This is NOT an easy read, in fact it’s highly disturbing, dark, depressing and downright scary in places. Gather The Daughters is, in my opinion, a powerful and thought-provoking story which drew me in from the opening chapter.

When someone suggested Gather The Daughters and compared it to The Handmaid’s Tale I was immediately interested. This is a book that I would never have normally read or even looked at if I hadn’t asked for recommendations on my Facebook group (THE Book Club) for books ideal for a real-life book group with an interesting storyline and good for discussion. Melamed lives in Seattle with her husband and three Shiba Inus. During her doctoral work at the University of Washington, she investigated anthropological, biological, and cultural aspects of child abuse. JENNIE MELAMED is a psychiatric nurse practitioner who specializes in working with traumatized children. And it is at the end of one such summer that one of the youngest girls sees something so horrifying that life on the island can never be the same again. But until that point, every summer, island tradition dictates that the children live wildly: running free, making camps, sleeping on the beach. Girls are wives-in-training: at the first sign of puberty, they must marry and have children.

It’s a society in which men reign supreme, breeding is controlled, and knowledge of the outside world is kept to a minimum. GATHER THE DAUGHTERS tells the story of an end-of-the-world cult founded years ago when ten men colonised an island. And she returns home with a truth that could bring their island world to its knees. To be free.Īt the end of one of such summer, one of the younger girls sees something she was never supposed to see.

Every summer they are turned out onto their doorsteps, to roam the island, sleep on the beach and build camps in trees. Boys grow up knowing they will one day take charge, while girls know they will be married and pregnant within moments of hitting womanhood.īut before that time comes, a ritual offers children an exhilarating reprieve. On a small isolated island, there’s a community that lives by its own rules.

Darkside (Exmoor Trilogy #2) – Belinda Bauer April 6, 2023įor fans of Emma Cline’s THE GIRLS and Emily St John Mandel’s STATION 11, this dark, unsettling and hugely compelling story of an isolated island cult will get under your skin.

Finders Keepers (Exmoor Trilogy #3) – Belinda Bauer April 17, 2023.

Spotlight – Conviction – Jack Jordan April 20, 2023.

Blog Tour – The Birthday Reunion – Claire Seeber April 21, 2023.

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