All Rachel has ever known is what the Calvary Christian Church has taught her. According to the Calvary Christian Church, she was made to be a wife, mother, and a good housekeeper – nothing more. During the day, she takes care of her five younger siblings, helping them get dressed, with their schoolwork, making meals, and getting them ready for bed. Rachel knows she should be doing all of this with a kind and loving heart, but she yearns for more. When news that Lauren, a girl who left the church, has come back to the area, Rachel can’t help but wonder what the outside world is like, and her curiosity could cause her to risk everything.
Jennifer Mathieu did an excellent job of portraying these characters. Through her words, the reader can feel Rachel’s worries and frustrations, as well as her joyfulness. Mathieu also goes into detail on the other characters, which makes it easy to imagine why Rachel feels the way she does toward these certain characters. Overall, Mathieu put together an intricate story that flowed very well.
I personally really enjoyed this story. It was very easy for me to imagine the difficulties that Rachel was going through, and it was interesting to read about a situation like this. It can be easy to think of the views of this church as outdated, but there are still people who believe that a woman should be a wife, mother, and good housekeeper, and not much more than that. To see that perspective in a story that is based in the 21st century challenged my views on this topic, but I was very glad that there are characters later in this story who are able to counteract this thinking. The story did end well, as there aren’t any missing pieces, but I wish there was more information about what happens to Rachel in the future.
Want to read it for yourself? Check it out from the WIU QC Library today!