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The Girl Who Slept with God
For Fans of Celeste Ng’s Everything I Never Told You and Meg Wolitzer’s The Interestings, an entrancing literary debut about religion, science, secrets, and the power and burden of family from recent Wallace Stegner Fellow Val Brelinski
Set in Arco, Idaho, in 1970, Val Brelinski’s powerfully affecting first novel tells the story of three sisters: young Frances, gregarious and strong-willed Jory, and moral-minded Grace. Their father, Oren, is a respected member of the community and science professor at the local college. Yet their mother’s depression and Grace’s religious fervor threaten the seemingly perfect family, whose world is upended when Grace returns from a missionary trip to Mexico and discovers she’s pregnant with—she believes—the child of God.
Distraught, Oren sends Jory and Grace to an isolated home at the edge of the town. There, they prepare for the much-awaited arrival of the baby while building a makeshift family that includes an elderly eccentric neighbor and a tattooed social outcast who drives an ice cream truck.
The Girl Who Slept with God is a literary achievement about a family’s desperate need for truth, love, purity, and redemption.
Set in Arco, Idaho, in 1970, Val Brelinski’s powerfully affecting first novel tells the story of three sisters: young Frances, gregarious and strong-willed Jory, and moral-minded Grace. Their father, Oren, is a respected member of the community and science professor at the local college. Yet their mother’s depression and Grace’s religious fervor threaten the seemingly perfect family, whose world is upended when Grace returns from a missionary trip to Mexico and discovers she’s pregnant with—she believes—the child of God.
Distraught, Oren sends Jory and Grace to an isolated home at the edge of the town. There, they prepare for the much-awaited arrival of the baby while building a makeshift family that includes an elderly eccentric neighbor and a tattooed social outcast who drives an ice cream truck.
The Girl Who Slept with God is a literary achievement about a family’s desperate need for truth, love, purity, and redemption.
384 pages, Paperback
First published July 28, 2015
79 people are currently reading
4403 people want to read
About the author
Val Brelinski
1 book112 followersVal Brelinski was born and raised in Nampa, Idaho, the daughter of devout evangelical Christians. She is a recent Wallace Stegner Fellow at Stanford, where she was also a Jones Lecturer in fiction writing. She received an MFA from the University of Virginia, and her writing has been published in such magazines as VQR, and The Rumpus, Fiction, Confrontation, and Green Mountains Review. She received prizes for her fiction from the San Francisco Chronicle, The Charlottesville Weekly, and The Boise Weekly, and was also a finalist for the Rona Jaffe Foundation Writers' Award.
She lives in Northern California and currently teaches creative writing at Stanford's Continuing Studies Program.
She lives in Northern California and currently teaches creative writing at Stanford's Continuing Studies Program.
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September 22, 2015
The story centers around a super religious family named the Duggarrs the Quanbeck's. The oldest daughter Grace gets to go on a mission trip to Mexico. When she returns she carries with her a little something extra from her trip.
Grace is pregnant. She swears that an Angel came to her and that she is carrying a holy child.
This family is the type of family that an unwed mother is just not going to fly. What will the neighbors think?
There was to be no mixed bathing, no circuses or bowling alleys or pool halls, no card playing (except Uno), no dancing or movie watching, no make-up or pierced ears or flashy jewelry or immodest dress of any kind. Men were to have short hair and women long and Joy was spelled Jesus and Others and then You.
The mother of the family just can't deal with any of it so she completely shuts herself into her bedroom with a washcloth over her face (her normal behavior) and dad decides on what is best for the family.
What is decided is that pregnant Grace and her 13 year old sister Jory will be moved out to a remote farmhouse and that is where they will stay.
The story is told from Jory's point of view. Sheltered her entire life from the heathen world Jory now has to go to the local highschool instead of the religious school that she has been going to all her life. It's 1970 so culture shock sets in.
Jory makes friends with the elderly woman who lives next door and a man that drives the ice cream truck.
The only other person that the girls are allowed to have visit is their father when he brings them necessary supplies. Grace begins to become even more devout and Jory tries and point out the differences to her father but he turns a blind eye to them. Fasting when she is pregnant, shaving her hair off her head. It's all to get her closer to her faith.
Jory is a typical teenager who is slung into a whole new world so she begins to experiment with things that she has never had access to before. Who can blame her? She has little supervision! I'm surprised that she didn't get into much worse. Her character does read as very real and I became attached to her voice in this book.
You see disaster coming but you hold your breath and hope for the best.
"The next song is dedicated to a girl named Jory," he said. "who's learning about life the way we all do-the hard way."
Booksource: Netgalley in exchange for review.
None of the people on my friends list had reviewed this book so I'm again picking a review that I like to showcase. It's found here
Grace is pregnant. She swears that an Angel came to her and that she is carrying a holy child.
This family is the type of family that an unwed mother is just not going to fly. What will the neighbors think?
There was to be no mixed bathing, no circuses or bowling alleys or pool halls, no card playing (except Uno), no dancing or movie watching, no make-up or pierced ears or flashy jewelry or immodest dress of any kind. Men were to have short hair and women long and Joy was spelled Jesus and Others and then You.
The mother of the family just can't deal with any of it so she completely shuts herself into her bedroom with a washcloth over her face (her normal behavior) and dad decides on what is best for the family.
What is decided is that pregnant Grace and her 13 year old sister Jory will be moved out to a remote farmhouse and that is where they will stay.
The story is told from Jory's point of view. Sheltered her entire life from the heathen world Jory now has to go to the local highschool instead of the religious school that she has been going to all her life. It's 1970 so culture shock sets in.
Jory makes friends with the elderly woman who lives next door and a man that drives the ice cream truck.
The only other person that the girls are allowed to have visit is their father when he brings them necessary supplies. Grace begins to become even more devout and Jory tries and point out the differences to her father but he turns a blind eye to them. Fasting when she is pregnant, shaving her hair off her head. It's all to get her closer to her faith.
Jory is a typical teenager who is slung into a whole new world so she begins to experiment with things that she has never had access to before. Who can blame her? She has little supervision! I'm surprised that she didn't get into much worse. Her character does read as very real and I became attached to her voice in this book.
You see disaster coming but you hold your breath and hope for the best.
"The next song is dedicated to a girl named Jory," he said. "who's learning about life the way we all do-the hard way."
Booksource: Netgalley in exchange for review.
None of the people on my friends list had reviewed this book so I'm again picking a review that I like to showcase. It's found here
December 1, 2020
Reading Road Trip 2020
Current location: Idaho
Well, what a happy accident this was.
I set out to read a different book for my “Idaho” entry, hated it, quickly abandoned it, then raced to find an adequate substitute as I'm running out of time on my American reading project.
You'd have thought the obvious replacement would have been Emily Ruskovich's debut novel, Idaho, but I went instead with the lesser known debut novel, The Girl Who Slept with God.
The author, Val Brelinski, was born and raised in Nampa, Idaho, not far from where my sister lives. Turns out, she and I have several other things in common: we're both writers who have taught writing, put our creative work on hold for raising kids, and were little girls in the 1970s.
Oh. . . and we both have sisters.
If I could have selected a book to honor my sister's time in Idaho, I would have chosen this exact one, but, if I'm being honest, I must admit it was happenstance that I found it.
The two sisters in this book, Grace and Jory, are quite a bit older than my sister and me, and we aren't like them, not at all really, and yet this is still a story that hinges on the sister dynamic.
It is not a perfect novel. The beginning starts off with some sloppy plot points and overwriting. I experienced some moments of “purple prose” and I also found fault with Ms. Brelinski's repetitive use of the following words: clambered, tiny, gazed and peered. As a writing teacher, I would think she would be incredibly keyed in to this overuse of unusual words that stand out on the page, but let's have a quick break-out session right now so that no future writers make these mistakes:
clambered is a word that I have never heard an American use, not one time in speech in my natural life. J.K. Rowling may have built a career around this particular word, but she's British and filthy rich now. For the rest of us schlubs living here in the states, let's get real and avoid this word like COVID.
tiny is a word that describes something so incredibly small, you are allowed to use it one time per novel, provided that you are describing something so unique in its size, it deserves to stand out just once in a story, hopefully not as a way of communicating a protagonist's penis size.
gazed is a word that. . . well. . . come on. What in the hell have you gazed at lately? Like, nothing.
peered? Bury it. This word should be removed from the common vernacular.
Okay, now that we've got that lesson out of the way, let's get back to why this novel is good and deserves four stars from a picky reader like me.
The characters! Even seasoned writers can't always come up with three dimensional beauties like these. I bought into every one of these characters, knew them like neighbors. Even the “B” characters were full-bodied delights.
The 1970s setting: spot-on, fabulous, and not overdone. It made me want to time travel right back to all of it.
The philosophy: I must have dog-eared at least 20 pages.
The ending: Inspired, worthy of great big tears, and a final line that flicked me, hard, right between my eyes.
This is a debut novel worthy of far more attention than it has on here. It tackles God, science, sibling rivalry, life imbalances, and family in a way that is truly unique to any story I've ever read.
"I've always believed that science and religion don't have to be mutually exclusive."
Current location: Idaho
Well, what a happy accident this was.
I set out to read a different book for my “Idaho” entry, hated it, quickly abandoned it, then raced to find an adequate substitute as I'm running out of time on my American reading project.
You'd have thought the obvious replacement would have been Emily Ruskovich's debut novel, Idaho, but I went instead with the lesser known debut novel, The Girl Who Slept with God.
The author, Val Brelinski, was born and raised in Nampa, Idaho, not far from where my sister lives. Turns out, she and I have several other things in common: we're both writers who have taught writing, put our creative work on hold for raising kids, and were little girls in the 1970s.
Oh. . . and we both have sisters.
If I could have selected a book to honor my sister's time in Idaho, I would have chosen this exact one, but, if I'm being honest, I must admit it was happenstance that I found it.
The two sisters in this book, Grace and Jory, are quite a bit older than my sister and me, and we aren't like them, not at all really, and yet this is still a story that hinges on the sister dynamic.
It is not a perfect novel. The beginning starts off with some sloppy plot points and overwriting. I experienced some moments of “purple prose” and I also found fault with Ms. Brelinski's repetitive use of the following words: clambered, tiny, gazed and peered. As a writing teacher, I would think she would be incredibly keyed in to this overuse of unusual words that stand out on the page, but let's have a quick break-out session right now so that no future writers make these mistakes:
clambered is a word that I have never heard an American use, not one time in speech in my natural life. J.K. Rowling may have built a career around this particular word, but she's British and filthy rich now. For the rest of us schlubs living here in the states, let's get real and avoid this word like COVID.
tiny is a word that describes something so incredibly small, you are allowed to use it one time per novel, provided that you are describing something so unique in its size, it deserves to stand out just once in a story, hopefully not as a way of communicating a protagonist's penis size.
gazed is a word that. . . well. . . come on. What in the hell have you gazed at lately? Like, nothing.
peered? Bury it. This word should be removed from the common vernacular.
Okay, now that we've got that lesson out of the way, let's get back to why this novel is good and deserves four stars from a picky reader like me.
The characters! Even seasoned writers can't always come up with three dimensional beauties like these. I bought into every one of these characters, knew them like neighbors. Even the “B” characters were full-bodied delights.
The 1970s setting: spot-on, fabulous, and not overdone. It made me want to time travel right back to all of it.
The philosophy: I must have dog-eared at least 20 pages.
The ending: Inspired, worthy of great big tears, and a final line that flicked me, hard, right between my eyes.
This is a debut novel worthy of far more attention than it has on here. It tackles God, science, sibling rivalry, life imbalances, and family in a way that is truly unique to any story I've ever read.
"I've always believed that science and religion don't have to be mutually exclusive."
July 21, 2015
3.5 stars
I take exception to the part in the description of this book that calls this a "seemingly perfect family." This family seemed to me anything but perfect from page one . I have recently read some books about dysfunctional families with questionable parenting . Among them The Children's Crusade and Everything I Never Told You . This is right up there with them in depicting the damage that parents can do to their children.
The beliefs and lifestyle of this fundamentalist Christian family are at the forefront when the eldest child Grace who is 17 and herself a religious fanatic , comes home from a mission to Mexico , proclaiming her pregnancy is the work of God. Her younger sister , 13 year old Jory is exiled with her to a house away from the small town in Idaho where the family lives - to keep people in the town and their church from knowing of the disgrace , to make things easier for their depressed mother who spends her days in bed .
Without parental guidance , and in this case , maybe a good thing , Jory begins her education of what life is like outside of the sheltered , controlled life she led. She makes some unwise decisions in this 1970 world but gets to know friendship and the kindness of an elderly neighbor.
This has a YA feeling to it with Jory's perspective but there are tough adult themes here . This is about a family in crisis, about depression, religious fanaticism. It's not just sad , it's tragic but it's also thought provoking.
The author has done a great job in depicting the time and although I have no experience with the religious fervor here , I read that the author grew up in an evangelist Christian home so I suspect that she knows what she writes about . The ending was probably meant to reflect redemption and hope but even love didn't make me feel any better about the ending and I was heartbroken about Grace and for Jory and their younger sister Frances. For me it was an unsatisfying ending so it will stay 3.5 stars for me .
Thank you to PENGUIN GROUP Viking and NetGalley.
I take exception to the part in the description of this book that calls this a "seemingly perfect family." This family seemed to me anything but perfect from page one . I have recently read some books about dysfunctional families with questionable parenting . Among them The Children's Crusade and Everything I Never Told You . This is right up there with them in depicting the damage that parents can do to their children.
The beliefs and lifestyle of this fundamentalist Christian family are at the forefront when the eldest child Grace who is 17 and herself a religious fanatic , comes home from a mission to Mexico , proclaiming her pregnancy is the work of God. Her younger sister , 13 year old Jory is exiled with her to a house away from the small town in Idaho where the family lives - to keep people in the town and their church from knowing of the disgrace , to make things easier for their depressed mother who spends her days in bed .
Without parental guidance , and in this case , maybe a good thing , Jory begins her education of what life is like outside of the sheltered , controlled life she led. She makes some unwise decisions in this 1970 world but gets to know friendship and the kindness of an elderly neighbor.
This has a YA feeling to it with Jory's perspective but there are tough adult themes here . This is about a family in crisis, about depression, religious fanaticism. It's not just sad , it's tragic but it's also thought provoking.
The author has done a great job in depicting the time and although I have no experience with the religious fervor here , I read that the author grew up in an evangelist Christian home so I suspect that she knows what she writes about . The ending was probably meant to reflect redemption and hope but even love didn't make me feel any better about the ending and I was heartbroken about Grace and for Jory and their younger sister Frances. For me it was an unsatisfying ending so it will stay 3.5 stars for me .
Thank you to PENGUIN GROUP Viking and NetGalley.
August 3, 2015
That striking title sets the scene for an out-of-the-ordinary coming-of-age novel set in a fundamentalist Christian family in Arco, Idaho in 1970. The Quanbecks renounce dancing, movies, alcohol and everything else that represents regular teenage life for thirteen-year-old Jory. She and her sisters are sheltered from the world within their church and Christian school. That sense of being set apart only grows stronger when seventeen-year-old Grace comes back pregnant from a short mission trip to Mexico. Grace swears it was an immaculate conception and she, like Mary, has been entrusted with carrying God’s child. Is she telling the truth, is she repressing a traumatic event, or is she mentally ill? Val Brelinski keeps that question largely open throughout her strong debut novel.
Grace’s actions will have a lasting effect on Jory. The girls’ parents – their father a Harvard-educated astronomer and their mother a virtual shut-in who relies on prescription anxiety pills – decide that Grace will live away from them and the community, and Jory will keep her company. Dr. Quanbeck buys a small house next-door to Hilda Kleinfelter and withdraws both girls from school so word can’t get around. Jory will attend secular Schism High, where she gets an education in teenage socialization that includes the Homecoming dance, liquor and an accidental LSD trip. Hilda becomes a sort of surrogate grandmother to the girls, and Grip, a deadbeat ice cream van driver in his twenties, is their new best friend.
Brelinski is sensitive to the ways in which religion and romantic infatuation influence her characters’ choices, and even when things get a little bit uncomfortable – like when Grip and Jory steal a kiss – the plot feels true to life. The choice of close third-person narration from Jory’s perspective, rather than first-person, thankfully keeps the book from resembling a teen diary. This is the best of both worlds: we get Jory’s thoughts, but in more sophisticated literary language. The novel also blends biblical metaphors and Dr. Quanbeck’s astronomical vocabulary to good effect, as in this lovely passage near the end:
In a book full of memorable characters, I found Grace and Dr. Quanbeck to be the most compelling ones, mostly for how logic and superstition collide in their thinking. Like the father in A Song for Issy Bradley by Carys Bray, one of my favorite novels from last year, Dr. Quanbeck could almost seem like the villain here for the choices he imposes on his family, but the picture of him is nuanced so that you can see how desperately he loves his family and wants to protect them from worldly pain.
Along with Issy Bradley (set in Britain’s Mormon community), the novel reminded me most of We Sinners by Hanna Pylväinen, another picture of family life under strict religious guidelines, and How to Tell Toledo from the Night Sky by Lydia Netzer, a love story with astronomical overtones. Much as I liked it, I did think Brelinski’s novel was about a quarter too long; both the middle section – where Jory is negotiating her newfound freedom – and the dénouement felt drawn out. It would be interesting to see Brelinski’s talent for characterization and scene-setting applied to short stories or a much shorter novel. I also thought the initial decision to set the two girls up in their own home felt slightly far-fetched.
All the same, I appreciated this balanced picture of family life. The Quanbecks are never just oddities or your stereotypical dysfunctional family, but as idealistic and messed up as all the rest of us. As Mrs. Kleinfelter puts it, “Most [families] are pretty much the same, I think. Good and bad mixed together in a small bag. Or a small house.”
I received early access to this book through the Penguin First to Read program.
(Originally published with images at my blog, Bookish Beck.)
Grace’s actions will have a lasting effect on Jory. The girls’ parents – their father a Harvard-educated astronomer and their mother a virtual shut-in who relies on prescription anxiety pills – decide that Grace will live away from them and the community, and Jory will keep her company. Dr. Quanbeck buys a small house next-door to Hilda Kleinfelter and withdraws both girls from school so word can’t get around. Jory will attend secular Schism High, where she gets an education in teenage socialization that includes the Homecoming dance, liquor and an accidental LSD trip. Hilda becomes a sort of surrogate grandmother to the girls, and Grip, a deadbeat ice cream van driver in his twenties, is their new best friend.
Brelinski is sensitive to the ways in which religion and romantic infatuation influence her characters’ choices, and even when things get a little bit uncomfortable – like when Grip and Jory steal a kiss – the plot feels true to life. The choice of close third-person narration from Jory’s perspective, rather than first-person, thankfully keeps the book from resembling a teen diary. This is the best of both worlds: we get Jory’s thoughts, but in more sophisticated literary language. The novel also blends biblical metaphors and Dr. Quanbeck’s astronomical vocabulary to good effect, as in this lovely passage near the end:
The universe had opened up and revealed its own perfectly blank face to [Jory’s] own, returning her gaze with a flattened emptiness that stretched on and on and on—a world so wide and featureless and open, so dark and formless, that light never pierced it: no sun, no moon, no stars. And it now seemed entirely possible that two girls ... could stumble mutely on across the face of it forever, seeking a home, and a resting place, and finding none.
In a book full of memorable characters, I found Grace and Dr. Quanbeck to be the most compelling ones, mostly for how logic and superstition collide in their thinking. Like the father in A Song for Issy Bradley by Carys Bray, one of my favorite novels from last year, Dr. Quanbeck could almost seem like the villain here for the choices he imposes on his family, but the picture of him is nuanced so that you can see how desperately he loves his family and wants to protect them from worldly pain.
Along with Issy Bradley (set in Britain’s Mormon community), the novel reminded me most of We Sinners by Hanna Pylväinen, another picture of family life under strict religious guidelines, and How to Tell Toledo from the Night Sky by Lydia Netzer, a love story with astronomical overtones. Much as I liked it, I did think Brelinski’s novel was about a quarter too long; both the middle section – where Jory is negotiating her newfound freedom – and the dénouement felt drawn out. It would be interesting to see Brelinski’s talent for characterization and scene-setting applied to short stories or a much shorter novel. I also thought the initial decision to set the two girls up in their own home felt slightly far-fetched.
All the same, I appreciated this balanced picture of family life. The Quanbecks are never just oddities or your stereotypical dysfunctional family, but as idealistic and messed up as all the rest of us. As Mrs. Kleinfelter puts it, “Most [families] are pretty much the same, I think. Good and bad mixed together in a small bag. Or a small house.”
I received early access to this book through the Penguin First to Read program.
(Originally published with images at my blog, Bookish Beck.)
August 20, 2015
I really enjoyed this novel because it tells a story of being raised by devout evangelical Christians. The author, Val Brelinski, says in an interview that much of the family drama that takes place in this novel is a fairly autobiographical which lends reality to this work of fiction. I tend to gravitate towards novels that provide me with enlightenment to lives/worlds to which I have been ignorant.
In this novel, it’s told from the perspective of Jory, the middle daughter of a devout evangelical family. Jory’s oldest sister, Grace, is an impassioned believer while her mother is a depressed martyr who is so realistic I recall childhood friends with similar mothers. Jory’s father who is a Science professor at a local religious collage is a man who wants no stress and to hide/ignore everything that does not reflect his perceived idyllic life. In an interview, Brelinski did state that the parents of her novel accurately reflect her true parents. After reading the novel, I am in awe that Brelinski managed to come out of that family relatively unscathed.
As stated in the jacket cover, Grace becomes pregnant, and she fully believes she is bearing the child of God. In handling the situation, their father banishes Grace and Jory to a farmhouse in a far away rural area to keep them in hiding. Jory is forced to enroll in a public high school(she had been enrolled in a religious HS) where she knows no one and is unfamiliar with the society that is not part of the evangelical enclave. Most of the novel is Jory’s coming of age story in dealing with main-stream society and her sister’s religious insanity. It is heart wrenching and tender, and at times humorous.
The writing is beautiful. The characters are mostly well developed and realistic. Brelinski’s characterization of the “dirty” hippies didn’t ring true for me. The character of Grip also seemed off. Despite these flaws, it’s a beautiful read and I highly recommend it.
In this novel, it’s told from the perspective of Jory, the middle daughter of a devout evangelical family. Jory’s oldest sister, Grace, is an impassioned believer while her mother is a depressed martyr who is so realistic I recall childhood friends with similar mothers. Jory’s father who is a Science professor at a local religious collage is a man who wants no stress and to hide/ignore everything that does not reflect his perceived idyllic life. In an interview, Brelinski did state that the parents of her novel accurately reflect her true parents. After reading the novel, I am in awe that Brelinski managed to come out of that family relatively unscathed.
As stated in the jacket cover, Grace becomes pregnant, and she fully believes she is bearing the child of God. In handling the situation, their father banishes Grace and Jory to a farmhouse in a far away rural area to keep them in hiding. Jory is forced to enroll in a public high school(she had been enrolled in a religious HS) where she knows no one and is unfamiliar with the society that is not part of the evangelical enclave. Most of the novel is Jory’s coming of age story in dealing with main-stream society and her sister’s religious insanity. It is heart wrenching and tender, and at times humorous.
The writing is beautiful. The characters are mostly well developed and realistic. Brelinski’s characterization of the “dirty” hippies didn’t ring true for me. The character of Grip also seemed off. Despite these flaws, it’s a beautiful read and I highly recommend it.
April 27, 2024
This is why I read. Because sometimes, some sweet, delicious times, a book like this falls in your lap and you never want it to end but you can’t put it down because you are learning from it, and loving it so. And suddenly it may end the next day. The folks on the plane think you’re unhinged as you laugh out loud (they turn the volume up on their tiny headsets, hoping they’re sending you a polite message) but no, ten pages later you’re crying, sobbing, wiping your nose on your sleeve, because you know that we know now what causes that disease and could easily have saved that child.
Every character is believable and whole - foolish, selfish, brave, authentic. I am going to stop now because everyone should read this, especially parents, and those still foolish enough to consider parenting. I worry that Ms. Brelinski’s next novel might not be as perfect; as this is her story.
She did what the best writers do, she wrote what she knew.
Except the perfume, weren’t our moms all wearing Chanel No 5?
Every character is believable and whole - foolish, selfish, brave, authentic. I am going to stop now because everyone should read this, especially parents, and those still foolish enough to consider parenting. I worry that Ms. Brelinski’s next novel might not be as perfect; as this is her story.
She did what the best writers do, she wrote what she knew.
Except the perfume, weren’t our moms all wearing Chanel No 5?
August 28, 2015
Much has already been written about the plot and characters of this book -- a fundamentalist, Christian family in 1970s Idaho.
Dad is an astronomy professor at a small Christian college; Mom withdraws to her bedroom to nurse her frequent headaches/depression.
Oldest daughter, Grace, is zealously pursuing a missionary calling while seeking to outdo her parents as a model Christian. Middle daughter, Jory, turns 14 and finds herself forced into public school against her will, but soon comes to like it. Youngest daughter, Frances, just wants someone to pay attention to her. Despite 17-year-old Grace being the center of most of the drama, the story is told from Jory's perspective.
Grace comes back from her mission trip to Mexico pregnant and sanctimoniously claims to be with child by the Holy Spirit. The parents are so worried about "what people will say" that Grace and Jory are sent to live alone in a run down house on the outskirts of town. Hence, why Jory can no longer attend her Christian school and must switch to public school where no one will know who she is. I was astounded that the parents were more attuned to gossip-mongers than the needs of their own children. Someone should have called social services when those girls were sent into exile.
But then, much of this book hit a nerve with me. I am all too familiar with the ultra-conservative Christian enclave. No dancing, no rock music, no pierced ears, no pants, just knee-length culottes. I sat in those mid-week church services. I recognized many of the characters. I identified with much of Jory's confusion, both the religious aspects, as well as the plain old puberty part. Even the descriptions of 1970s fashion stirred up dormant memories.
Spoiler alert: There is an aspect of the ending that makes me wonder. The title suggested it to me, nevertheless, I could be totally off base. A repeated theme was that you can never truly know another person. Grip, the ice-cream guy, told Jory after Grace's suicide that their Dad hurt Grace. The observation was also made (by Jory or Grip or both) that Dad was like a god within his family. This made me wonder if Grace's pregnancy was the result of incest. Grace never identified the father or even admitted to having sex. Unlike Jory and Frances, Grace did not share a bedroom with a sibling. Mom was distant and off in her own world, turning a blind eye (denial?) to the affairs of the household. Dad was worried about news of the pregnancy becoming public and also quite intent that the baby be put up for adoption. In fact, his insistence on this point was the last straw for Grace. He even talked about "what color" the baby would be. While a sign of racism, it could also be anxiety that the baby might look like him. Grace's need to be more righteous than anyone else may be her way of compensating for repeated violations. Her desire to go to the foreign mission field — a way of escape that no one could argue against. When Grace gave her mission trip report to the church, it was Dad who pulled her off the stage when she started drifting into being the handmaid of the Lord. Dad who constantly tried to control the details of each family member's life. Then again, perhaps I'm needlessly making Dad into a villain; maybe Grace was truly mentally ill and Dad simply didn't know how best to deal with her delusions.
Overall, it was a great book. I was totally engrossed in it, to the neglect of my other responsibilities. The scenes and the characters continued to linger long in my mind after finishing.
P.S. I kept waiting for Dad to have a run-in with Jory's Earth Sciences teacher. The teacher said the earth was billions of years old. I would expect Dad to hold to a young-earth creationist view. That clash didn't come. Perhaps because Dad had weightier matters to deal with.
Dad is an astronomy professor at a small Christian college; Mom withdraws to her bedroom to nurse her frequent headaches/depression.
Oldest daughter, Grace, is zealously pursuing a missionary calling while seeking to outdo her parents as a model Christian. Middle daughter, Jory, turns 14 and finds herself forced into public school against her will, but soon comes to like it. Youngest daughter, Frances, just wants someone to pay attention to her. Despite 17-year-old Grace being the center of most of the drama, the story is told from Jory's perspective.
Grace comes back from her mission trip to Mexico pregnant and sanctimoniously claims to be with child by the Holy Spirit. The parents are so worried about "what people will say" that Grace and Jory are sent to live alone in a run down house on the outskirts of town. Hence, why Jory can no longer attend her Christian school and must switch to public school where no one will know who she is. I was astounded that the parents were more attuned to gossip-mongers than the needs of their own children. Someone should have called social services when those girls were sent into exile.
But then, much of this book hit a nerve with me. I am all too familiar with the ultra-conservative Christian enclave. No dancing, no rock music, no pierced ears, no pants, just knee-length culottes. I sat in those mid-week church services. I recognized many of the characters. I identified with much of Jory's confusion, both the religious aspects, as well as the plain old puberty part. Even the descriptions of 1970s fashion stirred up dormant memories.
Spoiler alert: There is an aspect of the ending that makes me wonder. The title suggested it to me, nevertheless, I could be totally off base. A repeated theme was that you can never truly know another person. Grip, the ice-cream guy, told Jory after Grace's suicide that their Dad hurt Grace. The observation was also made (by Jory or Grip or both) that Dad was like a god within his family. This made me wonder if Grace's pregnancy was the result of incest. Grace never identified the father or even admitted to having sex. Unlike Jory and Frances, Grace did not share a bedroom with a sibling. Mom was distant and off in her own world, turning a blind eye (denial?) to the affairs of the household. Dad was worried about news of the pregnancy becoming public and also quite intent that the baby be put up for adoption. In fact, his insistence on this point was the last straw for Grace. He even talked about "what color" the baby would be. While a sign of racism, it could also be anxiety that the baby might look like him. Grace's need to be more righteous than anyone else may be her way of compensating for repeated violations. Her desire to go to the foreign mission field — a way of escape that no one could argue against. When Grace gave her mission trip report to the church, it was Dad who pulled her off the stage when she started drifting into being the handmaid of the Lord. Dad who constantly tried to control the details of each family member's life. Then again, perhaps I'm needlessly making Dad into a villain; maybe Grace was truly mentally ill and Dad simply didn't know how best to deal with her delusions.
Overall, it was a great book. I was totally engrossed in it, to the neglect of my other responsibilities. The scenes and the characters continued to linger long in my mind after finishing.
P.S. I kept waiting for Dad to have a run-in with Jory's Earth Sciences teacher. The teacher said the earth was billions of years old. I would expect Dad to hold to a young-earth creationist view. That clash didn't come. Perhaps because Dad had weightier matters to deal with.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 18, 2017
NOTE: I won this book in a GR Giveaway in return for an honest review.
First the good:
This is an easy reading story with a likeable character. There's enough mystery to keep one reading and interested.
Now for the bad:
This is a YA book in hiding. The scenes and dialogues are Jr High and are mundane, boring and nothing to do with the larger storyline.
The family in this book is nuts. The actions of the parents are bizarre. There's the usual drugs & booze....but what does one expect when one leaves one's teenage daughters to fend for themselves; where they could, for the first time ever, make their own decisions but without the proper guidance?
The ending was unsatisfactory.
First the good:
This is an easy reading story with a likeable character. There's enough mystery to keep one reading and interested.
Now for the bad:
This is a YA book in hiding. The scenes and dialogues are Jr High and are mundane, boring and nothing to do with the larger storyline.
The family in this book is nuts. The actions of the parents are bizarre. There's the usual drugs & booze....but what does one expect when one leaves one's teenage daughters to fend for themselves; where they could, for the first time ever, make their own decisions but without the proper guidance?
The ending was unsatisfactory.
July 15, 2015
The Girl Who Slept with God is beautiful story about the Quanbecks, a Christian family torn apart when Grace, the eldest daughter, returns from a missionary trip to Mexico impregnated by an “angel.” The father, an astronomer at the local college, decides the best thing to do is send 17-year-old Grace and her 14-year-old sister, Jory, to live alone on a farm with an elderly neighbor looking in on them, while he stays at home with his youngest daughter and his tranquilizer-taking wife to keep up appearances in their religious community. The relationships between the characters are excellently portrayed, particularly that of Grace and Jory, theirs is a strong, unique and oftentimes conflicted bond. Adding to this family drama is the time period, the 70s, the world outside the protected home of the Quanbeck’s, which reaches the sisters in their secluded farmhouse. I loved this book. The characters, with all of their flaws, are all too human and Val Brelinski writes so beautifully you accept them.
July 15, 2015
I won this through the First Reads giveaway.
This was a very good book, better than I anticipated. The characters are complex and believable. For example, I think Grip would usually be written up as straight up creepy, but he wasn't. You were kind of attracted to his character like Jory was. The novel did a good job at making me understand (even if I didn't approve) what the father did. It was also successful at portraying what it's like to have a depressed mother.
I also really liked how food and music were used. There was nothing unusual about the food, but those scenes were ones where Jory and Grace shared memories and were very sister-like.
I guess since it's set in the 70's some things concerning race fit, but also seemed a little negligent. There was a part at the beginning of the last chapter where Jory and her father were leaving a greyhound station. Why were they at the greyhound station? Those are my only two criticisms.
This was a very good book, better than I anticipated. The characters are complex and believable. For example, I think Grip would usually be written up as straight up creepy, but he wasn't. You were kind of attracted to his character like Jory was. The novel did a good job at making me understand (even if I didn't approve) what the father did. It was also successful at portraying what it's like to have a depressed mother.
I also really liked how food and music were used. There was nothing unusual about the food, but those scenes were ones where Jory and Grace shared memories and were very sister-like.
I guess since it's set in the 70's some things concerning race fit, but also seemed a little negligent. There was a part at the beginning of the last chapter where Jory and her father were leaving a greyhound station. Why were they at the greyhound station? Those are my only two criticisms.
March 26, 2016
Written with beautiful imagery, this book is a haunting portrayal of one family's struggle with religion, faith and tragedy.
July 6, 2015
The author has told a tale with such finely developed characters and details that it is like unwrapping onion skin to find the core of the novel. The book takes place in 1970 in rural Idaho, but the family at the center of the story is really existing out of their time, since 1970 was a time of great upheaval and change, even in rural Idaho. The family in question still maintains a bomb shelter, lives a very sheltered conservative religious life that prevents most modern entertainment or interaction, and is struggling within itself to remain functional. The mother is often bedridden, the eldest daughter believes she is chosen by God to be a missionary, the father is an acclaimed scientist whose religious beliefs have kept him out of mainstream academia, the youngest daughter is sheltered from everything and our protagonist at 14, is the center of our story. This is her coming of age story. And it is beautiful, sad, painful, wonderous, amazing, and awful all at once. It is both a story of its time, 1970, and of its community: aspects of the story seem shocking by today's standards. The book is compelling and fascinating and impossible to stop reading. It is one of a kind and not easily forgotten. It is a gem. I received it from Penguin's First to Read Program.
March 24, 2017
If I could give this negative stars I would. One of the worst books I've ever read.
June 7, 2020
La protagonista di questo romanzo, contrariamente a quanto potrebbe far pensare il titolo, non è Grace, la ragazza che torna incinta dal Messico e dice di aspettare il figlio di Dio, ma sua sorella Jory. I genitori di queste adolescenti sono ultra religiosi e hanno imposto un'educazione che lascia ben poco spazio alla libertà e al divertimento.
Quando Grace, appena diciassettenne, torna da una missione in Messico, rivela di essere incinta e sostiene che si sia trattato di divina concezione.
Ovviamente la situazione sconvolge la famiglia e i genitori, per evitare uno scandalo, acquistano una casa isolata e vi spediscono entrambe le figlie, in modo che si facciano compagnia, venga portata a termine la gravidanza e il bambino venga poi dato in adozione.
Jory si trova così coinvolta suo malgrado in questa decisione che le sconvolge la vita obbligandola a cambiare scuola e ad entrare improvvisamente nel mondo reale, fatto di persone che inseguono i propri desideri senza tutti i divieti che a lei sono sempre stati imposti.
Questa ragazzina appena quattordicenne mi ha fatto una gran tenerezza perché troppo spesso inascoltata e messa da parte. Jory ha un'età difficile, quella in cui iniziano a manifestarsi dei desideri nuovi, si provano sensazioni che non si capiscono appieno e ci si interroga molto su se stessi e sulla realtà che ci circonda. Avrebbe bisogno di qualcuno che prima di tutto la ascolti veramente e poi la consigli, ma la sua ingenuità non le permette di distinguere chi ha buone intenzioni e chi no.
Il rapporto che le due sorelle hanno coi genitori è purtroppo basato sulla mancanza di comunicazione. La mamma soffre di depressione e passa le giornate a letto con un panno sugli occhi, totalmente incapace di affrontare qualsiasi situazione. Il papà a tratti mi è anche piaciuto perché comunque le sue intenzioni sono buone e si preoccupa per le sue figlie. Purtroppo però la sua visuale è offuscata dalla grande devozione religiosa, i principi in cui crede spesso lo portano a sacrificare il benessere delle proprie figlie. E poi è una persona poco comunicativa, un padre che non si pone in reale dialogo con le figlie, ma impone senza dare spiegazioni.
Ciò che colpisce in questo romanzo è che risulta difficile dare un giudizio sui vari comportamenti. Le sfaccettature sono molte e i vari personaggi, a seconda dei momenti e dei punti di vista, possono sembrare nel giusto o in torto. Quando sono arrivata alla fine della lettura mi sono chiesta cosa sarebbe stato più giusto fare, ma forse, come spesso accade nella vita, non esiste una risposta certa.
Quando Grace, appena diciassettenne, torna da una missione in Messico, rivela di essere incinta e sostiene che si sia trattato di divina concezione.
Ovviamente la situazione sconvolge la famiglia e i genitori, per evitare uno scandalo, acquistano una casa isolata e vi spediscono entrambe le figlie, in modo che si facciano compagnia, venga portata a termine la gravidanza e il bambino venga poi dato in adozione.
Jory si trova così coinvolta suo malgrado in questa decisione che le sconvolge la vita obbligandola a cambiare scuola e ad entrare improvvisamente nel mondo reale, fatto di persone che inseguono i propri desideri senza tutti i divieti che a lei sono sempre stati imposti.
Questa ragazzina appena quattordicenne mi ha fatto una gran tenerezza perché troppo spesso inascoltata e messa da parte. Jory ha un'età difficile, quella in cui iniziano a manifestarsi dei desideri nuovi, si provano sensazioni che non si capiscono appieno e ci si interroga molto su se stessi e sulla realtà che ci circonda. Avrebbe bisogno di qualcuno che prima di tutto la ascolti veramente e poi la consigli, ma la sua ingenuità non le permette di distinguere chi ha buone intenzioni e chi no.
Il rapporto che le due sorelle hanno coi genitori è purtroppo basato sulla mancanza di comunicazione. La mamma soffre di depressione e passa le giornate a letto con un panno sugli occhi, totalmente incapace di affrontare qualsiasi situazione. Il papà a tratti mi è anche piaciuto perché comunque le sue intenzioni sono buone e si preoccupa per le sue figlie. Purtroppo però la sua visuale è offuscata dalla grande devozione religiosa, i principi in cui crede spesso lo portano a sacrificare il benessere delle proprie figlie. E poi è una persona poco comunicativa, un padre che non si pone in reale dialogo con le figlie, ma impone senza dare spiegazioni.
Ciò che colpisce in questo romanzo è che risulta difficile dare un giudizio sui vari comportamenti. Le sfaccettature sono molte e i vari personaggi, a seconda dei momenti e dei punti di vista, possono sembrare nel giusto o in torto. Quando sono arrivata alla fine della lettura mi sono chiesta cosa sarebbe stato più giusto fare, ma forse, come spesso accade nella vita, non esiste una risposta certa.
March 23, 2016
This book was highly reminiscent of The Virgin Suicides for me, calling to mind that kind of lazily oppressive heat that seems to settle over novels set in the early 1970s. The story of Jory and her sister Grace, the part of this book that originally perked my interest (Grace is pregnant and swears, as a Holy Roller, that it's by the hand of God) played quite a small role in the book, overall. Once Grace returns from her mission trip to Mexico and offers up the explanation, the book becomes less about that than it does about one broken, hyper-religious family trying their hardest to come to terms with a life that is far more messy and far more sinful on paper.
Jory and Grace, set apart from their family, begin to expand and grow both together and apart in ways that mirror a lot of the upheaval going on socially at the time. By far the greatest joy in this novel was getting to see Jory come in to her own, to begin to have the veil lifted where both her father and her sister were concerned, to get to live a teenage life without the overbearing restrictions of her father's house. Of course, with all that comes a good deal of dishonest, drunkenness, heartbreak, and of course making decisions in an instant that will reverberate throughout a lifetime.
There were parts of this book that continue to pull at tiny parts of my brain - how responsible was Graces' father for what ultimately ends up happening to her? How innocent is Grip in his relationships with both Grace and especially Jory? Where do Frances and Jorys' mother fit in to the end of events? But I think that's the part of this book, and is a part of literary fiction as a whole, that appeals the most to me. We're left with questions; ultimately there aren't any concrete answers. But isn't that what life is - a living out of the questions?
Jory and Grace, set apart from their family, begin to expand and grow both together and apart in ways that mirror a lot of the upheaval going on socially at the time. By far the greatest joy in this novel was getting to see Jory come in to her own, to begin to have the veil lifted where both her father and her sister were concerned, to get to live a teenage life without the overbearing restrictions of her father's house. Of course, with all that comes a good deal of dishonest, drunkenness, heartbreak, and of course making decisions in an instant that will reverberate throughout a lifetime.
There were parts of this book that continue to pull at tiny parts of my brain - how responsible was Graces' father for what ultimately ends up happening to her? How innocent is Grip in his relationships with both Grace and especially Jory? Where do Frances and Jorys' mother fit in to the end of events? But I think that's the part of this book, and is a part of literary fiction as a whole, that appeals the most to me. We're left with questions; ultimately there aren't any concrete answers. But isn't that what life is - a living out of the questions?
June 2, 2016
A beautiful and complex coming of age story that centers around family, faith, and sacrifice. I found something to love and hate in almost every single character, which is important to me in any honest book, and the writing itself was gorgeous.
For the ending, I was caught off guard by Grace's suicide. After my brother killed himself last year, it's been easier to avoid any media with triggering subject lines, but I find myself stumbling upon them regardless. The last fifty pages or so of the book took me days to read because I could only get through it in little bits at a time. At first I was angered by the ending, feeling like Grace's suicide was a forced ending that wasn't supported by the rest of the book. I'm glad I kept reading, though, because in those pages so much is revealed (mostly from the father's perspective) that made me understand that this was a possible outcome for Grace all along. I don't know the author's relationship with suicide, but there is a lot she gets right. The complex feelings of guilt, anger, and grief that permeate every thought and moment. The need to protect those you are closest to, regardless of their supposed role in the death. The perception of the dead as both tragic and hateful. And mostly how our love, even with the best intentions behind it, can still cause unspeakable pain and sadness.
There is a lot going on in this book and the swift change at the end after Grace's death almost changes the course of the book entirely. This is a powerful story, though, and one I hope many people will read.
For the ending, I was caught off guard by Grace's suicide. After my brother killed himself last year, it's been easier to avoid any media with triggering subject lines, but I find myself stumbling upon them regardless. The last fifty pages or so of the book took me days to read because I could only get through it in little bits at a time. At first I was angered by the ending, feeling like Grace's suicide was a forced ending that wasn't supported by the rest of the book. I'm glad I kept reading, though, because in those pages so much is revealed (mostly from the father's perspective) that made me understand that this was a possible outcome for Grace all along. I don't know the author's relationship with suicide, but there is a lot she gets right. The complex feelings of guilt, anger, and grief that permeate every thought and moment. The need to protect those you are closest to, regardless of their supposed role in the death. The perception of the dead as both tragic and hateful. And mostly how our love, even with the best intentions behind it, can still cause unspeakable pain and sadness.
There is a lot going on in this book and the swift change at the end after Grace's death almost changes the course of the book entirely. This is a powerful story, though, and one I hope many people will read.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 17, 2015
I was lucky enough to receive an ARC of this novel and I devoured it in two days, only putting it down for work, which I began to resent for interfering with my reading.
What a fantastic book! The characters are all beautifully flawed, the story is unique and Val Brelinski's writing is that perfect blend of gorgeous and spare, never getting in the way. I particularly loved the main character, Jory, whose voice is fresh and honest.
This book has shot directly to the top of my favorites for 2015 and I will be shocked if it falls from that position.
Highly recommend.
What a fantastic book! The characters are all beautifully flawed, the story is unique and Val Brelinski's writing is that perfect blend of gorgeous and spare, never getting in the way. I particularly loved the main character, Jory, whose voice is fresh and honest.
This book has shot directly to the top of my favorites for 2015 and I will be shocked if it falls from that position.
Highly recommend.
June 16, 2015
Meatier than I expected. The story focuses more on 'moral-minded' Grace and her sister Jory who are both sent away in shame when Grace returns from a missionary trip in Mexico pregnant. What is even more shocking is Grace's claim that she is pregnant with God's child. Oren, their religously strict father, is an upstanding science professor who doesn't want the family's secret aired for all to see. The solution is to send Jory to help care for her sister Grace away from neighbors- but will this drive the family further apart? Jory feels unjustly punished for her sister's actions, and yet the exile affords her freedom from her bothh her father's critical eye and her mother's 'episodes'. Entering the sister's lives are an eldery neighbor and a much older guy who runs an ice-cream truck, with deep secrets of his own. Jory struggles against the restrictions faith puts on her while Grace seems consumned by God, yet there are contradictions. Grace may have mental illness but why, why does their father ignore the mounting problems when he comes to visit 'check up on' his wayward eldest child?
The mother has 'checked out' leaving Oren to cope with their daughters, the youngest Frances, is kept safely away from the 'sin' of the eldest, and yet for a religious family the parent's actions don't seem very Godly. Nothing exciting is meant to happen, this is more an exploration of the ways faith can have a negative impact on family. It's not anti-religion, but it certainly hones in on the smug self-righteousness those of certain religions feel, pushing their judgements on others. Grace beileves one way, and that's that. The cracks in the family appear because of Grace, where they may have seemed to be a family of healthy believers, there have been problems that have been dormant. I spent much of the novel disgusted by Oren, but those feelings changed when I reached the ending, which was incredibly sad. Why didn't he try to get help sooner, knowing Grace's behaviors early on and is help necessarily better? Certainly thought provoking, it will be interesting to see what others have to say about it.
The mother has 'checked out' leaving Oren to cope with their daughters, the youngest Frances, is kept safely away from the 'sin' of the eldest, and yet for a religious family the parent's actions don't seem very Godly. Nothing exciting is meant to happen, this is more an exploration of the ways faith can have a negative impact on family. It's not anti-religion, but it certainly hones in on the smug self-righteousness those of certain religions feel, pushing their judgements on others. Grace beileves one way, and that's that. The cracks in the family appear because of Grace, where they may have seemed to be a family of healthy believers, there have been problems that have been dormant. I spent much of the novel disgusted by Oren, but those feelings changed when I reached the ending, which was incredibly sad. Why didn't he try to get help sooner, knowing Grace's behaviors early on and is help necessarily better? Certainly thought provoking, it will be interesting to see what others have to say about it.
August 31, 2015
This was my Book Club pick for August.
Wow. What a great book. So much symbolism and underlying themes in this one. When Grace returns home from a mission trip to Mexico carrying God's child, her parents, I believe, literally had no idea how to handle the situation. They send Grace and her younger sister, Jory, to live in a farm house in the middle of nowhere, Idaho. Being the middle child, Jory struggles with trying to please her parents while being her own person. This is truly a coming of age story for her.
Throw into the mix a hippy ex-con ice cream man, an accidental LSD trip and a drunken party and Jory is all out of sorts with herself and her family. Grace, always the noble older sister tries to give Jory space to explore who she is, but in the process starts to wonder who she herself is.
Brelinkski really paints a very interesting and relatable picture for the reader in this novel. The characters, all of them, obtain a bit of personality that the reader can relate to, whether it be wanting to rebel against the "norm" or conform to the "norm;" Wanting what is best for your loved one and trying to show them the best path; trying not to let your curiosity get the best of you....it's all there.
While I don't believe there is any one large climactic part in this novel, there are several climaxes that just keep you wanting to read more and more. Brelinski has written quite the debut novel, and I look forward to reading more of her stories in the future! I very much recommend this novel, especially for Book Clubs.
Wow. What a great book. So much symbolism and underlying themes in this one. When Grace returns home from a mission trip to Mexico carrying God's child, her parents, I believe, literally had no idea how to handle the situation. They send Grace and her younger sister, Jory, to live in a farm house in the middle of nowhere, Idaho. Being the middle child, Jory struggles with trying to please her parents while being her own person. This is truly a coming of age story for her.
Throw into the mix a hippy ex-con ice cream man, an accidental LSD trip and a drunken party and Jory is all out of sorts with herself and her family. Grace, always the noble older sister tries to give Jory space to explore who she is, but in the process starts to wonder who she herself is.
Brelinkski really paints a very interesting and relatable picture for the reader in this novel. The characters, all of them, obtain a bit of personality that the reader can relate to, whether it be wanting to rebel against the "norm" or conform to the "norm;" Wanting what is best for your loved one and trying to show them the best path; trying not to let your curiosity get the best of you....it's all there.
While I don't believe there is any one large climactic part in this novel, there are several climaxes that just keep you wanting to read more and more. Brelinski has written quite the debut novel, and I look forward to reading more of her stories in the future! I very much recommend this novel, especially for Book Clubs.
October 15, 2015
What a compelling story about a fascinating group of people! In truth, this is a coming of age story but it's so much more. It's about identity, religiosity, finding a family of your own, science vs. religious doctrine and MORE. This novel was so much more than I expected it to be. The basic premise is that it explores the experiences of a fundamental Christian family in the 1970s. One of the daughters who is extremely devout returns from a mission trip pregnant and insists it's God's baby. This incident has an incredible impact on all of the members of this family and other members of the community. The unfolding of the story was so well handled, told in a very non-judgmental but questioning way. It felt realistic to the time period as well as the place (rural Idaho).
I was completely engrossed in this novel, didn't want to put it down as I found the struggles of this family and how each family member dealt with this fascinating and frustrating and heartbreaking.
I highly recommend this novel. It explores very timely things despite it being placed in the past. I found it compelling and thought-provoking.
I was completely engrossed in this novel, didn't want to put it down as I found the struggles of this family and how each family member dealt with this fascinating and frustrating and heartbreaking.
I highly recommend this novel. It explores very timely things despite it being placed in the past. I found it compelling and thought-provoking.
June 18, 2016
This book captured my interest from the beginning and held it all the way to the end. I really cared about Jory and wanted to know what would happen to her. It was hard to watch her struggle to make her way despite the lack of care from her parents, and the constant admonitions of her older sister, Grace. I loved the character of Mrs. Klinefelter who stepped in to help Grace and Jory and was a sane, stable influence in their lives. Throughout the book, I held more sympathy for one of Jory's parents. The ending caused me to shift that sympathy as it appeared that the other parent may have been more responsible for the family dysfunction than it seemed in the rest of the book. Although the ending was not the complete redemption that I had hoped for, I felt confident that Jory would continue to grow and overcome her family.
I received a review copy of this book from the Penguin First Reads program in exchange for my review.
I received a review copy of this book from the Penguin First Reads program in exchange for my review.
April 2, 2018
A very good coming of age story taking place in 1970. Jory's sister Grace is fervently religious, so much so that even her parents are afraid of her. When Grace is 17, she fulfills her lifelong dream of going on a mission. She leaves for a mission in Mexico, but comes back a short time later, pregnant and insistent that she is carrying God's child -that this is God's will and his plan for her.
Her father moves Grace and Jory away to a house far from their own, leaving the two girls to take care of each other and away from their family, church and community. What follows is a quirky yet wonderful coming of age tale for Jory.
Her father moves Grace and Jory away to a house far from their own, leaving the two girls to take care of each other and away from their family, church and community. What follows is a quirky yet wonderful coming of age tale for Jory.
May 24, 2023
This book got under my skin
September 9, 2016
This was definitely one of the worst books I have ever read. I was very surprised to find out that the author was born and raised in Idaho, because the "small-town 1970 Idaho" that this book portrays is about as accurate as describing the current presidential hopefuls as "the two best candidates ever". That's right, everything that happens in this book is about as likely to happen as a revised Mount Rushmore depicting Hilary and Donald embracing.
I think that's my biggest problem with the book: the complete lack of realism. Reality is further away than the stars that Jory's dad obviously loves much more than his family. And don't get me started on the male protagonist, Grip (yes, that's his real name). There are several good terms for men like Grip, including pedophile and serial statutory rapist. So let's glamorize that and make it seem like a good idea for both female protagonists to be super-infatuated with him. He's definitely a good role model.
It feels like the author was so scarred by her own religious upbringing that she went completely overboard in showing the supposed pitfalls of trying to instill some sense of morality in your children. Oh, but let's not even be consistent there. Let's portray the parents as being over-the-top meddlesome and too involved one minute, and then the next minute dumping the two teenage daughters at an abandoned house on the outskirts of town with a promise to "visit them every few days". And then let's shuttle the younger daughter (whose previous educational experiences consist only of a local Christian Academy) off to a notoriously secular and "trashy" high school. That's definitely what you would do if your religion forbade dancing, listening to music, "mixed company bathing", and makeup, among other things.
Anyone who knows me well knows that I am generally very mild-mannered. So when I'm commuting on I-84 and yelling loudly at the audiobook I'm listening to, you know something's wrong. And I'm not even mentioning the gaping holes in the story, the scenes that seem vitally important when they happen and then are never mentioned again, and the cast of characters that is straight out of downtown San Francisco, which, by the way, is not quite the same as Arco, Idaho. I could not get through this one quickly enough.
I think that's my biggest problem with the book: the complete lack of realism. Reality is further away than the stars that Jory's dad obviously loves much more than his family. And don't get me started on the male protagonist, Grip (yes, that's his real name). There are several good terms for men like Grip, including pedophile and serial statutory rapist. So let's glamorize that and make it seem like a good idea for both female protagonists to be super-infatuated with him. He's definitely a good role model.
It feels like the author was so scarred by her own religious upbringing that she went completely overboard in showing the supposed pitfalls of trying to instill some sense of morality in your children. Oh, but let's not even be consistent there. Let's portray the parents as being over-the-top meddlesome and too involved one minute, and then the next minute dumping the two teenage daughters at an abandoned house on the outskirts of town with a promise to "visit them every few days". And then let's shuttle the younger daughter (whose previous educational experiences consist only of a local Christian Academy) off to a notoriously secular and "trashy" high school. That's definitely what you would do if your religion forbade dancing, listening to music, "mixed company bathing", and makeup, among other things.
Anyone who knows me well knows that I am generally very mild-mannered. So when I'm commuting on I-84 and yelling loudly at the audiobook I'm listening to, you know something's wrong. And I'm not even mentioning the gaping holes in the story, the scenes that seem vitally important when they happen and then are never mentioned again, and the cast of characters that is straight out of downtown San Francisco, which, by the way, is not quite the same as Arco, Idaho. I could not get through this one quickly enough.
April 10, 2019
**I received an ARC from the publishers via Goodreads Giveaways.**
3.5/5
This book affected me in a very profound way. It reminded me of what it was like to be 13 again, naive and selfish in all the worst ways. This book focuses on family, faith, and the understanding and acceptance of the world and people around you. The first 200 pages of this book was a very solid 4 stars, but the last 150 pages or so really picked up and I could feel myself aching alongside 13 year old Jory. Her emotions are written so beautifully, it was difficult not to feel what she's going through. At the same time, you realize how wildly young she is, how much she acts based on her emotions rather than logic, and how much she lacks in understanding the big picture of the situations around her. I was really able to empathize with her because I know how it felt at that age where you hate your family for not being more ideal or how you wish they were and for not treating you for how you believe you should be treated.
Reading this greatly reminded me of The Virgin Suicides not only in the setting (1970s) but also in the subject matter. They both follow a very Christian household where their children, all daughters, are very sheltered and controlled by their parents but looking for a way out of their situation. This book differs in that The Virgin Suicides was a very shallow look at the girls' lives through the eyes of an outsider. This book follows Jory who is having to deal with a super Christian sister who becomes pregnant which what she claims to be the child of God, her overbearing parents, and her adolescent dreams to be like modern teenagers. Since this book is very focused on Jory, it is biased towards her opinions but you begin to see a change in her view of things pertaining to separation from her family and becoming a woman. Through her experiences and mistakes, she grows and learns, which is a theme that I really loved about this story.
I wasn't too crazy about the last couple of chapters but this is a very wonderfully written debut novel that I highly recommend!
3.5/5
This book affected me in a very profound way. It reminded me of what it was like to be 13 again, naive and selfish in all the worst ways. This book focuses on family, faith, and the understanding and acceptance of the world and people around you. The first 200 pages of this book was a very solid 4 stars, but the last 150 pages or so really picked up and I could feel myself aching alongside 13 year old Jory. Her emotions are written so beautifully, it was difficult not to feel what she's going through. At the same time, you realize how wildly young she is, how much she acts based on her emotions rather than logic, and how much she lacks in understanding the big picture of the situations around her. I was really able to empathize with her because I know how it felt at that age where you hate your family for not being more ideal or how you wish they were and for not treating you for how you believe you should be treated.
Reading this greatly reminded me of The Virgin Suicides not only in the setting (1970s) but also in the subject matter. They both follow a very Christian household where their children, all daughters, are very sheltered and controlled by their parents but looking for a way out of their situation. This book differs in that The Virgin Suicides was a very shallow look at the girls' lives through the eyes of an outsider. This book follows Jory who is having to deal with a super Christian sister who becomes pregnant which what she claims to be the child of God, her overbearing parents, and her adolescent dreams to be like modern teenagers. Since this book is very focused on Jory, it is biased towards her opinions but you begin to see a change in her view of things pertaining to separation from her family and becoming a woman. Through her experiences and mistakes, she grows and learns, which is a theme that I really loved about this story.
I wasn't too crazy about the last couple of chapters but this is a very wonderfully written debut novel that I highly recommend!
August 15, 2015
No comparto el entusiasmo general con respecto al libro. Tres hermanas, Grace, Jory y Fanny crecen en un ambiente ultracatólico. Ya sabemos qué secuelas puede dejar el martilleo constante en ciertas mentes. La familia que la sinopsis llama "en principio ideal" y que para mí no es nunca se hace añicos. Para no desvelar demasiado, la mayor, Grace, queda embarazada de un "ángel" durante una excursión misionaria a Méjico, la mediana experimenta sentimientos por un vendedor de helados ambulante. Todo se complica cuando el padre, como la mejor versión masculina de la mismísima Bernarda Alba, movido por su buenhacer religioso y el qué dirán intenta ocultar a toda costa y de manera drástica el "mal camino" que han elegido sus hijas.
Está bien escrito, una escritura muy femenina, muy centrada en el "ser" y "sentir" de la mujer.
No me gusta que en oasiones cae en lo telenovelesco y que le falta desarrollo a personajes que, en principio, son muy interesantes. Tampoco se le da la profundidad necesaria a los principales y cuando se hace es de forma abrupta, rápida y ya al final como justificación de hechos.
Está bien escrito, una escritura muy femenina, muy centrada en el "ser" y "sentir" de la mujer.
No me gusta que en oasiones cae en lo telenovelesco y que le falta desarrollo a personajes que, en principio, son muy interesantes. Tampoco se le da la profundidad necesaria a los principales y cuando se hace es de forma abrupta, rápida y ya al final como justificación de hechos.
August 13, 2015
My obligation is is only partially complete. I received this for free!
I so wanted to love and recommend this story. I cannot.
I am allergic to the mistreatment of females of our species. The four women-girls in this story, and Mrs. Kleinfelter are subjected to terrible emotional trials and I'm right there with them.
I read for my entertainment-not to learn more about ways women have been mistreated by the men they revere.My parents were married to each other
three times,dysfunctional was not a word back then. We did what we could and tried hard not to let the bad stuff change the way we interacted with the world. I'm still trying and I'm an old man now. I am going back to my silly library where for the third time in five years Jennifer Cruise and the story titled "Tell me lies" will entertain me. J.C. does not write Bleak stories. The bad guys are usually treated to a slow but heavy dose of fairness and I smile and throw the empty beer bottle in the trash, move out from under my shade tree and back into this great and glorious world.
I so wanted to love and recommend this story. I cannot.
I am allergic to the mistreatment of females of our species. The four women-girls in this story, and Mrs. Kleinfelter are subjected to terrible emotional trials and I'm right there with them.
I read for my entertainment-not to learn more about ways women have been mistreated by the men they revere.My parents were married to each other
three times,dysfunctional was not a word back then. We did what we could and tried hard not to let the bad stuff change the way we interacted with the world. I'm still trying and I'm an old man now. I am going back to my silly library where for the third time in five years Jennifer Cruise and the story titled "Tell me lies" will entertain me. J.C. does not write Bleak stories. The bad guys are usually treated to a slow but heavy dose of fairness and I smile and throw the empty beer bottle in the trash, move out from under my shade tree and back into this great and glorious world.
August 28, 2015
I received this book as an advanced readers edition through Penguin's First Read program. Thank you Penguin.
What amazing character development. a story of growing up, learning about the world, questioning beliefs held all your life, mental health issues, and the power of family love. I couldn't put this book down because every time I did I just wanted to continue reading to find out what happens next to the characters.
I love the strength of Jory and seeing her grow throughout the story. She starts out as a sheltered young girl who believes she is not brave and emerges into a strong woman in just a years time. She weathers through everything life throws at her and just comes out stronger at then end, even helping save her father. If that's not brave, I don't know what is.
A remarkable book with beautiful imagery and metaphors. Would definitely recommend.
What amazing character development. a story of growing up, learning about the world, questioning beliefs held all your life, mental health issues, and the power of family love. I couldn't put this book down because every time I did I just wanted to continue reading to find out what happens next to the characters.
I love the strength of Jory and seeing her grow throughout the story. She starts out as a sheltered young girl who believes she is not brave and emerges into a strong woman in just a years time. She weathers through everything life throws at her and just comes out stronger at then end, even helping save her father. If that's not brave, I don't know what is.
A remarkable book with beautiful imagery and metaphors. Would definitely recommend.
April 23, 2018
Gran bel libro che racconta la storia di una famiglia ultrareligiosa dell'Idaho degli anni '70 sconvolta dalla gravidanza al di fuori del matrimonio di una delle figlie e dalle scelte (sballate) che ne conseguono.
Il romanzo non indaga solo l'influenza di una religiosità portata all'estremo nelle scelte che vengono compiute, scelte purtroppo segnate da una buona dose di ipocrisia, ma anche i rapporti tra i vari membri della famiglia, i rispettivi desideri e ambizioni, con un'attenzione speciale agli elementi disfunzionali (parecchi e conclamati). La marcia in più, almeno dal mio punto di vista, la dà il fatto che alla fine è difficile dire chi sia nel giusto e chi nello sbagliato. Fermo restando che alcune azioni compiute dai personaggi sono decisamente riprovevoli, rimane un dubbio su quanto la follia di ognun abbia inciso nelle scelte fatte.
Il romanzo non indaga solo l'influenza di una religiosità portata all'estremo nelle scelte che vengono compiute, scelte purtroppo segnate da una buona dose di ipocrisia, ma anche i rapporti tra i vari membri della famiglia, i rispettivi desideri e ambizioni, con un'attenzione speciale agli elementi disfunzionali (parecchi e conclamati). La marcia in più, almeno dal mio punto di vista, la dà il fatto che alla fine è difficile dire chi sia nel giusto e chi nello sbagliato. Fermo restando che alcune azioni compiute dai personaggi sono decisamente riprovevoli, rimane un dubbio su quanto la follia di ognun abbia inciso nelle scelte fatte.
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