Sister Wife

Sister Wife


By: Shelley Hrdlitschka
Reviewed by: gothiclolitamaiden, 15
Rating: Really liked it


“In the community of Unity, men have many wives, and girls marry men--never boys--as soon as they turn 15. Nanette is only 13 but she is ready and even excited to "be assigned" a man to marry. She's even got her sights on a man her father's age who already has four wives. Then there's Celeste, her older sister, about to turn 15 and repulsed by the idea of marrying an old man and having sister wives. She even has impure thoughts about a boy her own age. Finally, there's Taviana. She is new to The Movement and brings with her blasphemous stories of the outside world.”

Sister Wife is an eye-opening experience. It fully demonstrates that religion and spirituality can be wonderful things, but they can also be turned into tools to manipulate people when power is put in corrupt hands. Sister Wife is a good book, but I felt as if the characters were rather flat and that the writing could have been a little more evocative.

The writing style in Sister Wife is streamlined and clear, but lacks a lot of descriptive detail that could have enriched the plot a little more. It is difficult to write from three different first person perspectives without making them all sound alike, and all three characters have pretty distinct voices and opinions, but some of the characters are a tad underdeveloped. However, all three girls are strong in their own way, even Nanette, and that is admirable. Celeste is a free thinker in a society where that is discouraged, and Nanette is kind and caring, even if she refuses to question Unity’s leaders. At first, I did not warm to Taviana, but after learning of her back story, and her struggle to leave the streets, I began to think of her as a survivor. It’s hard not to root for Celeste as she tries to decide if she wants to stay or leave the community. I even found myself hoping that Nanette would at least get assigned to the kind man she wanted.

The drama that is inevitable in a polygamous community (think about it: one man, with multiple women vying for his attention, and tons of domestic drama all in just one household) keeps you reading, and as a girl, I couldn’t help but put myself into Celeste’s shoes and when I did I thought: gross! I could only imagine marrying an older man at my current age and being expected to keep on having kids. The very idea of living like that disgusts me, and I began to wonder how any of those women could have put up with it, Then I realized that they all thought they were going to go to Heaven (or Paradise, if you prefer) if they dutifully followed the Prophet. It was then that the idea hit me hard: these people are doing this because the Prophet says so and they are willing to do ANYTHING he says in order to get to Heaven. They are gullible, and the Prophet knows that and takes full advantage of the fact.
The author portrays Unity as a flawed society, not a completely corrupt, sexist and unjust one. The Prophet is dishonest and power-hungry, but there are genuinely good people in the community, who, even though they do whatever the Prophet tells them to do, do mean well. Although their way of life objectifies and subjugates women, they are not evil, and some of them do choose to live that way of their own free will, while for others, it is all they know.

Recommended to: Open-minded people. Older teens and adults.