2022: Wheeeeeeewwww this was one of the strongest cases against organized religion that I've ever read.

Here's the deal - this book is graphic (WAY more than I was expecting it to be), it was gutwrenching, it was horrible, and it was sad. So steer clear if you don't want to be in that mindset for a couple of days. There's rape, child brides, kidnapping, murder, and the lowest forms of human behavior on display. It was not a fun read, but Krakauer again shows off his incredible journalistic skills.

The Book of Mormon might have gotten their representation of modern Uganda extremely wrong, but they certainly got their Mormon history correct. I had a pretty decent grasp of all of the characters introduced simply from having memorized that show, and being a young teen when Elizabeth Smart was kidnapped.

The court scenes at the end of the book were just heartbreaking. It was so difficult to read about the atrocities that these men committed, and the juries were wrestling with "well, an imaginary guy in the sky said it was okay, so I don't know if we can really execute him...." I do firmly believe that people can adhere to whatever religion they want and should not be persecuted for expressing their religious beliefs. However, I have to draw the line at LITERALLY MURDERING PEOPLE BECAUSE GOD TOLD ME TO.

Shoutout to poor Brenda, who was proof that education is super important and makes you better equipped to deal with this world. I am so so so sorry this all happened to you, just because you were trying to make your family better. This book is only getting 4 instead of 5 stars because I really didn't enjoy reading it at all. Keep your eyes open for the new series with Andrew Garfield coming this year, but be prepared, because it's going to be an extremely sad doozy!