THE CHOSEN ONE

When the prophet of a polygamist sect decrees that 13-year-old Kyra must marry her 60-year-old uncle and become his seventh wife, she becomes an immovable force. In Williams's outstanding young adult novel, Kyra begins sneaking books from the local bookmobile and falling for a teenaged boy in her isolated community. Threats, beatings, and even murder can't deter her from a world whose door she's already opened. Narrator Jenna Lamia brings passion and dignity to Kyra, her sisters, and even the strict elders who want all the girls for themselves. At times, Kyra's life seems not so bad; at other times, unendurable. Lamia's voice sounds believably young and brings surprising gravity to this ripped-from-the-headlines story. M.M.C. 2010 Audies Finalist © AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine [Published: JULY 2009]