The Sacred Lies of Minnow Bly // My Scary Best Friend

Note: Today I break from NaNoWriMo madness to bring you one last book review before November hits me like a confused airplane.

Rating: Five Stars—ajklsdflk (when words fail to describe how wonderful a book is)

Ever since I first heard about this book, even before it came out, I’d been dying to read it. Scratch that, ever since I first saw the cover, even before I read the summary, I’d been dying to read THE SACRED LIES OF MINNNOW BLY. Let’s just pause for a moment to appreciate how well-designed this cover is. I didn’t need to read the cover copy before I knew the story featured some sort of cult. But more importantly, the way the design focuses predominantly on the hands is absolutely beautiful, considering the fact that Minnow doesn’t have any hands. It’s like this cover did all the work for me. It let me know hands were going to be a MAJOR theme (which they are), and the formatting for the title made me look at exactly what that title is saying about Minnow’s mental state. 

I could go on for an absurdly long amount of time discussing the cover, but I will spare you that, at least for the present. So let’s talk about the book itself, shall we?

The Story. The Kevinian cult took Minnow’s childhood and her hands. Now that the Community has burned to the ground, and now that the police have found the Prophet Kevin’s body in the rubble, it is clear that Minnow knows something about what happened. Thrown into juvie for nearly beating a boy to death, Minnow keeps her deepest, darkest secrets to herself. But when the FBI detective assigned to her case offers her early freedom in exchange for information, Minnow must decide whether to face her past or embrace it. 

The Writing. I see first person present point of view used a lot, and I can tend to get a little tired of it, because I feel like some writers use it without really knowing how to use it. (Wow, that sounds rather arrogant. For shame, Liz. For shame.) It’s one of those writing styles that really really really lends itself to choppiness if you’re not careful (a problem I’ve noticed especially in the DIVERGENT trilogy). So right away, I was shocked by how good this usage of FPPPOV (we’re going to call it that for short) is. Stephanie Oaks’ style is lyrical and beautiful—some of the most poetic prose I’ve ever read. As I was reading, I didn’t have a single moment where I stopped to think that maybe I would have worded something differently, which is saying a lot, since I can be a rather critical reader. (I don't think I've been as impressed by a writing style since IMAGINARY GIRLS.)

Minnow. As someone who has spent the past couple years working through lies I have taught myself (and been taught) and false guilt I have taken as my own, I really related to Minnow’s struggle to unlearn all the things her cult had forced her to believe about life. Minnow isn’t soft or sweet or especially naive. Rather, she is smart and strong and more capable than she realizes. I can’t even put into words how much I love her character (and Angel’s), or even why I love it so much, just that I absolutely adored being inside her head, experiencing the space she has created in her mind and the inner freedom she has always cherished despite the restraints of her cult. In the face of incredible loss and pain, Minnow proves herself resilient. 

The Cult. I love literature and songs about cults. Last NaNoWriMo, one of my rough drafts was actually about a woman’s efforts to unearth the remains of a decades-dead cult and figure out what happened to the single reported survivor after she went missing. I’m really excited for editing that novel next year, because it’ll give me an excuse to research cults. But it’s not like I’d ever want to join one. I think I was just exposed to the concept of mass hypnosis, so to speak, at such a young age that it left an impression on me. I’m interested in the insane, the broken, and the delusional. The people who get swept up in cults like the Kevinian Cult are just the sort of people whose minds I want to analyze and dissect (metaphorically speaking, of course *puts down scalpel*). I love that THE SACRED LIES OF MINNOW BLY gives us a chance to peek into the psychology behind the lies that keep so many people following a harmful man. I love that it shows us the damage and the desensitization that takes place when people learn to crave the perceived safety of a narrow, unforgiving world. 

The Setting. Last but not least, we have the two settings featured in this book. We have the Community, which we witness through Minnow’s memory in all its raw awfulness, and we have juvie, which seems like such a safe, enlightened place in contrast. Since I haven’t read many (or any?) books set in juvie, this was a really nice change of scenery for me. 

In Conclusion. THE SACRED LIES OF MINNOW BLY is so good—it’s beyond good. I can’t even properly express to you how good it is, because the more I talk, the more I think I’ll start to sound like I’m secretly trying to get you to join a cult. It happens. So let me just say, if you are okay with some adult elements/language and a fairly significant amount of gore, I will happily shove this book in your face. It is one of my new all-time favorites, and I think it has the potential to become one of yours.

(Also, if you are interested in more cult-related things, check out this NaNo forum. It's totally not a cult.) 

What about you, my little coffee beans? Have you read THE SACRED LIES OF MINNOW BLY, and if so, what did you think? What are some excellent examples of first present POV? Do you have any recommendations for novels about cults?