Colony Girl

by Thomas Rayfiel

In Arhat, Iowa, there are cornfields and there's the Colony. Smart and precocious fifteen-year-old Eve is feeling stymied by both. So she gets her first job as a highway work crew flagman, falls in love with a local teen Adonis and his widowed father, and plots to intervene in her best friend's arranged marriage. As Thomas Rayfiel's Colony Girl races to an unexpected climax, Eve finds herself trying to save the colony at the same time as she struggles to break free of its ominous control.

Genres: Fiction

288 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

Reviews

[Stephanie Sirois · Rating 2 out of 5]

It never felt like this was actually a girl speaking, but what a man thought a girl would speak like, wrapped up in how I hear men describe women: manipulative, asks for sex but doesn't want it, talks too much, never seems to make sense. Frankly, there were a lot of scenes that weren't completely described and left to the imagination and it didn't work either.

[Andrea · Rating 1 out of 5]

Colony Girl was terrible. I thought it was going to be this captivating read about a girl who was breaking away from her religious sect. Instead, it was just about this girl breaking way from her colony to hook up with a dad and son. Do not read.

[Stephanie · Rating 1 out of 5]

To go along with the string of aweful books, this one pulls through to the end. Stay away unless you enjoy books written for 14 year old girls with content meant for adults.

[Christopher P · Rating 4 out of 5]

Teenage coming of age story with a twist. The girl lives a sheltered life in a religious community and decides to learn more about the real world. Some expected things happen and some unexpected things happen. An easy fun read.

[Terry · Rating 3 out of 5]

The title and cover illustration led me to believe this book might be about the Hutterites which was why I was interested. It is actually more of a commune in my opinion.

I wish the book was less about sexual awakening and more about communal living. Oh well:/

[Christi · Rating 2 out of 5]

the first half gets 2 stars. it is possible that upon completion i would increase this rating, but it didnt seem likely, so i stopped.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

A young girl, raised in a cult eerily similar to the FLDS, but without the polygamy, rebels against the future her life path holds for her. Eve watches as her circle of friends disintegrates and longs to begin her life as the love of a boy who in the end is not deserving of her. Her machinations in providing a means of escape for herself would make Machiavelli proud. One knows that this girl is equipped to handle herself in a grown-up world. Wise beyond her fifteen years and as cunning as a fox, Eve proves to be a force to be reckoned with.

[Marvin · Rating 3 out of 5]

The narrator, a 16-year-old girl, has a strong, distinctive voice. I have mostly sworn off coming-of-age-in-dysfunctional-family stories, but this one was set in a religious colony just outside a small Iowa town, so I bit, & it was worth it. It reminded me a little of Jane Rogers's Mr. Wroe's Virgins. Though not as sophisticated, it still managed to make a religious quack a character you cared about. And the Iowa small-town landscape seemed authentically portrayed.

[Melissa Duclos · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is about a fifteen-year-old girl, Eve, living in a religious community called "The Colony" in a small town in Iowa. In some respects it is a standard coming of age novel, dealing with issues of sexuality and identity. However, the added lens of the religious upbringing lends some added tension to a well-worn plot. A good beach read.

[Ann · Rating 2 out of 5]

The narrator's voice never rang true, and I found the setting (a contemporary, semi-exclusionary Christian community in Iowa) less compelling than I had hoped. Eve vacillates between evangelical acolyte, Devil's advocate and precocious vamp, but is a troubled teen who didn't win my heart.

[Mandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a cute, quick read about a girl coming of age in a religious cult in Iowa. I thought I could predict the ending, but, I was plesantly suprised by the last minute twist in plot. Worth the read!

[Dee Schwinn · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was not my favorite book the author did a good job of showing how controlling a cult can be and how fake they are. I thought it was interesting how a male author did a good job of portraying a female narrator. I didn't especially like the ending but I suppose it was best for Eve.

[Megan · Rating 1 out of 5]

Should have been titled "Colonoscopy Girl" instead, as it felt like peering through a bunch of shit.

[LaRaie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This might be my favorite YA book to date. Have yet to finish--I will be back with a review.

[yzzy · Rating 3 out of 5]

...what