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"A mesmerizing debut novel set in northern Texas about two sisters who discover an unsettling secret about their father, the head pastor of an evangelical megachurch, that upends their lives and community-a story of family, identity, and the delicate line between faith and deception. Luke Nolan has led the Hope congregation for more than a decade, while his wife and daughters have patiently upheld what it means to live righteously. Made famous by a viral sermon on purity co-written with his eldest daughter, Abigail, Luke is the prototype of a modern preacher: tall, handsome, a spellbinding speaker. But his younger daughter Caroline has begun to notice the cracks in their comfortable life. She is certain that her perfect, pristine sister is about to marry the wrong man-and Caroline has slid into sin with a boy she's known her entire life, wondering why God would care so much about her virginity anyway. When it comes to light, five weeks before Abigail's wedding, that Luke has been lying to his family, the entire Nolan clan falls into a tailspin. Caroline seizes the opportunity to be alone with her sister. The two girls flee to the ranch they inherited from their maternal grandmother, far removed from the embarrassing drama of their parents and the prying eyes of the community. But with the date of Abigail's wedding fast approaching, the sisters will have to make a hard decision about which familial bonds are worth protecting. An intimate coming-of-age story and a modern woman's read, God Spare the Girls lays bare the rabid love of sisterhood and asks what we owe our communities, our families, and ourselves"--… (more)
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For more than a decade, Luke Nolan has served as head pastor of the Hope Church, an evangelical megachurch in northern Texas. He’s become famous [and the church congregation has grown exponentially] thanks to a sermon gone viral. He’s tall and handsome, and
On the day of his oldest daughter’s bridal shower, six weeks before Abigail’s wedding day, the Nolan family learns that Luke has lied to them. As the family plunges into chaos and embarrassment, the younger daughter, Caroline, takes Abby and the two young women retreat to a ranch they inherited from their maternal grandmother.
As the two girls try to make sense of what has happened to their supposedly righteously-living family, they discover the bonds of sisterhood. But things are far more complicated than they’d initially believed and both Caroline and Abigail find themselves facing difficult decisions. Can they find their way within the community of the church, within their own family, within themselves?
Told from Caroline’s point of view, this compelling story of faith, families, disingenuousness, and consequences plays out against the relentless march of time toward Abby’s wedding day. Well-defined and nuanced, the characters are believable as is the unfolding situation in which the sisters find themselves.
There are several unexpected surprises along the way, leaving the two young women struggling to balance their own feelings and the expectations of the congregation. As each one struggles to reconcile the truth with their beliefs, their church family, and their own understanding of sin and forgiveness, the narrative morphs into a coming-of-age tale complicated by a crisis of faith.
Despite the resolution of most major plot points and Caroline’s apparent ability to deal with the issues in her life, the denouement leaves the frustrated reader wanting to know a bit more. Nevertheless, it’s a captivating look at growing up in a church where Dad serves as the pastor and the defining of their relationship with the church community. Readers will find much to appreciate here.
Recommended.
I received a free copy of this book through the Goodreads First Reads program
This is a quiet book, about two young women making different decisions in the face of disillusionment. It's also about the sometimes fraught relationship between sisters. It's also about faith that comes from an author who knows the Evangelical world intimately and is, more than anything, both clear-eyed and empathetic in its portrayal. McKinney allows her characters to doubt, to lose their faith and their ability to function within that world, or to invest more deeply in it despite or because of its flaws. Neither a screed nor "inspirational," this novel does a good job of embracing nuance although the heavy use of Evangelical jargon may dismay some readers.
At heart this is a book about love — for God, for family, for community — and whether we can ever really know another person, no matter how close they are to us. My only siblings were brothers, so the bond between Caroline and Abigail fascinated me, as it was described in passages like this:
Abigail opened her mouth, closed it again. "Okay," she said, rolling her eyes and raising her hands, pretending to let it go. Caroline knew she hadn't, really, though. To have a sister is to watch the same movie on repeat until the end of time. You've seen every scene, every musical interlude, every action and reaction is predictable. You know which phrases are catalysts and which are checkmate. Abigail had merely decided to bide her time.
The glimpse inside the evangelical Christian religion also held some fascination for me, as I don't have any close contacts within that community. The author McKinney walks a fine line, presenting the religious aspects fairly while being clear-eyed about the gap between "what I say" and "what I do" and how it can contribute to a loss of faith.
Rural Texas itself also plays a supporting role, with the bulk of the action taking place on the ranch that Caroline and Abigail jointly inherited from their maternal grandmother. It's hard not to draw parallels between this description of the landscape and the contrast between their father's public and private actions:
To Caroline, the day was bright and full of spite. Weeds with purple heads and scarves of green leaves grew on lanky, smooth stalks, their roots slithering underground, choking out the other life until they alone remained — malicious and dominating, albeit pretty if you really looked at them. The grass shifted in small ways, tiny creatures trying to survive. The air was quiet all around her.
This book may not be a good choice for anyone who has a deep-seated hostility toward reading about Christianity in general or evangelicals in particular. For me, the emphasis on the interpersonal relationships and family dynamics were the main attraction, and I'm glad to have read it.