Sister Wife - Shelley Hrdlitschka

Sister Wife

Shelley Hrdlitschka

2008

I picked this book up at the library because the author's last name absolutely fascinated me. I had also watched the Sister Wives show on tv, and that whole culture and lifestyle seems very interesting and very different from what I'm used to.

Sister Wife is told from the perspectives of three different girls living in the community. Celeste and Nanette are sisters and Taviana is an outsider who has come to live with their family. Celeste is the oldest and she questions the lifestyle that she is forced to live with. She falls in love, which ends up badly. Nanette is excited and eager to become a sister wife. She knows who she wants the Prophet to choose to be her husband. Taviana comes to the community because she had nowhere else to go. She tells Celeste about life outside Unity. 

This book isn't exactly light-hearted and fun. Some parts of it are rather hard to read, just because they are so different from what I am used to. One part in particular stands out and that is when the mother is having her baby. That entire section of the book is so different from how I grew up.

The characters are very well written. Even though some characters are only in the novel for a few pages or so, you get to know them and you can form opinions about them and how the community is run. The plot is also very well written. It's very believable, even though I have very little knowledge about how polygamous lifestyles work.

My favourite part of the book is the ending. I can't say anything without giving it away, but it just makes the book both strange and excellent. 

I'm glad that the author's last name caught my eye and I think I might read some of her other books in the future.

This book is available for purchase from Amazon here: Sister Wife

I give this book 3.7 stars out of 5. It was a very enjoyable and quick read, and had very good characters and plot.

Have you read this book? Have you read any other books about sister wives?