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evergreensandbookishthings 's review for:

The Book of Essie by Meghan MacLean Weir
5.0

Talk about a page turner! I burned through this in two days, staying up into the wee hours because I HAD to know how this crazy story story would end. The setup, a story of a teenage girl on a reality tv show with her holier than thou conservative religious family gets pregnant, reeled me in with delicious schadenfreude. Full disclosure, I am not a religious person. (I can see how it can be a force for good, but seems to do more of the opposite.) To quote one of the characters:
"They've infected the country with a special brand of intolerance that masquerades as religion."
This book absolutely addresses the current hypocrisy of some christian religions head on and I found it a very satisfying read, one that makes you think about consumerism, race, misogyny, and religious freedom. Essie and Liberty are heroes you will root for until the bitter end. It was pretty easy to guess Essie's terrible secret, and it ended pretty much how I thought it would. But it was a fun ride and I highly recommend it for an un-put-downable summer read!
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