The Sacred Lies of Minnow Bly
By Stephanie OakesPublished: Speak, 2015
Pages: 396
Genre: Young Adult, Thriller
Amazon, Goodreads
Fear floated around like a constant pollen, but none of us were allergic. But there's a moment when it all becomes too much. And it was coming like a wildfire bent on burning the whole place to the ground.
About the book: Minnow Bly spent twelve years in a cult that took away her family, her ability to trust and her hands. The Prophet is murdered and his community burned down, and Minnow may be the only one who truly knows what happened that night. While incarcerated in juvie, Minnow meets an FBI agent who offers her a deal: she can walk free if she gives up all she has left - her secrets.
The Sacred Lies of Minnow Bly is a novel that should be more popular than it is. The writing is great; Oakes establishes a dark, poetic ambience that is both addicting and horrid. I've been low key obsessed with cults for a while now. There's something so fascinating and outrageous about cults' ability to brainwash and control innocent people. I really felt this when Minnow's sister, Constance, stands by the Prophet even after seeing Minnow's horrid punishment. Minnow herself notices this brainwashing effect when she realizes that she never asked the Prophet about the sun, or questioned the Prophet's conflicting explanations about stars.
The flaws of the justice system and right versus wrong were epitomized in this novel. Angel is serving a decades-long sentence for murder because she was abused; it blows my mind how she could receive such a harsh sentence when she was basically defending herself. Some would say that murder is a capital sin, but there's so many gray lines, such as with Angel's situation. This book made me sit down and think about this stuff. It's the marker of a great novel when the story is not only intriguing and gripping but also makes readers question the big religious and philosophical questions.
So WOW. I think anyone who enjoys YA should read this book!
RATING (out of five puppies):
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