Review | The Chosen One by Carol Lynch Williams

Thirteen-year-old Kyra has grown up in an isolated polygamous community without questioning her father’s three wives and her twenty brothers and sisters. Or at least without questioning them much—if you don’t count her secret visits to the Mobile Library on Wheels to read forbidden books, or her meetings with the boy she hopes to choose for herself instead of having a man chosen for her. But when the Prophet decrees that Kyra must marry her 60-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.

Thoughts: This was one of those books that you will never forget. Although it is a quick read, it is a very heavy subject that is very real but not familiar to many of us. There are so many issues in this book that make it an intense and powerful story, including arranged marriages, polygamy, love, and loyalty to family.

Kyra is a strong character and somewhat determined to control her own fate. She's confused about what she believes in, what she should do, and who she really is. The setting, the characters, and the community were written with such detail, that will you into a terrifying and tragic world that will haunt you for days.

I would definitely recommend this. This book is amazing, gripping and very disturbing, but it might be a bit difficult to read at times.

Favorite Line:
"If I was going to kill the Prophet," I say, not even keeping my voice low, "I'd do it in Africa."