Hidden Wives

Hidden Wives is not an easy story to read because it deals with all-too-real abuse. It is a chilling novel about a fundamentalist cult where pedophiles, abusers and bigamists give themselves license to commit heinous crimes against women and children with sanction from God and absolute impunity.

Sarah and Rachel are two half-sisters with multiple mothers, siblings and a monster in the guise of their father. Education is not valued unless it is the teaching of fundamentalist Mormon doctrine, as directed by the "Prophet" Silver. Sarah, promised as a wife to her uncle by "Prophet" Silver, craves books and realizes that what they've learned and lived is radically wrong. Rachel merely wants to follow the dictates of the church despite show more overwhelming evidence that evil thrives within her community.

Unlike another reviewer, I couldn't read this book in one sitting. I had to process what was happening within the pages with breaks of my "normal" world because the knowledge that these cults really do exist is heart rending.

The debut novel is well written, and thoroughly researched. It is difficult to know that there are women who are forced to endure lives like those of the sister-wives in this book. It would be reassuring to know that actual polygamists receive the justice shown at the conclusion of this book to Abraham.

I will follow the writing career of Claire Avery with interest. I am certain that her next novel will also provide thought-provoking themes, which is what good novels do. show less

Some authors have a story to tell but lack the ability to tell it. Some authors are prolific writers but have no story to tell so they blather for pages about nothing. Then there are those books that capture you completely with not only a compelling story but a voice that holds the reader's attention for hours on end.

This is one of those books.

Sara and Rachel are best friends and sisters. When I say sisters, I really mean that they share a father but not a mother. They live in a fundamentalist society in Southern Utah. Both girls are 15, although Rachel is a few months older than Sara. Their father is not a rich nor powerful man. Essentially, he has had very little to offer to the community hence has had very little opportunity for show more advancement in the church. Celestial Marriage is a requirement to enter the kingdom of God. Three wives is the minimum to enter into God's presence. How is marriage arranged, you may ask. A man gets a "testimony" of marriage for a particular girl in the community, takes it to the prophet who prays about it and grants or denies the request.

Rachel happens to be the oldest daughter of Abraham Shaw, a particularly self-centered and cruel man in the community. He loves to slap his children around with open and closed fists and possesses, on his property, a whipping shed. Imagine his dismay when the prophet requests his attendance to a meeting regarding his very beautiful daughter, Rachel. She's had 16 men in the community request her hand in marriage. They have all had testimonies revealed to them. Why would this happen? Clearly, Rachel is a seductress and a whore and requires the devil to be beat out of her. Of course, she complies because she is submissive to the priesthood in her home.

Then there's Sara, tall, angular, and starting to doubt a few doctrines of the church. First, it is her nature (wicked child). Second, a new family has joined the cult fold. The father is a man of means. He has money to offer along with a construction company to build a new meeting house for the saints. He also has a very handsome and headstrong son, Luke, who fills Sara and Rachel with all kinds of wicked talk. He doesn't believe the prophet is called of God. He is shocked that 13 year old girls are being married off so easily and told to multiply and replenish the earth. He is also world wise and knows why so many babies tend to have birth defects (shallow gene pool). Third, Sara has a literal and metaphorical experience that opens her eyes to the frantic nature of their situation.

Luke wants to run away. This won't be difficult since he's quickly assessed that boys his age are few and far between. Where have they gone, he wonders. Rachel patiently pats his arm and explains they have gone for further training and will return to build the kingdom. When? he asks. Uh, says Rachel. They just don't come back. But Rachel's testimony is unwavering and absolute. She believes the prophet is nothing but part God.

Sara, on the other hand, witnesses a bartering deal between the "prophet" and another man and then witnesses a woman's death which barely stirred the air. She correctly concludes that every woman in the community is expendable.

Little do they know, the worst is still to come.

My take

I kept forgetting that I was reading a book since it played in my head like a movie. Scenes morphed beautifully and included such extensive research on the FLDS culture and church (which simply can't be separated).

I enjoyed having two protagonists with different personalities. All of the characters remained true to their personality to the very end. I particularly enjoyed the way Rachel did not just bounce back when her two worlds collided, causing a psychotic episode which is very believable.

Irvin was an interesting twist. His mouth echoed what he heard but his writing had different ideas. As did Sara's journal, I suspect. The moment he found his voice being the moment that Rachel discovered the ironies of her life and Sara found freedom - brilliant. show less

Approximately a mile and a half from a town in Utah called Centennial, lies a commuity called Blood of the Lamb in which men are the gods of their households and women are disposable. The "prophet" of this community claims he receives instructions directly from his god and therefore his words are infallible. He has 50 wives. His "apostles" are the richest in the community and they also have many young wives. The more common men in the community have about three or four wives a piece.

Sara and Rachel come from such a household. They have four mothers and one very abusive father. But he is "god" of his house and his word is law.. At 16 years of age, Sara and Rachel are waiting their betrothals. Sara is dismayed to discover she must marry show more her own uncle. Rachel is beautiful and of course, seventeen different men receive "testments from god" that they are designated to be her husband. Thus, her fate remains in the balance. May the richest "man of god" win.

Sara find herself "buried in truth" (I'm not going to explain that terminology cause it would ruin the story) and begins to think for herself. Does she want to marry her uncle and have deformed babies? No. She wants an education. She wants to read books. She is a headstrong girl and finds herself meeting a young boy from outside the community, a black boy. Here's the deal: Blood of the Lamb community claims that black people are animals.. they are spawn of Satan. (Have you ever heard a more smelly pile of bull crap?) Irvin is his name and he begins to open Sara's eyes even more. There may be a future outside Blood of the Lamb community for her .. Will it involve Irvin?

Rachel is not quite as strong as Sara and she is completely brainwashed by this cult. She will do anything she is told despite her strong her love for a new young man, Luke. With seventeen men claiming "god" wants her to be their wife and 4 of them high ranking apostles, Luke doesn't stand a chance. When Luke speaks his mind and attempts to fight for Rachel, things go sour. Will Rachel ever see the light or is she destined to become wife number 51 to some dirty old brainwashed man?

Sara won't leave without Rachel and women are disposable. Could they even get away if they tried.. without losing their lives? The ending is surprising. Let's just say the you-know-what hits the fan!

I picked this book up to just read a chapter or two as I was currently reading something else.. A chapter or two turned into 155 pages as I read for three hours straight. An amazing, thought evoking novel. It shocked me to the core. I couldn't decide whether to laugh, cry, scream or gasp half the time. It is well written and really makes one ponder religion and how much people will exploit it. Def one the best reads of 2010. show less

In Hidden Wives we meet two sisters (Sara-15 and Rachel-16) who are members of a polygamist sect in Utah. The Blood of the Lamb community believes that Celestial Marriage is a requirement to enter the kingdom of God. Three wives is the minimum allowed to stand before God's presence. In order to marry, a man must receive a "testament" of marriage for a particular girl. This testament is then brought before the prophet (who is directly in contact with God), who then prays and eventually grants or denies the petition.

Rachel and Sara live in such a household. Their father has four wives with a ton of children hanging underfoot. The girls being the older ones in the group are actually quite old when it comes to marriage since most girls in show more the community marry anywhere from 12 to 14 years of age (in some cases even younger than that). So it is not a surprise when they, along with their father, are called before the prophet to discuss their lack of husband. Sara is quickly given leave to marry her uncle as his fifth wife, but things are not that easy for Rachel. See Rachel is a very beautiful girl and 16 men have all had testimonies about her putting the prophet in a tight spot.

Sara, who has been doubting their beliefs, becomes even more convinced that all is not right with their community when a new family joins the cult. This new family is wealthy and they bring money along with a construction company to help build a new school for the many children in the community along with new homes for the prophet and his apostles. This new family also has a young son - Luke has no faith in the beliefs of the Blood of the Lamb and begins to tell the girls all that is wrong with the prophet, the high birth defects among their babies, the young girls being forced to marry men who can well be their grandfathers and, in some cases, their great-grandfathers. His plans are to escape and Sara is more than willing to do the same - especially since on more than one occasion she has realized that women are expendable and easily replaced amongst their cult. But Rachel is another story - she readily believes anything the prophet says and will follow him blindly. Sara knows that the only way to save herself and her sister is to escape, even if it means leaving their family and the only life they've ever known behind - but she'll have to convince Rachel of this... and hope that she can accomplish it before it's too late.

Polygamy?! Why is it that I am so intrigued by this subject?
And considering the dark nature of this book I can't help but want to gush about it to everyone. Because yes, it is that good.

The Claire Avery team (sisters who use the pseudonym) have accurately portrayed the daily lives of these two young girls who have been brought up in a household with extreme religious beliefs. You can clearly tell how much research was done in order to come up with such a detailed story. Not only was the story riveting, but I found myself engrossed by how much I learned from it.

I loved reading the different perspectives of both girls. Sara with her doubts, her love of learning, books, education and Rachel, who was willing to accept the word of the prophet blindly and faithfully and anything differently was considered blasphemy.

There were so many different subjects touched upon in this story and I do want to mention that this is not a book for the faint of heart. The lives that these girls live are not happy one's. There is abuse (mental, physical, sexual and verbal), violence, racism, incest and, of course, religion.

I have to say that I could not put this book down - I lost sleep over it on a work night and I am not complaining either. I found myself coiled tightly, just waiting to see what would happen next. It was that suspenseful. I needed to know what would happen to Sara, Rachel, Luke and Irvin. I was rooting for them from the start and I just could not bother to take a break ... and sleep (the horror!) - without seeing the whole thing through. I went through so many emotions reading it - sadness, outrage, heartbreak, hope, joy. An amazing, thought-provoking and powerful story. One that will stay with you long after you are done with it. Highly recommended. show less

Sisters Sara and Rachel grew up in a Fundamentalist Mormon reservation with their father, three sister-wives, and numerous siblings. As both girls near their 16th birthdays – three years past the prime marriage age – they are presented to the Prophet in order to be married off. At the Blood of the Lamb community that the girls live in, men claim to receive revelations or testimonies from God about the women they are “meant” to marry; these revelations are then shared with the Prophet who determines whether or not the two people should be sealed in marriage.

Sara is told that she is to marry her uncle, while Rachel’s case proves to be more difficult. Sixteen men claim to have received testimonies for the beautiful Rachel, all show more wishing to add the shy teenager to their horde of wives. As a bidding war of sorts erupts for her hand in marriage, Rachel meets and falls in love with Luke, a recent arrival at Blood of the Lamb. Moved to the reservation by his father who suddenly found religion, Luke finds his new lifestyle ridiculous. Nevertheless, he puts up with the demands to please Rachel who is indoctrinated by her upbringing and deeply believes in the Blood of the Lamb teachings. She hopes against hope that the Prophet will consider her own testimony to marry Luke, and will allow her to become a first wife to the man she loves.

When the Prophet announces Rachel’s future husband, tensions run high and the girls’ already abusive father finds yet another outlet for his rage. While Sara knows that she must leave the community and her family behind for any chance at a normal life, she must also convince Rachel to join her before their fates are sealed…

Written by the sister team of Mari Hilburn and Michelle Poche (pseudonym Claire Avery), who were raised in a fundamentalist Catholic community in Chicago, Hidden Wives is an intricate look into what life might be like for those born into a fundamentalist sect. Rachel’s and Sara’s stories were both enthralling and disturbing, leaving me with emotions ranging from sympathy to outright anger at their mistreatment. Sara was strong and resilient, ready to persevere despite her terrible lot in life. It was Rachel, however, that really grabbed and held my attention. She was so innocent and believing – and some may say brainwashed – that she could not see the truth despite being consistently wronged by every adult around her. Her ability to see hope where there was none and think the best of people who did not deserve it was heartbreaking to read about.

To say that I enjoyed Hidden Wives would be an understatement (if that was not already evident from my Summer Reading List). Some fiction can stagnate in favor of flowery language or unnecessarily long descriptions; while Hidden Wives was well written and informative, the story within was never dull. If you’re used to reading several books at a time, be prepared to make Hidden Wives your sole occupation until the last page! show less

A review copy of this title was provided by the author.

I absolutely LOVED this book. It was such a heart-wrenching story. From the very beginning I was wishing for those girls to get out of there.

Rachel and Sara were great characters. Although Rachel was a bit dense, or I guess I should say brainwashed, she was such a compelling character. Sara, right from the word go showed so much intelligence. Her want to get away, but not leave her sister behind really made me heart ache for her.

The writing was beautiful, not in a poetic kind of way, but in that it was so simple, yet so compelling. Even though what happens in the story is hard to read I didn't want to put it down. There's a certain finesse to this book that makes it hard to put show more down (even when you have homework or sleep to get to).

The subject matter was difficult to read, but I think it's something that needed to be written. I think TV has sensationalized the polygamist lifestyle, and there's a much darker side that doesn't really come through in these shows. The abuse, incest, and brainwashing that occurred in this book was disgusting, for lack of a better term. I know that not all polygamists and compounds condone or practice this kind of behavior, but I'm sure that there are some (of both) that do, and that is a scary thought.

Such a compelling and heart-wrenching tale. I was hooked right from the beginning! show less

I received an advance review copy of "Hidden Wives." I could not put it down. I read it in one sitting, something I haven't done in about ten years. There was so much tension in every chapter, and the characters were so compelling and richly drawn that I found myself worrying about these two teenaged girls growing up in this bizarre and predatory polygamist cult. This story stays with you long after you finish the last page. I highly recommend it.