The Sacred Lies of Minnow Bly: A Review

The Kevinian cult has taken everything from seventeen-year-old Minnow: twelve years of her life, her family, her ability to trust.

And when she rebelled, they took away her hands, too.

Now their Prophet has been murdered and their camp set aflame, and it's clear that Minnow knows something—but she's not talking. As she languishes in juvenile detention, she struggles to un-learn everything she has been taught to believe, adjusting to a life behind bars and recounting the events that led up to her incarceration. But when an FBI detective approaches her about making a deal, Minnow sees she can have the freedom she always dreamed of—if she’s willing to part with the terrible secrets of her past.

My Rating:

My Thoughts:

This book gripped me from the very beginning. I've always been interested in religious cults and how they function, ever since I first hear about the Westboro Baptist church horror stories. So the plot for this book seemed so interesting! And it was. I loved reading how Minnow went through this story and found out who she is and what she believes in. I found out afterwards that there is a story this book is based off of and I'd love to read that some time soon. 

So this guy named Kevin calls himself the Prophet, and her family follows him into the woods to start an entire new life. At first Minnow wholeheartedly believes him. He knows all the answers and talks to god and knows what's best for the village. Then later on, Minnow starts questioning everything he says, and realizes that it may not be what he says it is. She wants to know what the real world is. One night she is told she will be married to the prophet, and so she decides to run away. That night she meets her love interest, but is ultimately found, brought back to her village, and as punishment, her hands are cut off. 

That in itself is an amazing feature of this book; the main character has no hands to do anything with! While in juvi, she casually makes jokes about it, which lets you into her head a bit better. After that night, her entire personality starts to shift and change. It keeps on developing in juvi as well. She questions everything and tries to find out what she believes in. 

Probably the only thing I didn't like about this book was the ending. Through the entire book you are leading up to her 18th birthday, because on that day they will decide if she is free, or if she's going to real jail. You don't ever find out.  Another thing that wasn't really tied up well was the love interest. You are pretty much led to believe he is out there in the wild, and he's going to starve to death, alone. What kind of a romance is that? I understand the reason behind Minnow falling out of love with him, but come on. I enjoyed that character and wanted much much more for him than that. What a cop out. 

Other than those two things, this book was great and I recommend it to everyone!