Review | The Book of Essie

For our Debut Novel we picked The Book of Essie and it was spectacular. Fair warning for all my readers, this book deals with some pretty heavy topics so there will be a little bit of discussion of those themes in my review.

The Book: The Book of Essie by Meghan MacLean Weir

Date Published: June 12th, 2018

Dates Read: February 7-14th, 2019

Current Goodreads Rating: 3.97/5

Does anyone remember the Duggan family? They had a pretty successful reality show a few years ago that was literally just a Kardashian-esque look into the lives of a very religious family. Side note: I somehow fell into the rabbit hole that is Wikipedia and now I know entirely too much about the Duggan family.

Anyways, the Hicks family is a similar situation. It started as one of those televised sermon types of shows, Six for Hix and became an instant reality show hit when the cameras followed the Hicks family back into their home. For decades millions of people tune into watch their favorite Pastor and his family grow up before their very eyes. First Matty, then Daniel, then Jacob, then Caleb. After the boys was Elizabeth and, finally, Esther.

At 17, Esther is the only child left in the Hicks home. Her brothers have all gone on to bigger and better things, Caleb is even considering running for some political office. Elizabeth, Lissa to her friends, had long since stepped out of the spotlight for some mysterious reason. For years Essie has taken part in this PR game. She's smiled for the cameras, maintained the demure and pure facade she has had for decades. Now, however, she has something that could shake the foundations her mother worked so hard to create.

Essie is pregnant and that pregnancy could jeopardize everything.

In alternating chapters the readers get to hear Essie's side of things; the story of the boy she chooses to marry, Roarke; and the story of Libby, a reporter with a dark past that is in some ways similar to Essie's.

What did I think? To be totally honest, I thought this book was spectacular. Without sounding preachy or overstepping boundaries this book managed to speak about a lot of tough subjects like: gay conversion camps, rape and abuse, murder, and manipulation, but it also doesn't condemn or blame religion itself for what happens to Essie.

Essie is caught in a situation where she has no control over any aspect of her life. When her mother discovers Essie is pregnant, she calls a meeting of the producers to discuss how to address the problem, but she doesn't invite Essie herself. Once a decision has been made, she'll be married to the most worthy boy selected for her, Essie has no control over her dress, the flowers, her bridesmaids, the groomsmen, anything. But Essie also isn't helpless. She's stuck in a hopeless situation she wants out of and she is very clever in how she manipulates the cards in her favor

Similarly to her mother, Essie collects people to help her. First, she meets with Liberty Bell (yes, that's her name) to help spread her tragic story with the public. Second, she gets to know her fellow classmate, Roarke, better in order to convince him to marry her as a way to "solve" her pregnancy issue.

This book does a great job at slowly revealing small details to keep the reader flipping pages. Who is the baby's father? What happened to Essie's sister, Elizabeth? What story has been covered up since the Hicks began filming? Each character's voice is so distinctive and vital to this story that I don't think there was a single time where I got to the next chapter and was bummed at who's head I was going to be in next.

What could have been better? There's not too much that I think could be improved, but the only thing that really bothered me was Essie's reactions to certain things. Let's get into spoiler territory, shall we?

SPOILERS AHEAD

For a majority of the book the readers don't know who is the baby's father. Essie honestly doesn't think too much of the pregnancy. Really all Essie wants is to get out of the toxic situation her family has forced her into for the entirety of her life. She's also desperate to reunite with her sister, who disappeared after heading off to college.

The short answer is that Essie's brother, Caleb, is a creep at the highest level of creepdom. What he does to Essie he did to Lissa and she escapes their family because of it. She abandons her sister to the same situation and, when they are eventually reunited, I fully expected Essie to throw fists and scream and break down. Her sister abandoned her to this monster, but that just doesn't happen. As more and more disturbing details are uncovered I fully expect Essie to spiral into some dark place, but she doesn't. Which like, good for you girlfriend, but also, how are you not screaming yourself hoarse?

Also, Essie's mom deserves to be slapped across the face repeatedly.

SPOILERS OVER

Like I said earlier, Weir does a great job of keeping her readers hooked for Essie's story alone, but she also manages to keep her other two character's lives particularly fascinating as well. Libby, the reporter Essie recruits, comes from a background similar to Essie's. She is a survivor of a Charles Manson-esque cult that resulted in the death of her sister and has made a lasting impression on everything she does. Roarke, Essie's faux fiance, is a closeted gay man who was sent to a summer camp that turned out to be a gay conversion camp. Though he doesn't mention his experiences in too much detail, Weir does a fantastic job conveying the confusion, heartbreak, and repressed trauma Roarke is still recovering from.

Honestly, the best part of this whole book is watching these bruised and battered characters realize who their support system is. Sometimes its not your mother or father, but its the friends who reach out to hold your hand at a difficult moment, or the people who start as strangers, but do everything they can to expose the truth and help you recover.

When I first finished this book I was a little disappointed in the ending. It felt a little rushed after so much build up, and I didn't even get to see either of my two least favorite characters get punched in the face. However, its been several days after I finished Essie's story and I've come to realize Weir was right to end the book how she did. Though the readers spend their time learning about Essie's trauma and her plans to overcome that trauma, that trauma is not her identity. Her life continues on and so to the lives of the other survivors.

Long story short:

• Why do we still have reality shows like the Kardashians and the Duggans?

• Dude, ladies are badasses.

• Sometimes I just need to see the bad guy get punched in the face.

My Rating: 5/5

Up Next: The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson