This is a story about several aspects of life. First, there's the disparity between how the two families treat their children, how women are viewed, and what religion means. Then, there's the power of friendship between Zo and Libby who connect even though Libby's upbringing could easily have sent her screaming in the other direction.
The slow build of tension thanks to Libby's father's religious rigidity, is a perfect way to pull readers into just how insane (for those not so indoctrinated) Libby's home life is. Cruelty, bigotry, and harsh punishment in the name of their god is what Libby and her siblings believe to be the way life should be...Until some of them don't. It takes a medical crisis for Libby and her mother to truly see the light and find a way to break free. Even then, her younger sister Patience, still wants to drink the kool-aid,
People like Libby's family are real, scary and not just in the South. I've encountered them in rural Maine. This is an excellent story and well worth being added to most library collections. ( )

I read this whole thing in one day at the beach -- definitely a page-turner! The first 3/4 of the book are the best, while the two main characters and their families are navigating each other and trying to see how they can be friends across their difference.

I'm not spoiler-tagging this because I think it's important to know going into the book: by the end, the story comes down clearly on the side of "the world" as opposed to "the insular faith community." Dad is clearly abusive, not just religious. The nuance of other Christian family members (the grandparents) gets lost. I'm deducting a star because I wish Watts could have found a way to tell this story while leaving room for a fundamentalist Christianity that isn't abusive, and for legitimate criticisms of modern life (fast food in plastic cups vs. homemade, for instance). ( )

Liberty "Libby" Hazlett is the oldest six kids (soon to be seven). She is part of an evangelical Christian family who practices the Quiverfull lifestyle--having as many kids as God deems they should. The father is the head of the family and his wife and children (especially the girls) should do everything he says, no matter what. Libby and her siblings are home-schooled and rarely see anyone outside of their family and church. So when a new family moves next door, it's a pretty big deal. Zo and her family are not exactly in the same vein religiously or politically as Libby's family. Still, Libby and Zo become fast friends--a friendship that may be cursed from the start. Spending time around Zo's family is eye-opening for Libby. But no one challenges Libby's father or their religion in her family. What does it mean for Libby that she's questioning her faith? And what will the repercussions be?

"It's all over the Bible--'be fruitful and multiply' and then there's Psalm 127 that says that children are like a warrior's arrows and 'blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them.' Some families like ours call themselves Quiverfull for that reason."

This was a really interesting, eye-opening, and sometimes scary novel. It was very well-written, and I really enjoyed it. A huge thanks to LibraryThing to introducing me to Julia Watts and her work. This novel is told in varying viewpoints between Libby and Zo, highlighting the stark contract between their upbringing and the way the two girls look at the world. It does an excellent job at showing how religion shapes your thought.

For Libby, her religious family is basically her entire life. We see how differently boys and girls are treated in her family, with the girls serving as helpmates in every way. She is not allowed any independent thought and is completely indoctrinated in her family's evangelical religion. Any thoughts she has that differ from her family's way of life make her feel strange and scared--and stepping out of line in any way means punishment. Even worse, she can't see any way out. Even though she doesn't want to, her future is set: getting married and having babies in the name of God.

Libby was so wonderfully written, and my heart ached for her. Watching her confront what she was taught, seeing her yearn for a different life--it really opened my eyes to how hard it must be for so many kids raised in religious homes. It's so easy to be derisive about religious views with which you don't agree, but the book did such an excellent job showing how Libby didn't have a choice: religion was such a part of her life from the moment she was born.

Zo's character was great, too. She didn't always seem as fleshed out to me, but it was refreshing to see a gender fluid character in YA literature. She was very down-to-earth, and it was nice to see her sexuality not be her defining characteristic. I also enjoyed how very feisty she was:


"The fact that Mr. Hazlett justifies his dictatorship through religion makes me think of all the families and communities and countries that have been torn apart because of people who claimed to be acting in the name of God."

This was a lovely book, which even had some surprises. It made me want to cry at times and laugh at others. It's very well-written and so beautiful to read. The subject matter is different, well-worth reading, and wrapped up in a very entertaining and interesting story. It certainly gets you thinking, plus it's very hard not to fall for Libby and Zo, too. 4 stars.

I received a copy of this novel from LibraryThing and Three Room Press in return for an unbiased review - thank you!

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Liberty, known as Libby, is the eldest child in a "quiverfull" household - fundamentalist Christians who believe in having as many children as they possibly can in order to populate the earth with like-minded people. She and her siblings live in rural Tennessee and are homeschooled, with boys taught how to provide for the family and girls taught how to be obedient wives and mothers. They take no "government assistance" (highly debatable, but that's what they claim) and live an isolated life until the day when new neighbors move in next door. Zo is 16, the same age as Libby, but a liberal, a feminist, gender-fluid, and unlike anyone Libby has ever met before. Their family moved from Knoxville to rural Tennessee when Zo started having a hard time at school, to try living a different kind of life. The two teens enjoy each other's company, learn about each other's lives, and start becoming friends, which neither of their families are thrilled about.

At first this seemed like a "both sides learn something about each other" type story, but toward the end devolves into Zo's family saving Libby and her mother from their hyper-fundamental abusive father. It was too tidy, one-sided, and not as nuanced as it had the potential to be. What I did enjoy about the ending was 1) learning more about Libby's mom and 2) Zo and family realizing that trying to remove themselves from society is not going to solve the problem of their child being depressed. But I did have a problem with how Zo's family got there in the first place. Why would they think that was a good idea? Zo wasn't even actually bullied for gender fluidity, just treated badly by an ex. Depression was certainly an issue but there are a million better solutions than moving out to the middle of nowhere to be homeschooled. And then when that doesn't work, they move back to the same place in Knoxville and Zo goes back to the same school? Why not continue to live in the rural area and go to the local school? Why not go to a different school in Knoxville? Overall, I keep thinking of small changes to this book that would make it more interesting. What if Zo was less self-assured? What if Libby was more self-assured? What if Zo's home life was less perfect? (I know it seems like I hated the book but I did enjoy 90% of it, I'm just being nitpicky.) It's a fine read, well written and with characters that are not often portrayed in media, but I didn't find the plot to be thought-provoking on my end. I do think a reader who is unfamiliar with Libby's lifestyle and/or Zo's would get more out of this than I did. ( )

When I started reading Quiver, I started groaning internally a bit and thought "this is why I don't read much fiction, and certainly not YA fiction, anymore, these books are so predictable, but, heck, I'll give it a shot." I'm glad I kept giving it a shot! This book was definitely not predictable (but not unrealistic either) and I enjoyed reading it. In fact, I finished it in less than a day. ( )