Williams, Carol Lynch. (2009). THE CHOSEN ONE A NOVEL. New York: ST Martin's Griffin. ISBN 9780312555115
2. Plot Summary
Kyra is thirteen years old and lives in a compound as part of a polygamist cult. Her father has three wives and as 22 children with two of his wives expecting. Kyra starts to question the society and rules she was brought up in. " But life is changing for me. I'm learning new things" (6). She secretly meets the Ironton County Mobile Library on Wheels to check out books and also is meeting a young man named Joshua who she is falling in love with. "Finding the library was an accident" (13). "The first time I noticed Joshua Johnson was seven months ago at school (Did the book make me notice? Did my disobedience make me see him?) when I was coming out of quilting bee and headed for home" (27). Her family does not know about any of her secrets, they would be sins. The Chosen one comes to meet with her family and declares that Kyra will marry her uncle that is sixty years old. It is the wishes of god. Kyra must make choices that will change her life forever.
3. Critical Analysis
The setting of the story takes place outside of a small town in the desert within the confines of a compound. The plot of the story is the choices that Kyra will make. "There's not a mother or child in my family that doesn't honor the Prophet" (5). Will she marry or uncle or try to escape the life she as been brought up in? The problem in the story is different. There are not going to be many readers that will be able to relate to it. The book gives the reader a glimpse of what life would be like if they were raised different. This provides appeal for readers to want to read about a subject foreign to them. Cults are secrets and this story lets us see what it would be like to be part of one. "In a light bright as the sun the revelation came, Prophet Child says" (25). The author uses the style of the main character telling the story from her point of view. "I think I have lost the ability to breathe" (24). It is important that it is told this way, so that the reader can understand what she is going through. "Only one things make me feel like I can make it. It's books" (175). The focus of the story is on her, not the other characters in the book. They only play minor parts. When the story concludes the reader is left thinking do these problems really happen? What will Kyra do with her life? Will she be able to break away from this old lifestyle? "They can't make me marry him, I say" (171).
I would to remark that I did not like the way the story ended. I wanted to know more of what happened to Kyra once she made her choice. I felt that the story left the reader wanting more.
4. Review Excerpts
School Library Journal: "Kyra's loving father is powerless to help her and counsels her to accept her fate, but she cannot. The story ends in a high-speed chase with the Prophet's goons gunning for her as she improbably races toward freedom in the blood-spattered book mobile. Has the friendly driver been killed on her account? Is anyone looking for him? What retribution will be taken on her family and what kind of a life lies ahead for her? These unsettling questions are not addressed, but these omissions do not diminish the relief of her successful escape."
Booklist: "Contrivances notwithstanding, this is a heart pounder, and readers will be held, especially as the danger escalates. Williams’ portrayals of the family are sharp, but what’s most interesting about this book is how the yearnings and fears of a character so far from what most YAs know will still seem familiar and close. Grades 7-10."
5. Connections
This is a good book for young adults looking for information about what it would be like to raised in a cult.
Other about being raised in a polygamy cult:
Greene, Michele Dominez. KEEP SWEET. ISBN 9781442409774
Hrdlitschka, Shelley. SISTER WIFE. ISBN 9781551439273
No comments:
Post a Comment