Book: The Chosen One
Author: Carol Lynch Williams
Pages: 213
Read On: Kindle
How Long it Took Me To Read: 2 hours
Plot Summary: Thirteen-year-old Kyra has grown up in an isolated community without questioning the fact that her father has three wives and she has twenty brothers and sisters, with two more on the way. That is, 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 Joshua, the boy she hopes to choose for herself instead of having a man chosen for her.
But when the Prophet decrees that she must marry her sixty-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 forever.
General Thoughts: I am very curious about cults and religious sects and communities and how they live. Well, I am curious about how everyone lives. I am a nosy Nancy. Books are such a wonderful way to get to know how other people live and what their lives are like.
I got this book a couple of months back because the premise sounded good. A couple of nights back, I couldn't sleep and was flipping through the book on my Kindle and started reading this book and was sucked in.
Things I Liked:
1. The writing was simple, direct and nice.
2. This was a short little read, only 213 pages and they flew by, the pace of this book was fantastic, I just couldn't put it down.
3. I loved Kyra's character and rooted for her and was worried about her and wanted her to get out of this horrid situation.
4. The book did a wonderful job at portraying life in this community. Even though the book was from Kyra's perspective, it felt like we got to see this entire world. Their rules, their limitations and especially the life of the women in this world.
5. This book makes a great point about the powers of books and reading and knowledge. Kyra wants more of life and she questions the rules because she reads books and know more about the outside world.
6. I really liked Kyra's family, her parents, all her three mothers and her many siblings. It was nice to show that not all people in this community were bad.
7. I was worried and anxious about Kyra and that made me flip pages and read this book in one sitting. The tension and nerves especially in the second half of the book was great.
8. The romance element in this book was subtle and felt real.
Things I Didn't Like:
1. The ending was a bit abrupt and a lot of questions about the fate of several characters were not answered. I would have liked to know what happened to so many of the characters.
Rating: 4/5
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