about Cults" because I'm fascinated by them. Then I found out it was post-apocalyptic and I was overjoyed because that's my favorite genre. Win win!
As many other reviewers mentioned, this book is incredibly dark. I enjoy dark fiction and thought Jennie Melamed was really successful in her delivery of difficult topics. Many injustices happen off-screen and are implied which was a good choice especially since children are involved. What I love most of all is that the victims in this story have a lot of power. For example: the perspectives shift but it is always a daughter telling the story, no men are ever given a perspective or voice. I find this to be a really important aspect because there are no attempts to justify the abuse. For this - well done, Jennie Melamed. I also think the depictions of mental illness were well written and realistic. I also loved the setting. I thought the island location was engaging and well fleshed out. The societal structure was also (horrifying, obviously) intriguing and well conceived.
I have a few critiques which is why I've deducted a star. I found the ending to be a bit rushed and muddy. I think we could have used a little more fleshing out in the back third of the book. Things happen very quickly - too quickly, in my opinion. There are aspects of the book I wished had been given more of a treatment. The wanderers and the wasteland for example - I was very interested in the wasteland and what secrets were being kept from our heroines but we never really get a clear picture. I'm sure this by design since we're meant to feel like the girls feel. However, I think allowing the reader to know more could have heightened the stakes and helped us understand societal motivations more clearly.
I found this book while googling "Books about Cults" because I'm fascinated by them. Then I found out it was post-apocalyptic and I was overjoyed because that's my favorite genre. Win win!
As many other reviewers mentioned, this book is incredibly dark. I enjoy dark fiction and thought Jennie Melamed was really successful in her delivery of difficult topics. Many injustices happen off-screen and are implied which was a good choice especially since children are involved. What I love most of all is that the victims in this story have a lot of power. For example: the perspectives shift but it is always a daughter telling the story, no men are ever given a perspective or voice. I find this to be a really important aspect because there are no attempts to justify the abuse. For this - well done, Jennie Melamed. I also think the depictions of mental illness were well written and realistic. I also loved the setting. I thought the island location was engaging and well fleshed out. The societal structure was also (horrifying, obviously) intriguing and well conceived.
I have a few critiques which is why I've deducted a star. I found the ending to be a bit rushed and muddy. I think we could have used a little more fleshing out in the back third of the book. Things happen very quickly - too quickly, in my opinion. There are aspects of the book I wished had been given more of a treatment. The wanderers and the wasteland for example - I was very interested in the wasteland and what secrets were being kept from our heroines but we never really get a clear picture. I'm sure this by design since we're meant to feel like the girls feel. However, I think allowing the reader to know more could have heightened the stakes and helped us understand societal motivations more clearly.