that's pretty neat

By Meghan MaClean Weir 319 pages Published in 2018 Fiction Themes: Family, religion, LGBTQ, sexual abuse 4.25/5 Stars (entertainingly neat)

Clearly this book took a lot of inspiration from the Duggar Family and mega-church families, but I still got into the story and couldn't alway predict what would come next. The writing was pretty simple and I didn't think the Liberty Bell storyline/past added a lot of value, however those didn't bother me too much with the strength of Essie and Roarke as characters. I'd been meaning to read this book for quite a while, and it was the perfect book to finish in the mountains during the last week of the year.

One funny thing – I got my copy at a used book store and there were not markings in the book besides one note about halfway through. The writing was describing Roark getting into a taxi when they arrived in Havana and the note lectured, “Don't ever do this – no need to write pieces that aren't important”.

Plot so I don't forget (spoilers ahead!):

• Essie is the youngest child of the Hicks family, who run a mega-church and have had their own reality TV show since Essie was very young. There are several older brothers and one sister who Essie was very close to until she left for college a couple years earlier and cut ties with the family/TV show.
• As the book starts, we find out Essie is pregnant but don't know who the father is (I assumed it was an incest situation but didn't guess correctly until it's revealed as her brother who is running for Senate). Her mother Celia is discussing options with others involved with the TV show.
• Essie has a plan – she's been planting seeds that leads to the idea that she'll marry a boy named Roarke and they'll pretend the baby is his. Roarke's family is having financial troubles but he's smart and just got into Columbia. Essie knows her family could pay for his tuition and help his family if he agrees to the arrangement. This way, both Roarke and Essie could get out of their small town and to NYC. Essie also knows that Roarke is secretly gay, so they could marry without a physical relationship and Roarke could see whomever he wanted once they got to NYC.
• Essie also chooses a journalist named Liberty Bell to grant exclusive interviews to related to the wedding. Liberty Bell grew up in a cult and wrote a book when she was very young spouting conservative BS. She's turned a leaf since then, and Essie chooses her because she's likely to understand Essie's situation.
• As the wedding approaches, Essie starts sharing more of her secrets with Roarke and Liberty. She reveals that her brother raped and impregnated her. She also leads Liberty to a hard drive with digital copies of her diaries from since she was very young. She instructs Liberty (and her team) to build a book out of her entries, and she wants it released right after the wedding when the contract is “fulfilled” and Essie and Roarke has access to the money promised.
• After the book is complete, Liberty tries to convince Essie that it's a bad idea because of how it may hurt her family, but ultimately Essie decides to go through with it. Right after the wedding ceremony in an interview with Liberty, Essie reveals the truth about her family, that she's pregnant, and that the book is being released. The book then jumps ahead to a year later and overall it's “happily ever after” – Essie and Roarke live in NYC in with the baby girl, Roarke is in a relationship with Essie's cousin (whom he met during the wedding festivities), and Essie is advocating for justice for rape victims (as her brother may not be convicted).
• There are some other twists and plot points that made it interesting along the way – Roarke was sent to a conversion camp one summer, which was terrible, and turns out Essie's rapist brother was sent there too; Essie's relationship with her brothers' wives and their motivations; Essie's sister coming back into the fold, however that storyline was a little anti-climatic.