The Chosen One by Carol Lynch Williams

The Chosen One by Carol Lynch Williams is about 13 year old Kyra. She lives on a polygamist compound with The Chosen Ones. Her father has 3 wives and 21 children, counting Kyra. According to their beliefs, men must marry at least 3 women and have children with them to be admitted into Heaven. This is how Kyra was raised. The leaders of the compound, the Prophet Childs and the Apostles have created and strictly enforce all of the rules on the compound - they say to lead people along a path to God. But, when Kyra is suddenly promised to marry her own 60 year old uncle, one of the apostles, she thinks only of leaving. She is especially upset about the upcoming marriage because of the relationship she has been enjoying with Joshua, one of the boys on the compound. They've met in secret, holding hands and even kissing a little bit, but always when no one is around. When Joshua hears the news about Kyra and her uncle, he pleads with the Prophet to allow him to marry her. Instead, both Joshua and Kyra are beaten severely. Joshua runs away with a group of other boys. Will Kyra risk never seeing her family again to escape marriage to her violent uncle? Will she ever see Joshua again? What evils are the Prophet and Apostles willing to do to ensure that Kyra bends to their will?

This was an awesome book. I've seen some of the TV show Big Love (on ShowTime), and this book seems to mirror what the polygamist compound was like. I had no idea people still live lives like this. I really liked the way the author showed Kyra's love of reading, despite knowing reading anything but the Bible was against the rules. Excellent story!