On the Bookshelf Book Review: The Book of Essie by Meghan Maclean Weir My rating: 5 out of 5 *****
It’s 3:30 AM and I am still up because I just couldn’t put this book down. The storyline was riveting, although I have to admit the content is disturbing.
The story is about 17 year old Essie Hicks, the daughter of an evangelical preacher and a domineering mother, and child star of the reality television show, Six for Hicks. Essie grew up in front of millions of viewers and the watchful eye of her mother and the show’s producers. They all proved to be more interested in public perception, than the well being of children.
When the book opens, we find that Essie is pregnant. This has thrown Essie’s mother, Celia, and the production staff in a whirl. How do you explain that a child of the most well known preacher in the country is an underage, unwed, mother? Ideas are tossed around, all without the consent or even the inclusion of Essie. These ideas include a secret abortion, passing off the baby as Celia’s, or planning an elaborate, and quick, made for TV wedding. Essie, who has lived under the this martial law her whole life, decides to take things into her own hands. She plans a secret coup, and decides to dedicate herself to getting out of the situation she was born into.
Essie chooses Roarke, one of her high school classmates, and someone she has never even spoken with, to help her. Brilliantly laying the groundwork so that Celia believes Roarke is her idea, she draws him into her elaborate plot. Roarke, good natured and kind, but with secrets of his own, resists at first. Finally the family gets him to agree, with a little encouragement from the generous financial package offered to him and to his struggling parents. As Roarke spends more time with Essie, he realizes that she is not the vain and shallow TV personality he thought she was. They form a fast friendship and Roarke quickly becomes Essie’s biggest supporter and fierce defender.
The overall message gleaned from this story is that people should stand up for what is right, even when it’s difficult. Essie had a lot of tough decisions to make, and could have taken the easy way out. It was her bravery in the end, that made her the hero of her own story.
Note:
I would be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge that some might find the content a bit disturbing. I know I did. The subject matter includes rape, homophobia and child abuse.
