Helpful Score: 2
A review copy of this title was provided by the author.
I absolutely LOVED this book. It was such a heart-wrenching story. From the very beginning I was wishing for those girls to get out of there.
Rachel and Sara were great characters. Although Rachel was a bit dense, or I guess I should say brainwashed, she was such a compelling character. Sara, right from the word go showed so much intelligence. Her want to get away, but not leave her sister behind really made me heart ache for her.
The writing was beautiful, not in a poetic kind of way, but in that it was so simple, yet so compelling. Even though what happens in the story is hard to read I didn't want to put it down. There's a certain finesse to this book that makes it hard to put down (even when you have homework or sleep to get to).
The subject matter was difficult to read, but I think it's something that needed to be written. I think TV has sensationalized the polygamist lifestyle, and there's a much darker side that doesn't really come through in these shows. The abuse, incest, and brainwashing that occurred in this book was disgusting, for lack of a better term. I know that not all polygamists and compounds condone or practice this kind of behavior, but I'm sure that there are some (of both) that do, and that is a scary thought.
Such a compelling and heart-wrenching tale. I was hooked right from the beginning!
I absolutely LOVED this book. It was such a heart-wrenching story. From the very beginning I was wishing for those girls to get out of there.
Rachel and Sara were great characters. Although Rachel was a bit dense, or I guess I should say brainwashed, she was such a compelling character. Sara, right from the word go showed so much intelligence. Her want to get away, but not leave her sister behind really made me heart ache for her.
The writing was beautiful, not in a poetic kind of way, but in that it was so simple, yet so compelling. Even though what happens in the story is hard to read I didn't want to put it down. There's a certain finesse to this book that makes it hard to put down (even when you have homework or sleep to get to).
The subject matter was difficult to read, but I think it's something that needed to be written. I think TV has sensationalized the polygamist lifestyle, and there's a much darker side that doesn't really come through in these shows. The abuse, incest, and brainwashing that occurred in this book was disgusting, for lack of a better term. I know that not all polygamists and compounds condone or practice this kind of behavior, but I'm sure that there are some (of both) that do, and that is a scary thought.
Such a compelling and heart-wrenching tale. I was hooked right from the beginning!
Helpful Score: 1
This book held my interest because of the setting, but the writing is weak and the plot is forced.
Helpful Score: 1
Nothing I can write here will do this book justice. I wish I was as talented with my words as the authors because maybe then there would be a chance for me to get my opinion through to the people who will see this.
I can't gush about Hidden Wives enough. I knew, before reading this, that I would love it. I had that feeling (hopefully you've had it also for a book and know what I mean!) after only seeing the cover and knowing the title. That's a great, great, super great feeling. Even though I knew I'd love Hidden Wives I was still shocked when I opened to the first page. I hadn't though about how much I'd love it - the very first sentence and I fell in love deeper.
I'm sure there will be people who don't like this book - there always are and not every book is for everyone - but I think those people will be few and far betwee. I'm not only amazed that this is the first novel from Claire Avery but also at the talent that poured out.
It's a rare, rare book that evokes such emotion. I've read much more non-fiction in my life than fiction and most of the non hasn't forced such feeling out of me.
There was a constant fight going on in my head because a part of me kept my eyes skipping ahead - I just had to know. Another part was making myself move as slow as possible so I could savor every sentence. One could say that I read this twice already because I reread every paragraph - and only because they were all so beautiful.
I have no doubt that I'll reread this many times over the years. I haven't reread a book, even from an all-time favorite author, in...... well, almost forever.
Even if the subject of polygamy doesn't interest you I would recommend not passing by this easily. Whether you're into non-fiction, fiction, whatever, this will probably touch you like you never imagined.
I felt such fear so many times and such joy so many others. I wanted to reach in the book and help Sara and Rachel and Irvin.
Irvin brings me to another subject. Race is a very sensitive subject with me. I don't like all the stereotypes and distinctions found everywhere. I don't like anything like that - in my eyes we're all the same and everyone should be treated and viewed the same. Most books have a hard time accomplishing this. A very hard time. Taking into account that Sara and Rachel grew up in a polygamist family and the problems with race they had to face, that part of the book could have easily went downhill. It was the opposite. I don't think I could name one other book I have ever, in my entire life, read that handles the subject so beautifully. There was nothing I would have wished differently and being that I'm so conscious of the subject that really says a lot.
I could go on forever about Hidden Wives. I had a ton of books piled up waiting for me and I bypassed them all because of the feeling I had about this book and I didn't let myself down. Or, I should say, Claire Avery didn't let me down.
I can only hope and pray that another book is in the works right now - I'll be in line to buy it the exact day it's released.
Please, do not pass this book up because you think it's only for a certain type of reader - exactly the opposite is true. This book is for so many people. You'll be missing out tremendously.
Please also take this review and times it by 1,000 because like I said above, my words cannot do justice to my feelings.
I can't gush about Hidden Wives enough. I knew, before reading this, that I would love it. I had that feeling (hopefully you've had it also for a book and know what I mean!) after only seeing the cover and knowing the title. That's a great, great, super great feeling. Even though I knew I'd love Hidden Wives I was still shocked when I opened to the first page. I hadn't though about how much I'd love it - the very first sentence and I fell in love deeper.
I'm sure there will be people who don't like this book - there always are and not every book is for everyone - but I think those people will be few and far betwee. I'm not only amazed that this is the first novel from Claire Avery but also at the talent that poured out.
It's a rare, rare book that evokes such emotion. I've read much more non-fiction in my life than fiction and most of the non hasn't forced such feeling out of me.
There was a constant fight going on in my head because a part of me kept my eyes skipping ahead - I just had to know. Another part was making myself move as slow as possible so I could savor every sentence. One could say that I read this twice already because I reread every paragraph - and only because they were all so beautiful.
I have no doubt that I'll reread this many times over the years. I haven't reread a book, even from an all-time favorite author, in...... well, almost forever.
Even if the subject of polygamy doesn't interest you I would recommend not passing by this easily. Whether you're into non-fiction, fiction, whatever, this will probably touch you like you never imagined.
I felt such fear so many times and such joy so many others. I wanted to reach in the book and help Sara and Rachel and Irvin.
Irvin brings me to another subject. Race is a very sensitive subject with me. I don't like all the stereotypes and distinctions found everywhere. I don't like anything like that - in my eyes we're all the same and everyone should be treated and viewed the same. Most books have a hard time accomplishing this. A very hard time. Taking into account that Sara and Rachel grew up in a polygamist family and the problems with race they had to face, that part of the book could have easily went downhill. It was the opposite. I don't think I could name one other book I have ever, in my entire life, read that handles the subject so beautifully. There was nothing I would have wished differently and being that I'm so conscious of the subject that really says a lot.
I could go on forever about Hidden Wives. I had a ton of books piled up waiting for me and I bypassed them all because of the feeling I had about this book and I didn't let myself down. Or, I should say, Claire Avery didn't let me down.
I can only hope and pray that another book is in the works right now - I'll be in line to buy it the exact day it's released.
Please, do not pass this book up because you think it's only for a certain type of reader - exactly the opposite is true. This book is for so many people. You'll be missing out tremendously.
Please also take this review and times it by 1,000 because like I said above, my words cannot do justice to my feelings.
Helpful Score: 1
This book is unimpressive - nothing but one cliche and obvious, strained plot twist after another. Certainly not literature but not gripping or well-crafted enough to qualify as a good disposable read. Not everyone is a writer, and these people certainly have no gift for language beyond constructing basic sentences. I would bet this book sold because of the salacious interest in Short Creek/Jeffs/Big Love, not because of independent literary merit.
Helpful Score: 1
Hidden Wives is not an easy story to read because it deals with all-too-real abuse. It is a chilling novel about a fundamentalist cult where pedophiles, abusers and bigamists give themselves license to commit heinous crimes against women and children with sanction from God and absolute impunity.
Sarah and Rachel are two half-sisters with multiple mothers, siblings and a monster in the guise of their father. Education is not valued unless it is the teaching of fundamentalist Mormon doctrine, as directed by the "Prophet" Silver. Sarah, promised as a wife to her uncle by "Prophet" Silver, craves books and realizes that what they've learned and lived is radically wrong. Rachel merely wants to follow the dictates of the church despite overwhelming evidence that evil thrives within her community.
Unlike another reviewer, I couldn't read this book in one sitting. I had to process what was happening within the pages with breaks of my "normal" world because the knowledge that these cults really do exist is heart rending.
The debut novel is well written, and thoroughly researched. It is difficult to know that there are women who are forced to endure lives like those of the sister-wives in this book. It would be reassuring to know that actual polygamists receive the justice shown at the conclusion of this book to Abraham.
I will follow the writing career of Claire Avery with interest. I am certain that her next novel will also provide thought-provoking themes, which is what good novels do.
Sarah and Rachel are two half-sisters with multiple mothers, siblings and a monster in the guise of their father. Education is not valued unless it is the teaching of fundamentalist Mormon doctrine, as directed by the "Prophet" Silver. Sarah, promised as a wife to her uncle by "Prophet" Silver, craves books and realizes that what they've learned and lived is radically wrong. Rachel merely wants to follow the dictates of the church despite overwhelming evidence that evil thrives within her community.
Unlike another reviewer, I couldn't read this book in one sitting. I had to process what was happening within the pages with breaks of my "normal" world because the knowledge that these cults really do exist is heart rending.
The debut novel is well written, and thoroughly researched. It is difficult to know that there are women who are forced to endure lives like those of the sister-wives in this book. It would be reassuring to know that actual polygamists receive the justice shown at the conclusion of this book to Abraham.
I will follow the writing career of Claire Avery with interest. I am certain that her next novel will also provide thought-provoking themes, which is what good novels do.
