Sunday, April 26, 2009

Review - The Chosen One by Carol Lynch Williams


The Chosen One
Carol Lynch Williams
St. Martin's Press
ARC Pub Date - May 12, 2009

Kyra and her family are so excited! The Prophet is coming to visit them tonight and they are sure it's good news. Maybe their dad has been chosen to become an apostle. The apostles have the best of everything because they are blessed, so sayeth Prophet Childs. Right now Kyra and her families live in three trailers on the outskirts of the compound. Did i mention that Kyra has 20 brothers and sisters? And 3 mothers? Yeah. They live in a polygamist society that is mostly cut off from the outside world. But please, read on, don't let that stop you.

It turns out that the person who was chosen is not her dad, but Kyra herself.

"In a light bright as the sun the revelation came," Prophet Childs says. He stares over our heads like he's seeing things all over again. "The two of you at the stone altar, wearing the ceremonial dress, Brother Hyrum standing, you kneeling at his feet. I saw it all. I saw it all. You have been saved for him."

She's been chosen to marry Hyrum! But at 14 she doesn't want to get married, especially not to her uncle! She wants to wait for Joshua. He's her age and over this past year they've learned so much about each other. And what about Patrick, on the Bookmobile? The Prophet and Uncle Hyrum promise riches and ease to the family when Kyra marries. But in the meantime, the family needs to be taught about discipline, especially the baby who cried when The Prophet was talking.

What choice does Kyra really have?

I can't tell you much about this book because the beauty is in the unfolding. I read a lot of this book aloud to my daughter and she would yell everytime I stopped (cause it's faster to read silently!). Finally she came over and started reading it with me.

Carol Lynch Williams creates a world so real, I could feel the tension in Kyra. What were we going to do? How could we possibly get anywhere? What about our family? I felt as if I had to make the same decisions as Kyra. The writing was clear and concise. It moved you along in the story to the only possible ending. I absolutely loved this book! I will be adding it to the school library and as a book club book in the fall. St. Martin's Press even included a great discussion guide! I give it 5 stars!

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