The Sacred Lies of Minnow Bly

By: Stephanie Oakes

Narrated by: Morgan Hallett

An emotionally raw debut about the dangers of blind faith - and the power of having faith in oneself.

The cult known as the Community has taken everything from 17-year-old Minnow: 12 years of her life, her family, her ability to trust. And when she rebelled, they took away her hands, too. Now their Prophet has been murdered and their camp set aflame, and it's clear that Minnow knows something - but she's not talking. As she languishes in juvenile detention, she struggles to un-learn everything she has been taught to believe, adjusting to a life behind bars and recounting the events that led up to her incarceration. But when an FBI detective approaches her about making a deal, Minnow sees she can have the freedom she always dreamed of - if she's willing to part with the terrible secrets of her past. With a harrowing poetic voice, this gripping story is perfect for listeners who like their novels dark and smart.

©2015 Stephanie Oakes (P)2017 Recorded Books

Critic reviews

Morris Award Finalist, 2016

Great read

It was a great book. I the narrator did amazing in reading it. I love all the suspense and mystery behind everything.

Lacklustre Ending

The story and performance were great, except the ending kind of sucked. It left much to be desired. Other than that, I listened to it every chance I could get.

Good story, very difficult

The narrator was great. I didnt have any problems listening to her and she portrayed the.characters well.

The story was upsetting, that is the nature of the story, but definitely a trigger warning for many people with several different types of trauma.

I liked the character arcs and the plot was interesting throughout. There wasn't a part when I thought it dragged.

all in all 4 stars.

love this book

great book that I couldn't put down. the TV show on Facebook watch brought me here.!

Bit of a Disconnect

The concept is great. The execution is good. The characters are unusual and distinct. The nonlinear format is an interesting way to tell this story about a girl who is in juvenile detention after the prophet of her cult has been murdered and the camp of the cult set aflame.

This has all the classic factors that should add up to equal a perfect book, and yet I still wanted to hold it at arm’s length the whole way through. I just wouldn’t or couldn’t let this book get too close, and I’m not sure why. I think that maybe something about it feels a bit too prescribed, and not authentic enough. I guess I wanted more emotional resonance, and this is a bit flat and dry at times. Almost mechanical.

It’s not really a book that you enjoy. It’s more like it’s a book that you survive. That being said, it was compelling, and I kept moving forward, even when I sometimes felt a disconnect.