Thirteen-year-old Kyra has grown up in an isolated polygamous community without questioning her father’s three wives and her twenty brothers and sisters. Or at least 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 the boy she hopes to choose for herself instead of having a man chosen for her. But when the Prophet decrees that Kyra must marry her 60-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.
I can't stress what an important book this is honestly, and I need to inform everyone I am tolerant of all religion. I am able to understand that the polygamist group in the story does not define all polygamists . The beginning was a little bit slow for me, but it caught on fast. Kyra is a thirteen year old polygamist, and when I say that I don't mean the normal kind I mean some breed all their own. In Kyra's group The Chosen Ones they believe in a prophet named Prophet Childs. That is rather normal from the small amount I know, but he is a really strict man. He believes in discipline, and who am I to judge weather he talks directly to Jesus, however some of the stuff Jesus and God tell him to do its just not sane. Prophet Childs is a sick twisted man, and he has surrounded himself with like minded individuals. He is basically a cult leader, and not an actual religious man at all. He's not just misguided he is seriously delusional and perverted. He rules his compound by threatening and making everyone afraid of the outside world. Kyra's Uncle Hyrum is a like-minded man he has 7 wives already but claims God told him he's to wed Kyra his niece who is THIRTEEN. Prophet Childs claims God told him the exact same thing, so even though Kyra's family is upset over it...Its Gods will. Kyra questions the Prophet and her Uncle
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She is just the kind of person a cult leader would not want around spreading blasphemy. Kyra is in love with a fellow compound resident Joshua he thinks he will just go claim her then the gross marriage to her Uncle will be called off..Silly Joshua. The violence in this book is just unimaginable. I can't begin to understand why people just sit by and let a child predator run their lives. I know all polygamists aren't like this I'm not singling them out in any way, I am only referring to the Prophet in the book. They aren't even letting the young kids get married they are saving all the young girls for the really old greedy men. Most of the men already have a bunch of wives, but they still want the young girls. The Lost Boys are mentioned in this book, and I've heard of them before the boys who run away from compounds or are kicked out of them. Funny I never even thought about the girls you don't really learn much about them I guess, because according to this book the girls hardly ever escape.
This book was just eye opening, that just 50 miles from a town all this horrible stuff is happening. The babies that are born with limitations are just killed, and women who can't have babies can't go to heaven. Babies and mothers die because they are not allowed to use real hospitals. The Prophet before Prophet Childs was very different the people were allowed to come and go as they please, its just this Prophet Childs he is ridiculous. I've never felt so frustrated reading a book before. None of the men are even questioned for wanting to marry really young girls everyone just accepts it because they are scared or think its what God wants. The story was really powerful and just vital everyone should know this is happening. I don't have a problem if everyone is safe and happy, but when sick stuff happens like babies being killed and incest...I"m sorry its just wrong. Kyra's journey is really inspirational she is extremely brave in so many ways. Plus it shows the kindness and compassion of strangers its all amazing. Plus you see both sides to Kyra's world you get a glimmer of hope when she's with her loving family, but then you see what once might have been a well adjusted safe place turned into a scary prison. The problem doesn't lie within Kyra's family it lies within the sick mind of the Prophet. This book makes you think ,and it makes you realize that love can exist in a nontraditional family. The book is hard to handle at times, but its certainly worth it in my opinion.
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