Book: The Chosen One by Carol Lynch Williams

Book Info: Published by St. Martin’s Press; 213 pages; hardcover

Source: borrowed from the library

Genre: YA/Contemporary

Find out more: Goodreads~Barnes And Noble~Amazon~Carol Lynch Williams

Goodreads.com Summary: Thirteen-year-old Kyra has grown up in an isolated community without questioning the fact that her father has three wives and she has twenty brothers and sisters, with two more on the way. That is, without questioning them much—if you don’t count her secret visits to the Mobile Library on Wheels to read forbidden books, or her meetings with Joshua, the boy she hopes to choose for herself instead of having a man chosen for her.

But when the Prophet decrees that she must marry her sixty-year-old uncle—who already has six wives—Kyra must make a desperate choice in the face of violence and her own fears of losing her family forever.

The Chosen One is really interesting and I don’t think I’ve read a book that deals with polygamy before.

Once again, I’m not sure how accurate the portrayal of a polygamist sect is, but it did feel real and very accurate.  I thought Williams did a great job of handling the issues with care.  She gets right to the point while still letting the emotions of the characters shine through.  There is something beautiful about the writing.

I really liked the ending, which leaves you wondering about what happens to Kyra and the life she left behind.  You can tell things aren’t over for Kyra, her family, or the comunity but things still felt optimistic and hopeful.  And poor Patrick!  That was definitely sad.

While the book deals with polygamy, it’s not a book about polygamy.  It’s really more about the isolated community and the hold leaders can have on their communities.

Another plus is that Williams kept things moving.  The novel moved fast, but not too fast.  It was a hard book to put down.

I think my rating would be a 4 out of 5.  I didn’t love it, but it’s an interesting look at something I don’t normally think about.