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44th out of 597 books
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The Chosen One
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 don’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 c...more
Hardcover, 213 pages
Published
May 12th 2009
by St. Martin's Griffin
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Kyra's story is... haunting . This little book had so much to offer.
Kyra loves her family. She loves her father, 3 mothers, and 19 siblings. Our protagonist is use to her way of life, but she has some secrets. Good juicy ones if you ask me. There is a bookmobile that comes by every Wednesday, and against what the sect leaders say she goes read those "horrible immoral" books. As a reader this made me smile. Books can really change your life. The next secret is probably even ...more
Kyra loves her family. She loves her father, 3 mothers, and 19 siblings. Our protagonist is use to her way of life, but she has some secrets. Good juicy ones if you ask me. There is a bookmobile that comes by every Wednesday, and against what the sect leaders say she goes read those "horrible immoral" books. As a reader this made me smile. Books can really change your life. The next secret is probably even ...more
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Nomes
rated it
This one gets 5 stars from b/c:
once I started I couldn't put it down. Like, the plot just built masterfully, raising the stakes and keeping me invested and it didn't really give me a moment to breathe (in a good way)
I cried. Actually cried. Rare for me in a book. Okay, maybe I got on the verge of going all-out and bawling...
The prose was LOVELY. Really kind of sparingly written, but in such a way that the emotions and the ache was more intense. It's just GORGE...more
once I started I couldn't put it down. Like, the plot just built masterfully, raising the stakes and keeping me invested and it didn't really give me a moment to breathe (in a good way)
I cried. Actually cried. Rare for me in a book. Okay, maybe I got on the verge of going all-out and bawling...
The prose was LOVELY. Really kind of sparingly written, but in such a way that the emotions and the ache was more intense. It's just GORGE...more
The Chosen One is a heartbreaking, definitely disturbing account of one girl's isolated life in a polygamist community. Kyra is thirteen-years-old but has already witnessed terrible acts of violence: babies being tortured, gunshots going off in the dead of night, and women being murdered for no comprehensible reason. At her age she is slowly understanding what this all means - no one is safe, and she must always accept what the Prophet tells her to do. However, Kyra's resolve to follow the Proph...more
Kristi (The Story Siren)
added it
This novel was nothing short of spectacular. This is a very intense topic and I was glad to see it represented in a young adult novel. I was enraged, disgusted, and saddened by this novel.
Told from Kyra’s point of view, this novel unfolds a story of desperation, love, fear, and freedom. Kyra’s internal struggle was masterfully depicted. I never once questioned her desire to stay. Why would you not? To leave your family and everything you have come to know. I only hope that I would p...more
Told from Kyra’s point of view, this novel unfolds a story of desperation, love, fear, and freedom. Kyra’s internal struggle was masterfully depicted. I never once questioned her desire to stay. Why would you not? To leave your family and everything you have come to know. I only hope that I would p...more
Reviewed by Jaglvr for TeensReadToo.com
WOW!
That's the first word that came to mind as I turned the final page of THE CHOSEN ONE. I sat contemplating what I had just finished and had to process everything that Kyra had been through.
Meet Kyra Carlson. She is the second daughter to one of her father's three wives. She has been brought up in the Chosen One compound. Life wasn't always so strict. But when Prophet Childs takes over the lead, he takes tighter contr...more
WOW!
That's the first word that came to mind as I turned the final page of THE CHOSEN ONE. I sat contemplating what I had just finished and had to process everything that Kyra had been through.
Meet Kyra Carlson. She is the second daughter to one of her father's three wives. She has been brought up in the Chosen One compound. Life wasn't always so strict. But when Prophet Childs takes over the lead, he takes tighter contr...more
Carol Lynch Williams’ The Chosen One might be what one gets when they throw the Duggars of TLC fame into a little darker environment. It is powerful, like a gruesome car wreck that has to be viewed again and again. It is a well told story and skillfully adapted to address a subject that is taboo for most readers. Thankfully, it is fiction, but we all know this has probably existed.
Kyra is thirteen and about to marry her uncle, but only because it is God’s will. Polygamy aside, violen...more
Kyra is thirteen and about to marry her uncle, but only because it is God’s will. Polygamy aside, violen...more
Kate
rated it
The Chosen One is quick, interesting, and what it claims to be. Those were all to its credit in my opinion. As I would read I kept thinking that this book could have easily gone off and started talking about people and things that I didn't care about. But it never did. I felt like the writting was very well done in that respect.
If the description of the book does not grab your attention. You're probably better off not reading this one. There is no hidden ya teenage soap opera to be found ...more
If the description of the book does not grab your attention. You're probably better off not reading this one. There is no hidden ya teenage soap opera to be found ...more
I could not put this book down. I got it on a random whim when I was browsing Amazon and it was one of the best books I have read in a long time. But it's sad and shocking... you really feel afraid for Kyra and you're just desperately begging her to get away, to escape with Patrick in his library on wheels.
Basically, Kyra is a 13 year old in a place where the leader (called the Prophet) chooses who you marry. It is a very different novel and explores religion and culture and especial...more
Basically, Kyra is a 13 year old in a place where the leader (called the Prophet) chooses who you marry. It is a very different novel and explores religion and culture and especial...more
The Chosen One is the story of 13-year-old Kyra who has grown up in an isolated polygamous community without questioning her father’s three wives and her twenty brothers and sisters. Yet, she’s starting to show signs of “disobedience”, counting her secret visits to the Mobile Library on Wheels to read forbidden books, or her meetings with the boy she hopes to choose for. But when the Prophet decrees that Kyra must marry her 60-year-old uncle—who already has six wives—Kyra must make a desperate c...more
Bethany Miller
rated it
“If I was going to kill the prophet, I’d do it in Africa,” thirteen-year-old Kyra tells her baby sister. “I’d kill him first for me, and then I’d kill him for you. Then I’d kill him for the rest of our sisters. And our mothers. And the other women here…” Kyra is a part of the polygamist group The Chosen Ones. There are twenty-four people in her family: her father, three mothers, and nineteen siblings with two more babies on the way. The Chosen Ones read only the Bible, they do not communi...more
People will be tempted to compare this book to Shelley Hrdlitschka's Sister Wife, which came out just months before The Chosen One. The books share certain similarities: both are about a girl in her early teens who lives in an insular polygamist community and yearns for life on the "outside." In both cases, the girl is in love with a boy her own age, but is commanded to marry an older man.
Williams's book, however, is much darker than Hrdlitschka's. I think the focus is also...more
Williams's book, however, is much darker than Hrdlitschka's. I think the focus is also...more
What a ride this book was! This is a tender, but gut-wrenching story about a brave 13-year-old girl who is in love with a boy who is wonderful, but forced to marry her uncle (50 years older than her). The prophet and her uncle were horrible, horrible people. There were many times I got that feeling you get when you watch a horror movie, you know the feeling, when you want to yell at the screen "Don't do it!!" One of the best things for me was that Williams was able to really capture th...more
Becky Libri Dilectio
rated it
This book grabbed my attention and held on tight. The novel is fast paced, but still filled with description. There isn't much character development for anyone, but Kyra. This could be because there are so many characters and the novel is not very long. Kyra is a sympathetic character, but that is probably because she seems to not actually hold most of her people's beliefs. The prophet said that reading fiction is a sin so the entire compound burned their books, but Kyra goes to the public libra...more
The Original Review - Here!
The Chosen One is a very powerful and disturbing story. If I could describe the novel with only one word it will be: impressive. The author leads you in a journey that you as a reader can feel every emotion that Kyra is feeling like: happiness, confusion, love, fear and disgust. Kyra is a strong character who shows both sides of the “world” she’s living; what was good and bad. I felt anger and compassion at the same time towards Kyra’s family. ...more
The Chosen One is a very powerful and disturbing story. If I could describe the novel with only one word it will be: impressive. The author leads you in a journey that you as a reader can feel every emotion that Kyra is feeling like: happiness, confusion, love, fear and disgust. Kyra is a strong character who shows both sides of the “world” she’s living; what was good and bad. I felt anger and compassion at the same time towards Kyra’s family. ...more
Tatiana
rated it
Recommends it for:
anyone interested in polygamy
Recommended to Tatiana by:
Heather
I have always been fascinated by the world of polygamy, not the Muslim type, but the type that stems from innately American religion - Mormonism. "The Chosen One" is the first YA book I came across that was dedicated to this subject.
The book narrates a story of Kyra, a 13-year old girl born and raised in a polygamist compound. Her family is huge, she has 3 mothers and over a dozen of siblings. Kyra's life is quite acceptable in spite of the tough fundamentalist rules that p...more
The book narrates a story of Kyra, a 13-year old girl born and raised in a polygamist compound. Her family is huge, she has 3 mothers and over a dozen of siblings. Kyra's life is quite acceptable in spite of the tough fundamentalist rules that p...more
This book was so good. I could not put it down and though I was horrified by some of the events, it was so good. This book may not have connected with any personal experiences, I could still feel as though I was in Kyra's shoes the entire time. It may have been her love of books, or her secret romances with a forrbiden boy, you felt as though you were right there next to her. Carol Lynch Williams more then outdoes herself with this story. Whenever something happened, good or bad, I felt so stron...more
Candielouhoo
added it
I really expected to hate this book but it's turning out to be one I have a hard time putting down!
The not so deep rooted subject of the book is polygamy and living pretty much captive on a commune known as The Chosen Ones. Religion, faith and doing what is right to get you to the afterlife are the strong elements to this story. However, it's ultimately the difficult journey from being a girl to being forced to become a woman long before she is ready.
"How can I give my love to...more
The not so deep rooted subject of the book is polygamy and living pretty much captive on a commune known as The Chosen Ones. Religion, faith and doing what is right to get you to the afterlife are the strong elements to this story. However, it's ultimately the difficult journey from being a girl to being forced to become a woman long before she is ready.
"How can I give my love to...more
One of the most heartbreaking books I have read in a long time. The powerful setting of a polygamist compound combined with engaging, beautiful characters made this book completely un-put-down-able.
Williams' prose can be quite poetic at times, which works well for Kyra's story. When Kyra is particularly upset or overwhelmed the writing tends to be sparse and sentences break up over many lines. This made it super easy for me to feel what Kyra was feeling and helped keep up the pace....more
Williams' prose can be quite poetic at times, which works well for Kyra's story. When Kyra is particularly upset or overwhelmed the writing tends to be sparse and sentences break up over many lines. This made it super easy for me to feel what Kyra was feeling and helped keep up the pace....more
Book Review
The Chosen One
By: Carol Lynch Williams
The Chosen One was an awesome book. I liked the theme of the story, which was polygamy. It was fast paced, and in a sense, kind of like a thriller. The author gives great descriptions of the character’s and it gives you great insight on what growing up in a polygamous community would be like. I like the fact that although the main character is being forced to marry her uncle, she’s still in love with someone else. I...more
The Chosen One
By: Carol Lynch Williams
The Chosen One was an awesome book. I liked the theme of the story, which was polygamy. It was fast paced, and in a sense, kind of like a thriller. The author gives great descriptions of the character’s and it gives you great insight on what growing up in a polygamous community would be like. I like the fact that although the main character is being forced to marry her uncle, she’s still in love with someone else. I...more
A.
added it
Written in gorgeous prose, this story just ripped me apart. What I found so admirable about Carol Lynch Williams’ telling is that, though she depicts absolute horrors visited upon members of her envisioned polygamist cult, she is very careful not to vilify all members of religions in which polygamy is a fundamental part of the practice.
Kyra's family may not always get along - there are inevitable jealous strains and disagreement among the wives and children - but they are ultimately close-kni...more
Kyra's family may not always get along - there are inevitable jealous strains and disagreement among the wives and children - but they are ultimately close-kni...more
In this thriller, 13-year-old Kyra lives in an isolated polygamist cult. Life in the compound is as dry as the surrounding desert, more confining than the chain-link fence on its perimeter. But Kyra finds small freedoms despite the tightly controlled communal environment and is able to slip outside to wander the desert. There she chances upon a friendly book-mobile driver who opens the world of children's literature to her. Kyra even begins a flirtation with her classmate, Joshua, a dangerous si...more
To me, The Chosen One by Carol Lynch Williams was an exhilarating experience to be a part of, but that judgement of the novel is muted significantly by the embedded bias and prejudice. It is a fictional story about Kyra, a 13 year old girl living in a polygamous cult who fights a hard battle for her own freedom when the Prophet decrees that she must marry her sixty-year-old uncle.
The most appealing element of this novel was without a doubt the intense, fast-paced storyline. Williams had me...more
The most appealing element of this novel was without a doubt the intense, fast-paced storyline. Williams had me...more
“The Chosen One” blew me away. It was fantastically horrifying. I literally could not put it down, that’s how good it was. The way the author (Carol Lynch Williams) wrote this novel was eerily truthful. She doesn’t try to shield us readers from the depressing events. Instead she does the opposite. She dunks us into the novel. I felt as if Kyra (the main character) was one of my best friends. Like I’d known her my whole life. As if I was right beside her throughout her story. I felt desperate t...more
I think that the author did an amazing job writing this book. The book “The Chosen One” is definitely a book worth reading. Carol Lynch Williams did a great job describing the environment Kyra, our protagonist, lived in. This book was definitely an attention grabber from the first time I heard about it to the back cover. I couldn’t stop reading. It is a very short read, but definitely a heavy one. I couldn’t put the book down once I started. The characters and plot kept me glued to the page, I w...more
The Chosen One is an intense, bitter-sweet book. When I got it out of the library I only decided to read it because I like Harry Potter, and he was "the chosen one", but this book is a lot more than the title. It's about a Morman society where all the men have many wives and many children. It's considered normal for women to "share" a man, however, Kyra is the only one who seems to slightly think that the Prophet doesn't know everything.
The Prophet decides everything f...more
The Prophet decides everything f...more
Summary:
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 don’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 ...more
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 don’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 ...more
Kyra is one of The Chosen Ones. She lives in a religious compound in the desert. Her mother, Mother Sarah, is her father's third wife, after Mother Victoria and Mother Claire. Between the three women, she has twenty brothers and sisters. She has been told all of her life that she has been chosen to serve God and must obey all of the laws if she wishes to enter heaven. Kyra has sinned though. She is forbidden to read anything other than the bible because everything else is Satan's word. Kyra has ...more
I picked this book on impulse because of the Gregory Maguire quote on the front cover. I figured if it was good enough for my imaginary genius bff, then it was good enough for me. I read it in, like, a day. Basically it's the story of a girl who's living among The Chosen, a sect of Mormon fundamentalists in the Utah dessert. Unlike The 19th Wife, this book is Young Adult. Kyra is fourteen and has dreams and a crush on a boy and plays the piano and is your typical fourteen-year-old. Except for th...more
On the heels of watching "Sister Wives" on TLC, I picked this up in the library and was instantly intrigued with the blurb (see my related post on polygamy). I cannot begin to imagine being forced to marry a man at 14, much less your uncle in his sixties who's strict and possibly abusive. Carol Lynch Williams puts the reader in the place, in the compound, and I felt so connected to protagonist Kyra's feelings and dreams. She does fall in love with a boy a little older than her named Jo...more
"If I was going to kill the Prophet," I say, not even keeping my voice low, "I’d do it in Africa."
This is the opening line of The Chosen One and it drew me in so fast I knew this would be an emotional roller coaster! Kyra is growing up on a polygamist commune and is now of the marrying age at 13. The prophet soon reveals that she is to marry her 60 year old uncle and this sends Kyra reeling into despair. Kyra is such a strong character but it takes her a whi...more
This is the opening line of The Chosen One and it drew me in so fast I knew this would be an emotional roller coaster! Kyra is growing up on a polygamist commune and is now of the marrying age at 13. The prophet soon reveals that she is to marry her 60 year old uncle and this sends Kyra reeling into despair. Kyra is such a strong character but it takes her a whi...more
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“I'm my mother's first child, born when she was almost fourteen years old.
"Think of it," I said to Laura when I turned twelve. "I'm almost Mother Sarah's age when she was married."
Laura looked at me, her squinty eyes even more narrowed. "You could have your own old man as a husband," she said.
"Shut up," I had said.
And she had laughed.”
—
3 people liked it
More quotes…
"Think of it," I said to Laura when I turned twelve. "I'm almost Mother Sarah's age when she was married."
Laura looked at me, her squinty eyes even more narrowed. "You could have your own old man as a husband," she said.
"Shut up," I had said.
And she had laughed.”
