A review by lauraedosanjh
The Prophet of Yonwood by Jeanne DuPrau
1.0
I know that a lot of people thought that this book was a doom and gloom sort of thing that shows how damaging the religious right can be, or something along those lines...
But I disagree. I think this book was about how hard it is to know what the right choice is, and sometimes how it's difficult to tell the difference between good and evil. And also a little bit about how everyone needs forgiveness, especially when they don't deserve it. I believe all of these points to be both valid and interesting. I see Nickie's internal struggle as something that we've all gone through as we were growing up. She's a good kid, and she puts her trust in an adult who seems to have all the answers, and yet she still uses her internal compass to find her own way.
And whether you like it or not, her point about letting someone take away your rights because you are afraid is very relevant. (Look at the Patriot Act.) It's a fact of life that people make sacrifices in order to feel secure.
However, despite a lot of good concepts, this book just stank all the way around. The plot, the story, and the characters all seemed pretty pointless. It's like Duprau wanted to make this one statement about the grayness of things, and she wrote a 400 page novel to do it. You could probably read 30-40 pages out of the whole book to get a similar end result.
I also feel like Duprau skirted around a lot of issues in this book. If she really wanted to write a commentary on terrorism, politics, and the Patriotic Act, she shouldn't have wussed out. She's so careful to never give anyone a face, name or religious affiliation. It's always "one truth against another truth." And in the end, a hippie blurb about how all gods are love, etc. etc. etc.
I wouldn't recommend to anyone, not even fans of the Left Behind series....
But I disagree. I think this book was about how hard it is to know what the right choice is, and sometimes how it's difficult to tell the difference between good and evil. And also a little bit about how everyone needs forgiveness, especially when they don't deserve it. I believe all of these points to be both valid and interesting. I see Nickie's internal struggle as something that we've all gone through as we were growing up. She's a good kid, and she puts her trust in an adult who seems to have all the answers, and yet she still uses her internal compass to find her own way.
And whether you like it or not, her point about letting someone take away your rights because you are afraid is very relevant. (Look at the Patriot Act.) It's a fact of life that people make sacrifices in order to feel secure.
However, despite a lot of good concepts, this book just stank all the way around. The plot, the story, and the characters all seemed pretty pointless. It's like Duprau wanted to make this one statement about the grayness of things, and she wrote a 400 page novel to do it. You could probably read 30-40 pages out of the whole book to get a similar end result.
I also feel like Duprau skirted around a lot of issues in this book. If she really wanted to write a commentary on terrorism, politics, and the Patriotic Act, she shouldn't have wussed out. She's so careful to never give anyone a face, name or religious affiliation. It's always "one truth against another truth." And in the end, a hippie blurb about how all gods are love, etc. etc. etc.
I wouldn't recommend to anyone, not even fans of the Left Behind series....