Stephanie Oakes

"A handless teen escapes from a cult, only to find herself in juvenile detention and suspected of knowing who murdered her cult leader"-

The Sacred Lies of Minnow Bly

**THE BOOK THAT INSPIRED SACRED LIES, NOW STREAMING ON FACEBOOK WATCH** A Morris Award finalist and Golden Kite Honor Book! A hard-hitting and hopeful story about the dangers of blind faith—and the power of having faith in yourself. The Kevinian cult has taken everything from seventeen-year-old Minnow: twelve years of her life, her family, her ability to trust. And when she rebelled, they took away her hands, too. Now their Prophet has been murdered and their camp set aflame, and it's clear that Minnow knows something—but she's not talking. As she languishes in juvenile detention, she struggles to un-learn everything she has been taught to believe, adjusting to a life behind bars and recounting the events that led up to her incarceration. But when an FBI detective approaches her about making a deal, Minnow sees she can have the freedom she always dreamed of—if she’s willing to part with the terrible secrets of her past. Gorgeously written, breathlessly page-turning and sprinkled with moments of unexpected humor, this harrowing debut is perfect for readers of Emily Murdoch's If You Find Me and Nova Ren Suma's The Walls Around Us, as well as for fans of Orange is the New Black.

Ryan Mateyk

Holy. Shit. I honestly knew nothing about this book before I started it as I had just seen a picture or two on Tumblr and decided to try it out on a whim. I wasn't really expecting much but was immediately and wholly drawn into the story. 

It's about a 17-year old girl named Minnow Bly who escapes from a reclusive cult that's been hidden in the Montanan forest for 12 years. She has no arms, has just severely assaulted another young boy in town and finds herself in juvie. The rest of the book alternates between her present life incarcerated and how she came to be there. 

I think it might have hit me so hard because it was just so damn unexpected. The writing was entirely engrossing. I love anything to do with cults and religion, and after reading about extreme Mormon fundamentalists last year (Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith) and Jonestown earlier this year (A Thousand Lives: The Untold Story of Hope, Deception, and Survival at Jonestown), it's terrifying to think that this type of cult isn't too far-fetched. It also happened to contain some of the most horrifying passages I've ever read (view spoiler)[A 17 year old girl pinned to the ground by 10 grown men while her father hacks her hands off with an ax... don't read that everyday. (hide spoiler)]. 

The characters were also pretty incredible. Aside from Minnow, we had Angel, a convicted murderer who basically grew up in juvie. We had Dr. Wilson, an FBI agent and Minnow's counselor. Both these characters were a breath of fresh air because they were just so unstereotypical. These characters, along with Minnow herself, raise some pretty big questions and conversations: religion and beliefs, the justice system, perception of others... some pretty heavy stuff for a YA novel, yet there still be people coming at YA novels like they're "lesser". 

I really really enjoyed it, which I think could be in part because I knew nothing going into it, but can't say enough good things. I've already read lots of goodies in 2016 but this may be one of the best!

kelsey

*3.5 stars

The space in my head where prayer used to live is filled with questions now.

Wow, i related to this a lot. I remember when I was little and I loved God and Jesus and going to church and then it was like something in me shifted when I became a teenager. I had doubts, I had questions, that I could never ask in fear of retribution. 

”But why was it on me to survive? Why couldn’t my parents have stopped this? They believed him. They didn’t have to.”

Fuck. The way this resonates with me. My mom believes because her parents believe and so on and so on. My dad converted to the Mormon church for my mom. He didn’t have to. She didn’t have to blindly believe. They both should have questioned. They don’t have to believe in a religion so full of hate that’s disguised as love.

With a harrowing poetic voice, this contemporary page-turner is perfect for fans of Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak, Julie Berry's All The Truth That's in Me, and the works of Ellen Hopkins. The Kevinian cult has taken everything from seventeen-year-old Minnow: twelve years of her life, her family, her ability to trust. And when she rebelled, they took away her hands, too. Now their Prophet has been murdered and their camp set aflame, and it's clear that Minnow knows something?but she's not talking. As she languishes in juvenile detention, she struggles to un-learn everything she has been taught to believe, adjusting to a life behind bars and recounting the events that led up to her incarceration. But when an FBI detective approaches her about making a deal, Minnow sees she can have the freedom she always dreamed of?if she's willing to part with the terrible secrets of her past. The Sacred Lies of Minnow By is a hard-hitting and hopeful story about the dangers of blind faith?and the power of having faith in oneself.

Lacy W

Initial Thoughts;
Reading and enjoying cult books is hard in some aspects. The narrator is often unreliable due to the brainwashing that happens in cults. Having a unreliable narrator can either be a really fun trip or it can be really awful all around. That was not the case with this book. Yes, Minnow was unreliable but she was also really aware for being in a cult. There were several times during the book where I had to set it down and just look around in amazement at everything that I found out. 

Plot;
The plot itself was pretty good. Minnow is in juvie after surviving a horrible cult. I mean this cult was just awful and extremely degrading toward women. What really killed me was some of the things that the Prophet made this group of people believe. I really want to talk about the ridiculous stuff but it's best finding out from Minnow. 

I liked that there wasn't information overload. Minnow's time in the cult was told through her remembering, which happens a lot to people that have been through some sort of trauma. A lof of her memories were unlocked by her therapist getting too close to the truth and her feelings. 

Characters;
Minnow was such a strong and amazing character. Yes, she was pretty much brainwashed but she still had a lot of strength in her. I just wanted to hold her and protect her from everything. I was so angry at what she had been put through and especially what her parents did to her during this horrible life. Her growth was incredible and I can only see her growing more and more as she progresses through life. 

The secondary characters were good. They contributed to the story but didn't overstep their place. They let Minnow shine and that was what needed to happen. I wasn't dying for them to have page time but when they did, I enjoyed reading about them. 

Overall;
I was blown away by this book. The cult was a fascinating but equally horrifying thing and I now want to find all the cult books and read about them. I do hope that the author will write a novella or something about Minnow as she grows up. I would love to see how affected she was by this cult and if things ended up getting better for her. She has easily wormed her way into my heart and into my top 10 favorite characters.

Sade A

Finally!!! I read this book. I've had this on my TBR since 2019. It has been a long time coming.
🖤

  
    "My entire life has been an experiment in tolerating the unimaginable"
  

Our story begins with our protagonist Minnow Bly, in freezing weather hunkering beside a snowbank, with bloody boots and a body that has been beaten to a pulp...
And there begins our story on Minnow Bly's heartbreaking life. 


  
    "God's real name is Charlie...He was born in York, Pennsylvania, in 1776, in the summer of the signing, when temperatures were high as rockets and humid as seas."
  


When I started this book, I took a deep dive into religious cults and it seems so bizzare and irrational that people can hold on to beliefs like that which clearly cause harm to them but the human mind is a deep dive of mystery. 

Minnow struggles after her stint in the Kevinian cult to hold on to hope. That against all odds, against everything that has been taken from her, she can become something, make something of herself.

The best part of this book for me was that hope. While she wavers, it never truly dies.. Minnow unpacks, slowly & with so much heartbreak the traumas of her so far short life. It is beautiful. It is heartbreaking and it is powerful.

Also can I just say that the Juvenile system in America sounds wild... Like i'm not ignorant of the fact that there are truly deplorable young adults in the world but wow, it really felt from reading this book that not a whole lot is done to really help young adults before they find themselves having to face the law.

Maybe because I started this book, went on vacation (where I read another book) and then picked this up again, I felt a bit cut off from the emotional aspects of the story. I did love Angel, Minnow's cell-mate in juvie and I am a bit fascinated with cults. 

Jeannette Ordas

Wowza! This book is a whirlwind. Gives me Natasha Preston’s AWAKE vibes but in the best way possible!  

Katelin Hippe

Laura Kehoe

Wow. Just wow. This book hit me so much harder than I expected. The beautiful, haunting writing. The complex, intricate plot that kept me engaged until the last sentence. All of it was so powerful. This book makes you think: about your life, about the world, about everything. It's a tough book to get through at times. The subject matter is not light at all. But if you can get through the tough parts, you might find yourself feeling hopeful and more than a little emotional. At least that's how I felt. Such an amazing book.

Melanie Richards

3.5 stars. An entertaining book, and I really liked Angel as a character. I got hung up a bit on the unevenness of what Minnow did/didn’t know after 12 years of separation from mainstream society.

Steysha

That's how you avoid becoming a moth," he says. "Stop asking others what to believe. Figure it out for yourself.

Seed meets Orange is the new black
This story took me by surprise. It`s deep, funny and horrific. It often made me cringe at what people can do for the sake of "God", and how religion can turn into fanatism. It`s not a pleasant read, but it`s deep and profound, and I encourage everyone to read it.

Alexa Jade

Actual rating: 4.5. 
Throughout the book I was like okay solid 4 but the last 100 pages had me like omg 5????!!!!!!!!! I highly recommend it!!!

Casie Blevins

I really enjoyed this book. I think this writer shows a lot of promise and I will be looking for other books from her in the future. Minnow was memorable.

Diana

This book turned out to be far darker, but also more endearing, than I was expecting. I loved it. This book can be dark, grisly, and gruesome at times, just a warning.

Paige Morgan

"A handless teen escapes from a cult, only to find herself in juvenile detention and suspected of knowing who murdered her cult leader"--

The Sacred Lies of Minnow Bly

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