Her cast includes doulas and pimps, addicts and liars, and children who mimic adults in their struggle to subsist the novel’s grace is that it makes second chances available to all among them who are brave enough to extend empathy to others.
With her wiles and the help of three women at the fringes, she finally has a chance to be truly reborn.īieker’s portraits of people are harrowing, demolishing the affectations of followers and survivors alike. She picks at the fraying edges of the church’s specialized gospel and concocts a lie to shield herself from its continued influence. Lacey compartmentalizes, rationalizes, and survives, but then learns that the baby she’s carrying will be considered church property upon its birth. Lacey’s mother is expelled, and Vern orders that Lacey be assaulted. Heedless, Lacey tells Vern everything: that her mother has broken the rules that she is a woman, and ready for an assignment.
Lacey is a true believer, but her mother warns her off from growing up too soon. In the heat of a deep Central Valley drought, fiery Pastor Vern, who’s anointed in gold dust and who heralds himself as better than the second coming, baptizes his flock in Coca-Cola, sends his women on secret assignments, and promises that the rains are coming.įourteen-year-old Lacey and her mother find a home in this milieu, their lives for once free from men and booze. A dark, deft first novel about the trauma and resilience of both people and the land they inhabit.The faithful girls of a struggling California town are asked to sacrifice an ungodly amount in Chelsea Bieker’s Godshot, a blazing novel about the messes made when blind faith metastasizes into madness. ( Starred review) Lacey May is such a strong narrator, at once deeply insightful and painfully naïve, that readers will eagerly want to follow all the threads to the breathless conclusion. Young readers will admire Lacy May’s resilience, moxie, and ability to survive in a world she did not choose. ( Starred review) vivid and cutting exploration of… how mothers shape daughters, biological or otherwise, and how daughters must ultimately learn to mother themselves. Debut novelist Bieker weaves in the political battles being fought on multiple fronts. ( Starred review) Lacey May’s is an irresistible voice, part gullible believer, part whip-smart independent spirit who surprises at every turn. Bieker’s excellent debut plants themes seen in… The Handmaid’s Tale into a realistic California setting that will linger with readers.
Bieker straddles the line between darkly comic and downright dark, and excels in portraying female friendships….
Fiercely written and endlessly readable, a novel like this is a godsend.
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