Colony
Girl is not a book for all readers, but *should* be
read by every woman over the age of 15. Although the material
is a little bold, this story offers a true look at mother-daughter
relationships, adolescence, and religion. Amazingly, a man
wrote it.
Eve,
a fifteen year old girl who can be found around town at bars,
parties, and working as a flag-person on a construction crew,
has an interesting home life. She is in a cult the townspeople
refer to as "The Colony."
The Colony is located in the town of Arhat, Iowa. Life at
the Colony follows strict rules, such as: "If it's
not in the Bible, then we don't do it." Throughout
the novel, you will hear Eve decline offers from the general
public, such as car rides, saying, "There's no cars
in the Bible." Another example is the fact that Eve
does not have a last name - "No last names in the Bible."
Essentially, the members of the Colony live to please their
leader, Gordon.
Gordon is an interesting character-think of an alcoholic,
TV-obsessed Jim Bakker who looks like a young Telly Savalas.
Even though his reign over the Colony is subsiding, he still
has enough power to tell the people how to behave, except
for Eve.
Eve is a very multidimensional character. She has three
best friends who she's always trying to help while also
looking out for her mother and herself. (She has no father
because "We're all children of God"). She experiments
with alcohol and intimacy, as many teenagers do - except
she's not your typical teenager.
Eve's relationship with Gordon is like a father-daughter
relationship. Gordon, who really doesn't care about anybody
at the Colony, takes a special interest in Eve because he
sees her as a younger version of himself. Eve is always
troubled about right and wrong, and her decisions are sometimes
disastrous, but she's essentially a strong, good kid. For
reasons eventually disclosed to the reader, Gordon has ulterior
motives, and allows Eve more freedoms than the other children
and adults because he knows if anyone can figure him out,
it would be her.
I picked this book up, expecting it to be a light, mindless
read. I was wrong. It has more substance than I could ever
imagine. I always know a book is good when I think about
it days after I finish it. I'm still thinking about its
contents, and troubled that it is so hard to write about.
Even though Colony Girl uses a religious background,
most of the things that happen within the story happen to
many teenagers and parents. Even though it's disturbing,
there are many humorous spots to the story, and the author
has no qualms about poking fun at religious cults. Ultimately,
the underlying themes of moral decision reign over this
well-written novel.
