Review: The Sacred Lies of Minnow Bly
Gaby Meares
4 1/2 stars!
What an amazing debut novel. We are introduced to 17 year old Minnow after she has beaten a man to a pulp. Where her hands once were, she has only stumps. As she is incarcerated in “juvie”, we learn of her life growing up within an isolated cult, where brutal punishments are regularly meted out to those who have transgressed. Minnow is a very sympathetic character who you cannot help but empathise with. In revealing the horrors that she has experienced in her past, she enables herself to see the possibilities for her future. Although her upbringing has been so extreme compared to her peers, the questions that she asks are universally shared. Who are we? Who made us? What is love? This is a thought provoking novel, highly recommended to readers 15+.