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Thirteen-year-old Kyra has grown up in an isolated community without questioning the fact that her father has three wives and she has twenty brothers and sisters, with two more on the way. That is, without questioning them much—if you donâ€�t count her secret visits to the Mobile Library on Wheels to read forbidden books, or her meetings with Joshua, the boy she hopes to choose for herself instead of having a man chosen for her.
But when the Prophet decrees that she must marry her sixty-year-old uncle—who already has six wives—Kyra must make a desperate choice in the face of violence and her own fears of losing her family forever.
…….
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2009-07-23
By Bingo-Karen Haney (Florida)
I found THE CHOSEN ONE to be very hard to read only because of the raw and ruthless way Kyra is treated. She does not want to marry her uncle but being in the world of polygomy, they try to force her to. When Kyra resists, she brings upon herself a violent reprisal.In harshly trying to get her to obey, they actually force her away from this world which to that point is all she every knew. This book which is written for young adults I felt was a little too much and should be closely checked out before allowing younger readers to read it. Although it is a fast read, it still is tough to take some of the more hurtful parts.
2009-07-20
By GreenBeanTeenQueen (MO)
This book came with a lot of praise written up about it so it had a lot to live up to-and boy did it ever! This book is amazing! The Chosen One is a horrifying, chilling tale of a girl caught in the middle of a religious "cult" and her plans to escape. As heartwrenching as this tale is, there’s also love, hope and friendship. Kyra develops a relationship with Patrick, the mobile librarian and she begins a romance with Joshua.
Kyra is a strong heroine and I liked her from the first page. She questions things around her. She’s smart and she’s brave. The story is told between present day and Kyra’s flashbacks and the more you get to know Kyra, the more you want to root for her.
This book enticed so many emotions from me, and to me, that’s a mark of Ms. Williams amazing writing talent! She could get me so worked up and angry or scared or hopeful and yet I couldn’t stop reading because I needed to know what would happen! I wanted to scream and cry along with Kyra This was a book that I did not want to put down.
I have to say that as an avid reader and librarian, I really loved the fact that Kyra could find her escape in books. She would visit the mobile library, check out a book, and that would be her refuge from the pain in her world. The power of books is a beautiful part of this story and any reader can appreciate that part of Kyra’s world.
The Chosen One is a book that I will be recommending to everyone. This story goes so much further then the ripped from the headlines idea and gives readers a look inside and takes them on an emotional journey. Even if you’re not a fan of issue-books or contemporary fiction, give this one a try. This book is truely a must-read for teens and adults. Get your hands on a copy of The Chosen One-you won’t be sorry.
2009-07-16
By BermudaOnion (South Carolina)
Kyra is a thirteen year old girl who is a member of "The Chosen Ones," a polygamist sect. Her father has three wives and she has twenty siblings, plus two more on the way. She has vague memories of what things were like before the current Prophet came into power - before books, trips to town, dancing, etc. were banned.
Kyra likes to wander and one day as she is roaming, she encounters the Ironton County Mobile Library and the driver tells her she can check out four books. Since she will have to hide whatever she borrows, she limits herself to one book at a time. Her week and her world revolve around her family, chores, the books she checks out and a young boy named Joshua.
One day the Prophet comes to visit Kyra’s family. Her father thinks he might be appointed an Apostle, but he’s wrong - the Prophet has come to tell the family that Kyra has been chosen to be the seventh wife of her Uncle Hyrum, who is sixty years old. Kyra is appalled, especially since she’s in love with Joshua.
When Kyra and Joshua express their desire to get married, they are both beaten and Joshua is kicked out of the sect. Kyra still refuses to marry her uncle and is told that her family will suffer if she doesn’t. Now, at thirteen years old, poor Kyra must decide if she should try to follow her own happiness or make the ultimate sacrifice for her family.
Just before I started my blog, I went through a "polygamist phase." I read every book on polygamy I could get my hands on. Most of them were memoirs written by women who had actually escaped from a polygamist sect. The Chosen One by Carol Lynch Williams is the fictional account of a young girl in a fictional sect, but after all of the other books on the subject I’ve read, it really rang true for me. I was totally engrossed in this book from start to finish. I could really relate to Kyra and her love of books and her family. My heart ached for her (and her mother) and I found myself rooting for her to make what I thought was the right decision. I think The Chosen One is well written and Kyra is a great narrator. I recommend this wonderfully compelling book.
2009-07-13
By Vesta Irene (the Pacific Northwest)
I can well imagine the men who live in polygamous sects in remote places would want this book banned. I, on the other hand, think it should be required reading for women everywhere, especially the girls and women living in those sects. Sadly, they won’t get a chance. This book opens with "If I was going to kill the prophet," I say, not even keeping my voice low, "I’d do it in Africa." And with those words, I was hooked. This is supposed to be a young adult book and in fact it only has a couple hundred pages with largish print, but that notwithstanding, this is adult fare. I guess the line between YA and adult fiction has been blurred so much that I can’t see the difference.
Thirteen-year-old Kyra grows up in a polygamous community, but she’s curious and sneaks out to the mobile library that comes by and reads forbidden books, you know, the kind every other normal kid in America reads. But even knowing about the outside, she’s relatively happy with three mothers, twenty siblings and two more on the way. But then the prophet decrees that she’s to marry her sixty-three-year-old, six times wedded uncle, who is five decades older than the boy she wants.
So there you have the heart of Kyra’s dilemma. This book will make you cry. It’ll make you angry. Its characters will be with you long after you finish the story. It’s emotional and will make you think and that is what good fiction is all about.
Reviewed by Vesta Irene
2009-07-12
By Julie Peterson (Central PA)
I can’t remember where I first heard about THE CHOSEN ONE by Carol Lynch Williams, but I just knew I had to read it. I have been on a pretty big YA kick lately and am truly loving all the amazing books in this genre. Plus, I admit that the story about a young girl who lives on a polygamist compound does fascinate me — I am a big fan of the HBO series Big Love. The multitudes of praise for this book are beyond positive. Having said all that, I couldn’t wait to read this book; and once I started it, I couldn’t put it down — I actually read it in one sitting. I thought this book was just terrific! I have a feeling that it’s going to be one of those books that everyone is talking about.
There are so many terrific things to say about this novel. The storyline is definitely intriguing, and there’s a little bit of everything in this book (including lots of action and suspense which I wasn’t really expecting.) I am absolutely fascinated by the entire polygamist lifestyle and especially interested in the life these girls and women have on these compounds. As I read this book, I found myself often time shocked; but more than that, I was outraged by their treatment. The abuse, both mental and physical, that the children in this book experienced was horrific.
While I found the story just amazing, I also think I enjoyed this novel so much because of the character of Kyra. She was an amazing choice of narrator for this book, and I loved all of her insights and perceptions about her life. I also liked that Kyra had a love of books (what reader can’t relate to that feeling) , and she was passionate enough about her desire to read that she often times sacrificed her well-being just to be able to visit a library and check out a book. In addition, I was just blown away by her inner strength — she had her own ideas about what was right and she wasn’t afraid to share her opinions with authority figures. She knew she was different from her other family members and children on the compound, and I thoroughly enjoyed seeing how the author portrayed Kyra’s internal struggle with this conflict.
I think young girls are going to absolutely love this book. I know I would have been very interested in learning about Kyra’s life because it was so totally different than anything I had ever experienced. Even though Kyra’s parents, home life, schooling, etc. are very unique to her situation, I think young girls are still going to find themselves relating to her character. While Kyra’s problems are hopefully unique to her situation, her feelings and insecurities are common themes to all young women. Many girls will relate to her fear of disappointing of parents and her feelings of not belonging. I also think girls will definitely enjoy the forbidden love angle and the exciting end to the story.
I was also extremely impressed with Ms. Lynch Williams writing. The story captured my attention from the start, and I just couldn’t wait to see how Kyra’s story ends (although I’m still wondering that myself.) The author did a wonderful job of creating and developing memorable characters, and I thought she captured the thoughts and actions of a young teen girl perfectly. And I absolutely thought Kyra’s voice was spot on! I was also impressed with the amount of research that she conducted while writing THE CHOSEN ONE. I would love to read more by this author if this novel is any indication!
As you can clearly see, I highly recommend this book to both teens and adults alike. In fact, I think it would make an excellent book for your next book club meeting. I wish the girls in our Mother-Daughter book club were the target age for this novel because I would be insisting that we all read it and discuss the serious issues in this story. However, it’s going to be a few more years until they are ready for this book since they are only nine and ten years old. There are just so many fascinating topics to discuss in this book including polygamy, family relationships, parent/child relationships, differences between the sexes, physical and mental abuse, etc. I guarantee that you could talk about the characters and their actions for hours.
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