Keep Sweet tells the story of Alva Jane, a girl who is initially happy with her polygamist life as she faces the realities of her community. The author tells a very realistic tale of life for a girl in a FDLS community with a character that middle school girls can relate too. The book opens with a happy girl, her fathers favorite, who has the same hopes and dreams that all girls have. Alva likes math and she's got a crush on a boy who likes her back. When she's caught giving the boy a kiss her world falls apart and she's assigned to marry her creepy abusive uncle she realizes she has to escape.
Appropriateness: While this book is clearly written for a middle school audience there is some very adult content in this book that might disturb some young readers and parents. There is a graphic and disturbing rape scene where the act is described (it's not as much as you'd see in a book for older teens but there is a description of the act). A supporting character is very badly beaten and Alva herself is beaten and tortured. While I do not think the book is inappropriate at all for the intended middle grade audience these scenes could be upsetting for some readers. It is a powerful book and the horrors will speak to the young audience and encourage them to learn more about the topic. The lexile is 930 putting it at a mid sixth grade level.
Review copy received from Amazon Vine
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