By Kaylie Seed
Content warning: gore, graphic scenes
Stephanie Oakes’s debut young adult novel The Sacred Lies of Minnow Bly takes a look at resilience, trust, and coming-of-age through the eyes of seventeen-year-old Minnow, who has just been convicted of aggravated assault. Minnow has spent twelve years of her life living in the wilderness with a group of people calling themselves the Kevinians, worshipping a man they call the Prophet. In the Community, Minnow has her hands cut off after trying to rebel against the Prophet. When Minnow is finally able to escape, she finds herself thrown into a juvenile detention centre, after brutally beating a young man who made her feel threatened.
Minnow isn’t the most reliable character and despite everything that she’s been through, she is unlikeable. Oakes has written Minnow in this way because, in light of her experiences, she is someone who doesn’t trust easily. The secondary characters feel quite one-dimensional and underdeveloped so it can feel like they are easily lost in the novel. Minnow herself doesn’t feel like a layered character despite the life she has lived so far.
The Sacred Lies of Minnow Bly is a quick read even though it’s a longer book, probably because it’s a young adult novel and therefore an easier-to-read book. There is some redundancy throughout the book, yet Oakes has been able to write an interesting story that will keep the reader's attention throughout. There is room for growth in Oakes’s writing style and since this is a few years old, Oakes has likely grown in her writing so it would be interesting to see how her other books have turned out. Overall, The Sacred Lies of Minnow Bly is a quick read that is suitable for older teenagers.
Thank you, Penguin Random House for the complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.