Hidden Wives - What did you think? *spoilers!*

Kate&Mark

I liked it overall but I sort of feel like it started to fall apart once they left. I had a hard time believing they had so many lucky breaks. I know it's fiction, but it made it less believable for me.

I also wonder how much of the stuff in the compound was based on fact and how much was made up for shock value.

AlyciaandRich

It definitly kept me reading but I can't say I liked it overall. The shock value part of it really did it in for me as well. Also, as a women who had just had a baby there were far to many babies that died in this book for my hormonal self.  I agree that it did seem to fall apart after they left, so many things happening at the end of the book.

reenie83

I really liked it. I enjoyed the characters for the most part and the plot was intriguing. The story line started to lose me when they ran away from the cult. It almost seemed that the author got tired of writing and wanted to wrap things up. I can't say it was a pleasant read though, given the material...I feel bizarre even saying that I liked the story. The hotel scene was too much for me.

wendell98

I liked the book as well, even though "liked" may not be the best choice of words given the subject matter.  I agree about the story line being different once they left the cult.  I would have been interested to read how things played out back with the father and wives at home.  Yes, the author kind of filled us in at the end, but I would  have liked more details and how/if the wives struggled with what happened.

The babies dying and the inbreeding was definitely freaky.  

I don't know too much about polygamy and the mormons.  It was interesting to get a fictional look into their lives and see the family dynamics.  I also don't know how common abuse like this is (hopefully not too common!) in the community in real life.  And I don't know why, but I guess I never thought much about polygamy being illegal before and how only the first wife could take the husband's last name and legally be his wife.

I also thought it was interesting to read about the religious aspects, such as the husband has to bring the the wife (and children?) into heaven.     

 

saunderslm2

I enjoyed most of this book, but like Alycia the dying babies hit a little too hard. I felt like the beginning of the book had so much detail and information and then the end of the book was a lot of event/event/event without a lot of 'meat'. I was really hoping that they were going to sneak back in and take Alice.

I wonder if Irvin's condition could miraculously change like it did? It seemed a little extreme to me, but it's not something I am familiar with.

ktwed09

I find the polygamist lifestyle fascinating (though not in the sense that I agree with it, or would ever want to do it), so I was excited to read this book. I did find parts of it difficult to read, but overall, I liked the book. I did wonder, as others have said, how common this type of abuse and incest is in polygamous sects. I also agree that after the girls ran away, the story seemed to lack a lot of detail, and I would have liked to know how the father explained their absence and his broken bones to his wives. I also thought it was really interesting to see the perspective of the 2 sisters (blanking on their names, I read this a while ago). You could see how they knew they were being treated poorly, but then at the same time, they would fall back on what they had been taught and brought up to believe. Overall, I thought the book was very interesting!

nokcha725

I thought it was an interesting read, but I kept wondering how accurately it portrayed the polygamist lifestyle. Not that those things don't happen, but I wonder how frequently they happen. I agree that the plot started to unravel a bit after they left the compound. Like Kate said, they seemed to catch an awful lot of lucky breaks. Overall, I thought the book was okay. It did make me more interested in learning about polygamy though. My only exposure to it has been Sister Wives and now this book--two very different perspectives.