THE BASICS
- Title: The Book of Essie
- Author: Meghan MacLean Weir
- Genre: Contemporary Fiction
- Structure: Alternating first-person narrative
- First Line: “On the day I turn seventeen, there is a meeting to decide whether I should have the baby or if sneaking me to a clinic for an abortion is worth the PR risk.”
Synopsis: A debut novel of family, fame, and religion that tells the emotionally stirring, wildly captivating story of the seventeen-year-old daughter of an evangelical preacher, star of the family’s hit reality show, and the secret pregnancy that threatens to blow their entire world apart. Esther Ann Hicks–Essie–is the youngest child on Six for Hicks,a reality television phenomenon. She’s grown up in the spotlight, both idolized and despised for her family’s fire-and-brimstone brand of faith. When Essie’s mother, Celia, discovers that Essie is pregnant, she arranges an emergency meeting with the show’s producers: Do they sneak Essie out of the country for an abortion? Do they pass the child off as Celia’s? Or do they try to arrange a marriage–and a ratings-blockbuster wedding? Meanwhile, Essie is quietly pairing herself up with Roarke Richards, a senior at her school with a secret of his own to protect. As the newly formed couple attempt to sell their fabricated love story to the media–through exclusive interviews with an infamously conservative reporter named Liberty Bell–Essie finds she has questions of her own: What was the real reason for her older sister leaving home? Who can she trust with the truth about her family? And how much is she willing to sacrifice to win her own freedom?
THE GOOD
I wasn’t really sure what to think about this book going in. Even though I’m a practicing Catholic, I’m not interested in books or novels whose main topic is religion. I tend to think they’re boring, drawn out, and project a sheltered, oblivious point-of-view on the world. But, this one surprised me from the first page.
- First off, read the background on the author. She’s a pediatrician and still currently practicing. I’ve never read such well-written piece of fiction from a doctor, especially a piece that is not an obvious connection (like an oncologist writing a fiction story about a woman battling cancer, etc.). Weir is one those rare people that truly has dual abilities where she can kill it in the sciences and the humanities. I’m very impressed. It’s already a good book, but all things considering, I think her background makes it even better. Respect to everyone who dedicates themselves to writing while also dedicating themselves to another job that requires their full attention.
- I was hooked from the first chapter. The way this book is written feels like an exposé on reality TV shows without actually being an exposé at all. It felt like I was being told all the dirty little secrets of the industry, which kept me totally engrossed. Not to mention, that each of the three main characters have their own backstory. There wasn’t a point where I found myself, “Mmm, boring, move on”. It kept a good pace without making you feel like you had to sprint to keep up.
- I think this book exposes the realities of many Christian religions. I believe that the core of Christianity is not to judge and to love all. But, having grown up Catholic, I absolutely know what Weir wrote about: homophobia, sexism, racism, the never-ending gossip at the coffee and donuts after Mass. I think she also touches on another important overarching theme that when you are a practicing Christian (of any faith), there’s a certain expectation to “keep up with Joneses” and look perfect and be perfect. I know it’s definitely there in Catholicism and I imagine it’s also true for other Christian religions. I think everyone, religious or not, would connect to this book.
- I’ve already touched on this for the other reasons mentioned above, but I’m extremely impressed with Weir. This is a debut novels and debut novels, well no way to put this gently, notoriously suck. That mainly tends to be the case because new writers are just starting to figure out the publishing world, the editing process, how to read their audience, how the feedback process works and where to get it, etc. This debut novel was fantastic! Her writing is great. Her characters are great. Her story is great. I do have one little note, but you’ll see that below.
THE UNFAVORABLE BITS
I have one gripe and I want to explain it in detail so it makes sense. Here’s my problem: There are moments where the book doesn’t follow reality. Each book ever written creates their own reality. That said reality either follows something along the lines of the world we currently live in, the world of the future, the world of the past, or a world of fantasy and alternate reality. Where authors and writers can really screw this up is by thinking that just because they’re writing fiction, anything goes. That’s simply not true. The book is fiction, but it has to follow the rules of reality within that world. Otherwise, the book and story, fiction or not, are not believable and the characters become obsolete.
There were several moments where I was ripped from the pages of the story due to the book not following the rules of reality Weir set up in this realm. It’s as though her and her editor never posed the question, “Okay, but given the reality of this story and these characters, would this really be true?”. An example is a teenager who is an only child being able to figure out in one shot that someone is pregnant because he saw them puke once and she looked a little pale with no other context. That’s just not realistic, particularly for a book standing so close to present-day reality. Moments like that that made the story unbelievable is what stood in the way of this book.
As always, I give you a heads up about strong language or graphics in case you’re sensitive, or if the person you’re recommending the book to is sensitive. This book does not have strong language or anything too graphic, but it does touch on subjects such as rape, incest, and abuse.
CONCLUSION
I rate this book 4/5 stars. I think this book is a good read and would be an incredibly interesting and engrossing story for most to experience. Weir is a woman of many talents, including writing and story-telling. This book touches on subjects relevant to what many have experienced. I think Weir struggled with staying within the realms of reality with some plot situations, but overall, the story is captivating and the characters are relatable. If you like books like The Handmaid’s Tale, you will like this book.
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