recommended by Mom

This story was interesting for anyone addicted to "Sister Wives". Otherwise, skip it. It should have ended 250 pages sooner than it did.

Another book club read, and well, the first 100 pages were awesome. I was completely engaged. The plot line switches back and forth between the historical fiction story of the 19th wife/the full history of Mormonism, and a current day story of a young man who had been excommunicated from his Mormon town. There are also archival entries to provide other bits of information. The issue though, is that the story is too long (500+ pages) and the story arch for the current day story seems very rushed at the end. I am also not a big historical fiction fan. A bunch of my friends in the book club really like the book.

An interesting read but also difficult. The story goes back and forth in time and is about several groups of people. At times it reads like a history text book, at other times a murder mystery, and also the journal of a jaded young man. He was “thrown away|” by his family at 13 and left to fend for himself. The “town” of the firsts (this young man is from) is hard to wrap my mind around. I find it difficult to believe that there really is a place like what is described in the novel in North America during our current decade!

Entertaining & though provoking. We’ve got the same story playing out right here in Bountiful, BC. I’ve read a few books on polygamy, I like that this one focuses on how nasty this religion is for boys as well as women. Although I usually find it annoying, I also enjoyed how the author jumped between past & present telling 2 stories at once. Ann Young’s struggle to end polygamy in the late 1800’s became fresh & relevant, while the telling of polygamy’s impact on a gay young man in present times was really poignant. Some good lines in it, I particularly liked the description of “The 1st’s” as the Greta Garbo of cults.

A big book, this tome digs into the history of the Mormon Church while at the same time follows the story of Jordan who seeks the truth regarding the supposed murder of his father by his mother – the 19th wife. Well written and crafted if a tad long.

Parts of this were unbearably dreary and tedious, but overall I liked it.

If you enjoy watching Big Love you will enjoy this book. It talks about people and places that sound so familiar.

The only well written parts in this novel were the purported excerpts from Ann Eliza Young's own book "Wife no.19" published in 1876. The secondary, fictional story seemed like something submitted to a middle school writing club. His characters were shallow and uninteresting and often irrelevant.

Loved this book. Couldn't wait to get home and read it each day!