I read three books in a row about polygamy (The Polygamist Daughter happens to be the flip side of Ruth's story, which I'll be reviewing soon), and this was the first of the three. I've read a lot of books about polygamy, and this one ranks way up there in terms of being the best. It's written from the point of view of a child - which I normally hate, because no one can ever write like a child when one is an adult - but is actually well done in this book. There's not a lot of emotional stuff in this book, not a lot of explaining away the facts that happen in so, so many other memoirs. Ruth's life growing up is utter, utter crap, but she someone manages to convey that without the "poor me" syndrome. It's refreshing, really.

And Ruth goes through horrible, horrible things - if you only read one book on polygamy, this is a good one because so much awful stuff happens - you'll lie awake wondering how she had the strength to get through it all.

I picked up this book to read from the library, based upon a friend's recommendation. because of the similarities to the Hunger Games.

Overall I was disappointed with the book. The pacing is slow for me, and though on the one hand, a LOT happens in the book, on the other hand, not a lot happens - a bunch of boys are just walking along the road. It's more of a psychological thriller then I thought it would be.

I also had issues with the fact that you learn very little about the back story. It's another one of my pet peeves - I want to know the back story! yes, absolutely, sometimes the lack of a back story makes the book, and sometimes it's deliberate (for a prequel), but it still drives me crazy.

On the other hand (how many hands do I have? grin), the book is very real. The deaths of each individual boy who falls is heartbreaking, whether or not you liked the actual character. The boys supporting one another or taunting one another, and how each one deals with the pain and the madness as the hours creep by... wow... The book is exhausting to read, depressing, and definitely not for everyone. It's not a book I'll ever read again, but it's one I'm glad I read.

What a ride!

This has always been my least favorite of all of the books. I have always thought of this book as a "sports" book - between the world Quiddich match in the beginning, and the Goblet of Fire year long event, it just felt like a sports book in my mind, and I'm SO not a sports person.

I don't usually reread this one, when I've re-read any of the books in the series in the past - I almost always pick #5-7 to re-read, or maybe the first one.

But after not reading any of the books in the series for almost six years, and now that I'm re-reading them all in a row (read: obsessively rereading!) I realized what I had been missing. Wow, what a ride!

The kids' are all of a sudden not kids anymore, but teenagers. Ron and Hermonine are starting to discover the first faint feelings for each other (though I don't think either realize it at this point). Ginny starts to have a personality in this book & you start to see Neville & Dobby more, as well. You really start to know all of the characters, as a matter of fact, and knowing future events, you start to see all the foreshadowing that takes place in the book that you don't notice upon first glance.

And of course, the ending... the final scenes, where Harry saves Cedric's life in the maze, such a grown up thing to do, and then when Voldemort just kills Cedric, just like that, so fast, so quick, and it's just written so unemotionally that you almost don't feel his death... until Cedric asks Harry to bring his body back home to his parents and bam! You realize exactly what happened!

This book was a fast paced adventure from the very first page. The heroine of the story, Rachel, was a woman with a very real insecurities and flaws, but managed to find the strength to save her daughter. In fact, all of the characters had flaws, which made the book more real.
.
.
One of the downsides of the book for me was I could see the ending coming about Halfway through. It was good, but knowing what was going to happen that early was definitely a downer for me.
.
All in all however, this was a terrific read, and I definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoys thrillers. A solid 4 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
.
.
.
#becauseofreading#review #thechain #mulhollandbooks #thriller #bookreviewer #partner #bookphotography #bookshelf #bookblogger