Sister Wife by Shelley Hrdlitschka

I think a young adult book has accomplished something when it can be entertaining to adults as well as adolescents without “sounding” like a YA book. I also think it has accomplished something when it has a lesson intertwined within the plot, but that lesson does not “hit you over the head.” Finally, I think a YA book has succeeded when it is unpredictable. Unfortunately, Hrdlitschka’s Sister Wife does not accomplish any of these tasks, making the book one that I would neither recommend, nor teach. In fact, in addition to being predictable, in many cases, it also spreads stereotypes about the fundamentalist religious groups it exposes, to the point that much of the book feels forced.

Hrdlitschka’s book follows the lives of three girls from The Movement, which is a fundamental Christian society that has closed itself off from the rest of the world in order to follow what they believe to be the true word of the Lord. They practice polygamy and life in a world devoid of all modern technology, books, schooling past the eighth grade, and most importantly, individual choice. The three girls, Celeste, Nanette, and Taviana all live in the same home, where Celeste (15) and Nanette (13) are sisters, and Taviana (17) is an “outsider” who was brought in to live with the family. She was a past prostitute who lived on the streets in the nearby city, Springdale. Celeste struggles with her faith and with the rules of the society, which they call Unity, and Nanette is the pure and faithful daughter who longs to be married and have a child even though she is only 13. Celeste and Nanette’s father, Kelvin, is a harsh man who wants his daughters to remain pure in thought and action so that they can be married off soon within the community. Celeste however, has “impure” feelings for a young man in their community named Jon, which is strictly against the rules. At 15, she is about to be married off to a much older man who already has many wives and children. Celeste is disgusted by this and cannot imagine being stuck in that live forever. However, when Jon wants to run away with her she is paralyzed with fear.

Nanette is Celeste’s foil and always seems to be running to their father and exposing Celeste’s impurity. She longs to be married to the older man that Celeste will be joined to and is physically and emotionally ill when she hears that her sister will marry this man. Hrdlitschka takes the story a bit too far when she reveals that Jon, the boy Celeste loves, is actually her new, much older husband’s son. Jon flees the community and ends up at the same group home as Taviana (who has been discarded from the community).
Amid the story of the girls, Hrdlitschka has a second, minor plot that continues about the building of inuksuk which are stone sculptures of people that were built by the Inuit people and symbolize spirits. Celeste and other characters in the book build these sculptures throughout the story, which by the end, becomes extremely tiresome and forced. I found myself rushing through the pages upon pages where Hrdlitschka writes about these sculptures. Another issue with this book concerns the narration. Hrdlitschka rotates between the three girls throughout the book, telling different chapters in various points of view. While this can work in some novels, the voices of the three girls is not distinct enough and mid-chapter, I sometimes found that I was confused as to who was speaking.

Overall, while I was initially attracted to the subject of the book because of its sheer difference from mainstream society, the subject (in reality) is too racy and complex to be the focus of a YA novel, which results in Hrdlitschka watering it down until all that remains is stereotyping. I do not believe the book had any redeeming literary merit to make up for the problems with plot, which makes for a book that, ultimately, I would not recommend.