Sister Wife by Shelley Hrdlitschka

Hrdlitschka, Shelley.  Sister Wife.

Orca Book Publishers; 2008,

ISBN: 1551439271.

Reader’s Annotation

Celeste, Nanette, and Taviana are all girls growing Unity, a community that practices polygamy, and Celeste, about to turn fifteen, makes choices that affect them all.

Plot Summary

Sister Wife is set in the remote town of Unity—a religious, cult-like, community that is centered around the practice of polygamy.  The story is told through the voices of three central characters: Celeste, a son-to-be 15 year old who is thought to be a bit rebellious; Nanette, Celeste’s slightly younger sister, who seems to be very pure and devout; and Taviana, Celeste’s best friend, and a girl who was rescued from prostitution on the streets, and brought into the community.  As Celeste’s fifteenth birthday approaches, she knows that soon the Prophet will assigned her to become the wife of one of the older men in the community.  Dismayed at the prospect, Celeste spends more and more time away down by the river, pondering her circumstances.  She’s worried that she’s been attracted to Jon, a boy in Unity, and one day they meet by the river, and there they are seen, kissing.  Jon flees Unity, and Celeste is punished by being immediately assigned to a husband—and the Prophet, rather vindictively chooses Mr. Neisson, Jon’s own father.  Taviana unjustly gets blamed for being “a bad influence” on Celeste and is kicked out of Unity. And Nanette, we find, is not perfect—she’s jealous of Celeste for getting to be married.  Celeste misses several opportunities to escape Unity, but then later finds Taviana and Jon—but will things ever be the same between them again?

Critical Evaluation

There just something fascinating about polygamy.  Hrdlitschka tells this story through voice of the three main characters.  They each are unique, and yet each one also struggles to determine who they want to be, and what they need to do to get there.  One interesting device that Hrdlitschka uses is a local boy Celeste meets by the river.  He spends his time making Inkusuks—stone landmarks used by the Inuits to guide the way.  This boy is Celeste’s only connection with the outside world, and she becomes fascinated by making the Inkusuks.  It’s as though he symbolically serves as a guide to another life for Celeste.  Although some of the decisions and choices made the characters, especially Celeste, are maddening, Sister Wife is a book you won’t put down.

Information about the Author

Shelley Hrdlitschka (pronounced “Herd-litch-ka”), was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, in 1956.  She worked as a teacher in the 80s, a stay-at-home mom and writer in the 90s, and she says that she does all three now!  Actually she explains that she now teaches creative writing classes.  Hrdlitschka has three daughters and lives in Canada.  For more information, go to Shelley Hrdlitschka

Genre

Realistic Fiction

Romance

Curriculum Tie-ins

Religions

Civics

Booktalk Ideas

1. Discuss Celeste’s choice not to run away.
2. How do you think that Nanette could want to marry a man thirty years older than her?
3. Discuss the character of Mr. Neilsson.  Do you think he was a good man to Celeste?

Reading level/Interest age

Young Adult (ages 13 +)

Challenge Issues/Challenge Response Ideas

Religion

Polygamy

• Present the library’s selection policy
• Be familiar with similar works in the collection
• Refer to ALA Intellectual Freedom resources

Why I included this work

2010  ALA Best Books for Young Adults
2010  CCBC Best Books
2010  IRA Young Adult Choices selection
2010  White Pine Award nominee
2009  CLA Young Adult Book Award nominee
2009  Governor General's Literary Award - Children's Text nominee
2009  VOYA Top Shelf Fiction for Middle School Readers List
2008  Resource Links "The Year's Best"

Great Quote from the Book:

"Every movement becomes an effort, as if the air is water and I have to push my body through it. My legs are dead weight and I feel like I'm sinking."