‘God Spare the Girls’ a touching story of sisters
“God Spare the Girls” by Kelsey McKinney (William Morrow): In “God Spare the Girls,” Abigail and Caroline are the daughters of celebrity evangelical pastor Luke Nolan. Always on display for the congregation, the pair are expected to be pious, pure and polite at all times.
While they aren’t always able to abide by scripture exactly, Abigail and Caroline more or less believe in their religion and their father — until one revelation changes everything.
After they learn of a terrible sin committed by their father, Abigail and Caroline’s world is turned upside down. Now, they must decide whether he is worth forgiving and what faith really means.
While they work to figure it out, the sisters flee their parents’ home to the ranch their grandmother left them and live there together.
Meanwhile, Abigail is planning a wedding to a man she doesn’t love, and Caroline is dealing with a boy who fell too hard for her after they committed a sin of their own.
Author Kelsey McKinney is a strong and compelling storyteller and has crafted a captivating small town world full of gossip and intrigue. “God Spare the Girls” beautifully explores the challenges of young womanhood in the context of a religion that has its own very strict ideas about what it means to be a good daughter, sister and wife.
Above all else, “God Spare the Girls” is a touching and powerful story of a bond between two sisters navigating a world and life they never chose.
It is a beautifully rendered spin on classic coming-of-age tales, with the characters navigating intricate layers of relationships with themselves, with each other and with their faith.
“Everyone in This Room Will Someday Be Dead” by Emily Austin (Atria): In Emily Austin’s first novel, 27-year-old Gilda is anxious, insecure and lost. She struggles to hold down a job and is a massive hypochondriac, visiting the emergency room multiple times per week.
She is constantly thinking about death, how many ways there are to die and the insignificance of her own existence. She’s also obsessed with making sure her presence in the world does not have a harmful effect on others.
Everyday tasks are difficult for her. Often, she can’t bring herself to respond to texts from a girl she really likes, show up to work, or even do the dishes.
One day, Gilda responds to a flyer for free therapy at a Roman Catholic church. When she arrives, the priest thinks she is there for a job interview to replace the receptionist who had recently died. Gilda, who just lost her job, doesn’t correct him.
She is hired, and now Gilda, a gay atheist, must work undercover every day as a straight Catholic. But as the circumstances of the former receptionist’s death become more and more suspicious, Gilda finds herself swept up in a murder investigation.
Filled with dark humor, “Everyone in This Room Will Someday Be Dead” is a beguiling read. Gilda is wholly unique, yet at the same time, exceedingly relatable. The world through her eyes is often a terrifying one, but it is one that anyone who has dealt with anxiety will no doubt recognize.
Through it all, Gilda’s endlessly good heart shines through, making her impossible not to root for.