Rachel Walker is devoted to God.
She prays every day, attends Calvary Christian Church with her family, helps care for her five younger siblings, dresses modestly, and prepares herself to be a wife and mother who serves the Lord with joy.
But Rachel is curious about the world her family has turned away from, and increasingly finds that neither the church nor her homeschool education has the answers she craves. Rachel has always found solace in her beliefs, but now she can’t shake the feeling that her devotion might destroy her soul.
Publication Date: June 2, 2015
She prays every day, attends Calvary Christian Church with her family, helps care for her five younger siblings, dresses modestly, and prepares herself to be a wife and mother who serves the Lord with joy.
But Rachel is curious about the world her family has turned away from, and increasingly finds that neither the church nor her homeschool education has the answers she craves. Rachel has always found solace in her beliefs, but now she can’t shake the feeling that her devotion might destroy her soul.
Publication Date: June 2, 2015
I liked Devoted a lot more than I expected to. The beginning was really slow for me and I just couldn’t seem to connect with the setting or the main character. I’m really glad I stuck it out. Devoted became exceptionally better as the book progressed and the author very subtly explored what it mean to be raised in a closed-off religious community.
I enjoyed Rachel as a character more so as she begins to question her group’s religious views. Her change is gradual and I found it more believable than her simply waking up one morning and realizing that the life she is living isn’t the societal norm. I also liked that her central problem wasn’t her belief in god, but rather whether she was being treated unfairly because she was born a woman.
My favorite part of the book was that the catalyst for the events was Rachel getting in trouble for reading her favorite book “A Wrinkle in Time.” She is chastised by her father for reading something unholy because of the fantasy elements contained in the novel.
There’s not a romance in the novel, but I wouldn’t have found one appropriate. The book was more about a teen girl finding her voice and being able to see that despite her family’s preaching, there was good to be found outside of her sect.
Rating: 4/5 Stars
I enjoyed Rachel as a character more so as she begins to question her group’s religious views. Her change is gradual and I found it more believable than her simply waking up one morning and realizing that the life she is living isn’t the societal norm. I also liked that her central problem wasn’t her belief in god, but rather whether she was being treated unfairly because she was born a woman.
My favorite part of the book was that the catalyst for the events was Rachel getting in trouble for reading her favorite book “A Wrinkle in Time.” She is chastised by her father for reading something unholy because of the fantasy elements contained in the novel.
There’s not a romance in the novel, but I wouldn’t have found one appropriate. The book was more about a teen girl finding her voice and being able to see that despite her family’s preaching, there was good to be found outside of her sect.
Rating: 4/5 Stars
Thanks to the publisher for a copy of the novel for review!
Rachel does sound like a great character to read about
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