Gather the Daughters: A Novel

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There are dozens more girls like them, and the reader uncovers their pain in beautifully woven layers that are both surprising and eerily familiar.

Thoughts become words,” Caitlin quotes from Our Book. “Words become actions, actions become habits. Tend to your thoughts, lest you find yourself fighting for something you never really believed in.”(c) Vanessa can’t help but think that if she were in charge, she would build it just a little bit differently, so it might last longer. But she suspects that when she is a woman, she will see no problem with the current method of church building. She’s never seen an adult express anything but enthusiasm for the process of building up and then sinking the church. (c) That night, Vanessa barely awakens. When she does, the wind is making everything move rhythmically and tree branches are slamming into the walls. It’s almost summer, she thinks, and then darkness overtakes her once more. (c) In short, Gather the Daughters is an unforgettable book – but not in a good way; I consequently don't feel I can recommend it to a broad audience." - Kim Kovacs What if on that island, it never gets warm enough for a summer?” asks Letty, and someone else says, “What if there aren’t any dogs or cats?”

Jennie Melamed

same time. There’s a faint tawny glow coming from inside the church, illuminating the windows and seeping out through the door. Women who produce more than three “defectives” are dismissed to make way for second wives. After becoming grandparents, usually in their late 30s or early 40s, people “drink the last draught”, to free jobs and houses for the coming generations. Traditions are dark and strange on the island, but not questioned because they were written by the ancestors.

The ancestors see everything, everywhere on the island,” says Our Book, and for a time in her childhood Vanessa felt like she was defecating for an audience of thoughtful ancestors. (c) As in Father’s books, the names of the publication locations are exciting and impossible to pronounce. Philadelphia, Albuquerque, Quebec, Seattle. The students have made up stories about what these places were like before they all became the wastelands. Philadelphia had tall buildings of gold that shone in the sun; Albuquerque was a forest always on fire; Quebec had such cold summers that children froze to death in seconds if they went outside; Seattle was under the sea and sent books up to land via metal tunnels. (c)The author Jennie Melamed is a psychiatric nurse practitioner who specializes in working with traumatized children. She explains her motivations for writing this book in the following article: Exploring a Cultish Culture: the behind-the-book story of Gather the Daughters (excerpt included). How does something horrific become an accepted part of a society? This book is an interesting exploration into the way cults operate and their methods of indoctrination. It also made me think about what parts of our own society are widely accepted but may be disturbing with some distance. The one thing I didn't love is that the ending. It left me a little wanting. It's a perfectly fine quiet ending, but I was left with so many questions. I can't help but hope we get another installment. Nevertheless, I'll be looking forward to reading anything Jennie Melamed publishes in the future.