The Book of Essie 📖 by Meghan MacLean Weir

The Book of Essie by Meghan MacLean Weir | Published June 12th 2018 by Knopf | 336 Pages | Goodreads

PUBLISHER’S DESCRIPTION

“A debut novel of family, fame, and religion that tells the emotionally stirring, wildly captivating story of the seventeen-year-old daughter of an evangelical preacher, star of the family’s hit reality show, and the secret pregnancy that threatens to blow their entire world apart… ”

MY RATING

★★★★☆ (4/5)

REVIEW

There is something about the prelude to imminent scandal that hooks me to a novel.

Only in books though since I don’t watch much TV or have an interest in real-life drama. The fact remains that I did not expect to be so drawn into this story as I was.

Esther Hicks (or Essie) becomes pregnant at seventeen. She is the daughter of a well-known evangelical preacher and has grown up under the scrutiny of the media due to her parents’ successful TV show Six for Hicks.

This was an interesting and compelling story. The characters are complex and I enjoyed how centered and sensible Essie is given the circumstances surrounding her. I cannot reveal much about the rest of the characters to avoid spoilers, just know that this was an appealing and engaging novel.

Overall, I enjoyed it and recommend it to readers of contemporary fiction.