Keep Sweet
Grade 8 Up—Alva Jane, 14, lives in the claustrophobic environment of a polygamist compound. She bakes bread for her father's 7 wives and 29 children before heading off to the provincial compound school. Math-smart, she has been allowed some minor freedoms including working in the community's store and studying with one of the older boys. Alva Jane's awakening begins with her attraction to her math tutor, kindhearted John Joseph, who seems headed for leadership within the power structure of the cult. The attraction is mutual and the two secretly plan to start a life together as soon as he can get permission and she is ready to be sealed in marriage, which is determined by her first menses. But their plans do not account for the designs of the older men or the resentment of Sister Cora, the first wife of Alva Jane's father. When she catches the young couple in a forbidden kiss, Alva Jane is beaten, imprisoned, and married off to a violent older man. Throughout her degradation, she does not lose hope for escape, and her critical faculties continue to develop, despite the pressure to "keep sweet" and obedient to the dominant men. Carol Lynch Williams'sThe Chosen One(St. Martin's, 2009) is primarily a thriller based on escape from a cult. Shelley Hrdlitschka'sSister Wife(Orca, 2008) takes a more layered look at the loyalties that bind girls to family and compound. Like these books, Greene's novel portrays a girl who ultimately leaves home and polygamy behind. It is both accessible and compelling.—Carolyn Lehman, Humboldt State University, Arcata, CA(c) Copyright 2010.  Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc.  No redistribution permitted.