Review: Agnes at the End of the World
Agnes at the End of the World by Kelly McWilliams
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
Agnes at the End of the World tells us the story of two sisters, Agnes and Beth, raised in a polygamy-espousing cult that is controlled by The Prophet. Agnes, the oldest child, is the primary caregiver for her siblings, after her mother's crushing depression due to multiple miscarriages and child deaths renders her incapable of caring for her children. Beth, the more outspoken child, skirts rebellion, flirting with a boy she likes and earning the ire of her peers and sometimes her own family. Agnes, in contrast, seems to be a model girl, however, she is the one with a dark secret. She leaves the encampment at night to meet with a nurse who is providing Agnes with insulin and the means to treat her younger brother Ezekiel, who has Type 1 Diabetes. Agnes is the reason Ezekiel is still alive in a community that eschews all medical care under the despicable Prophet's guidance. This kernel of rebellion ultimately fuels Agnes's curiosity about the outside world, and when the nurse's son starts to deliver Ezekiel's medication, Agnes learns of a pandemic affecting humans and animals. Insulated from the rest of the world, and with the Prophet preaching of a coming Rapture, Agnes and Beth must find a way to escape arranged marriages, the community, and the red plague that is sweeping the planet.
This is a very different kind of apocalypse story, in part because McWilliams tackles the issue of faith and spirituality while dealing with the abuse of these things in a cult setting, and the interface with a Prophet-predicted Rapture. Agnes still believes in a better more loving faith, even after finding that their Prophet is nothing but a narcissistic liar, manipulating people and suppressing women's rights to self-determination. McWilliams has written a blog post on her interest in offering religion and spirituality in young adult fiction here. There are some aspects of the story that really strained my belief such as Agnes's ability to have covered up and managed her younger brother's Type 1 Diabetes in a community where everyone seems to be surveilling everyone else. I even wondered how one could acquire affordable enough insulin and medical equipment to routinely be giving it to Agnes, without stealing it. Practical things like that were the niggling things that required more of me as a reader than Agnes's healing ability. All in all, this was an apocalypse/chosen one story that kept me engaged. I cared about Agnes and her siblings and wanted them to survive.
The audiobook, narrated by Brittany Pressley, captures Agnes and Beth beautifully.
I received a paper Advance Review Copy of this novel from the publisher and I was super late getting to it.
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My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
Agnes at the End of the World tells us the story of two sisters, Agnes and Beth, raised in a polygamy-espousing cult that is controlled by The Prophet. Agnes, the oldest child, is the primary caregiver for her siblings, after her mother's crushing depression due to multiple miscarriages and child deaths renders her incapable of caring for her children. Beth, the more outspoken child, skirts rebellion, flirting with a boy she likes and earning the ire of her peers and sometimes her own family. Agnes, in contrast, seems to be a model girl, however, she is the one with a dark secret. She leaves the encampment at night to meet with a nurse who is providing Agnes with insulin and the means to treat her younger brother Ezekiel, who has Type 1 Diabetes. Agnes is the reason Ezekiel is still alive in a community that eschews all medical care under the despicable Prophet's guidance. This kernel of rebellion ultimately fuels Agnes's curiosity about the outside world, and when the nurse's son starts to deliver Ezekiel's medication, Agnes learns of a pandemic affecting humans and animals. Insulated from the rest of the world, and with the Prophet preaching of a coming Rapture, Agnes and Beth must find a way to escape arranged marriages, the community, and the red plague that is sweeping the planet.
This is a very different kind of apocalypse story, in part because McWilliams tackles the issue of faith and spirituality while dealing with the abuse of these things in a cult setting, and the interface with a Prophet-predicted Rapture. Agnes still believes in a better more loving faith, even after finding that their Prophet is nothing but a narcissistic liar, manipulating people and suppressing women's rights to self-determination. McWilliams has written a blog post on her interest in offering religion and spirituality in young adult fiction here. There are some aspects of the story that really strained my belief such as Agnes's ability to have covered up and managed her younger brother's Type 1 Diabetes in a community where everyone seems to be surveilling everyone else. I even wondered how one could acquire affordable enough insulin and medical equipment to routinely be giving it to Agnes, without stealing it. Practical things like that were the niggling things that required more of me as a reader than Agnes's healing ability. All in all, this was an apocalypse/chosen one story that kept me engaged. I cared about Agnes and her siblings and wanted them to survive.
The audiobook, narrated by Brittany Pressley, captures Agnes and Beth beautifully.
I received a paper Advance Review Copy of this novel from the publisher and I was super late getting to it.
~ ~ ~
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