I read this book back in high school and remember enjoying it, but also finding it so disturbing. A friend gave me a copy so I re-read it again and my reaction is the same. I like the way Ninah negotiates and struggles with the hierarchies of her faith. It's a disturbing and tragic story, but I enjoyed it a lot (stayed up way too late finishing it!).

So I didn't even make it through the first chapter. It sounded like such a good book, but when I'm reading a book, I don't want it to feel like I'm completing a chore or that I'm at work. I just could not get into it at all, and that's not the first on Oprah's book list that I haven't been able to complete either.

I have had this book on my 'to read list' for a long time. Finally got to read it and wondered why it was a to read.

Told from a 15 yo girl who is totally clueless about life etc because of the ultra-conservative church she belongs to. I guess in a way the book had some redeeming qualities because it made me mad because these churches still exist and also made me sick to my stomach at times because of the heavy handed leadership by Herman. He controlled everything and the punishments he handed out were basically unlawful.

Guess there are still a lot of sheeple following the orders of nut cases.

I don't recommend the book.

Jana sent to me after MVA 1995

The beginning started out a little slow for me, but definitely picked up. Toward the middle-end of the book, I couldn't stop reading. By the end of the book, I was wishing I knew Nana and Ninah in real life! I highly recommend reading.

I loved, loved, loved this story! I knew I was hooked within the first few pages, and I knew I was going to have a hard time putting it down. I picked it up whenever I could over the course of the three days it took me to read it. And I finished it three days ago, but I've been lazy to write a review. So here I am now.

Going by the name of the book, The Rapture of Canaan, you may think it’s a religious book. It is in the sense that it’s about a family whose life revolves around religion. It’s about a girl named Ninah who has to be 13 as she is in 8th grade. She lives in a community isolated from other people, but the children still attend regular school. Her grandfather, Grandpa Herman, is the leader and creator of the Church of Fire and Brimstrone and God’s Almighty Baptizing Wind. What a mouthful! He took out parts in the Bible he didn’t like and makes his own rules. No one is to ever disobey him. If they do, they either have to pay a fee, which half goes to the sin, and the other half goes to the church. If it’s a sin that isn’t under the “pay a fee”, the punishment is abusive and cruelty. No one asks questions because it’s not allowed. Questions lead to punishment. As is usually the case for the one ruling over others, while he may be able to do it, no one else can: Grandpa Herman wears dentures, but no one knows except Nanna and Ninah.

Reading the rules over the course of the story were alarming and upsetting, as were the punishments and the sins. Here’s one such sin when a baby was crying towards the end of supper, Grandpa Herman:

“A tiny child before it is even old enough to speak is selfish. Selfish. Born a manipulator. Before it has even learned to walk, a baby sins. Knows how to get its way. Cries out, demanding to be comforted. And so we come into this world sinners. Sinners who cannot to save our lives live perfectly.”

Yikes!

Ninah and James like one another. Ninah is very close with her grandmother. She is easily able to convince her grandmother that her and James should be prayer partners, (so they could spend more time together). In this time frame, Ninah starts questioning their religion, when questions are not encouraged or allowed. It is considered a sin and the outcome will be punishment.

One line was a reminder of my childhood. When Mamma asked Ninah a question, she didn’t directly answer with a yes or no. She gave the reason why she didn’t do what she was expected. Her mother,

“Don’t talk back,” Mamma warned.

Ahhhh! Nothing like not having a voice and being told to shut up. How I hated it and never did this with my own children.

There is more to the story, but they would be spoilers.

I didn’t want the story to end. Unfortunately, the ending was somewhat abrupt, and I was secretly hoping it would end another way, but it didn’t. It didn’t change my rating of a 5.

I need to look for Sheri Reynold’s other books.

I think my problem with this book stems from the fact that I could never, ever tolerate the ultra-conservative lifestyle portrayed in the book. Thus, I had a hard time with the story...I kept thinking, "seriously? you people put up with this nonsense?" It wasn't awful, it just wasn't for me. And Southern dialect anti-grammar bothers me, too.

A dreadful and bizarre book. I don't recommend it.

This book shows how warped people can get when they have the wrong idea about how God operates. It was just ok for me. I liked the end where Ninah finally decided to take Canaan and raise him as her own without all the garbage from Fire and Brimstone. But I won't be rushing to read this one again. :-)

There were nice characters and character development along the way:

1. I liked Ajita Patel
2. I laughed at Corinthian (what a name!)
3. I liked Mustard and how Olin and Daddy and he started thinking for themselves and doing their own thing
4. It was funny how Ninah told herself that she was having sex with Jesus to rationalize things
5. Couldn't figure out what to think about Nanna. She seemed to want to go against Grandpa Herman, but she also seemed to want to excuse him because he'd had a bad time in the war. Why didn't she try to help him see how fanatical his beliefs were becoming? Maybe she realized that you just couldn't argue with him?
6. Was surprised that James killed himself. I didn't except that when Ninah couldn't find him (thought he'd run off), but then you figured it out as she and Mustard were looking for him

Interesting story that was really well written, but now that I am asked to rate it I realize I didn't like it.

[With no context, it’s not really a spoiler. So, this is just formality, but whatever.]

I checked this book out of a library around 2009, maybe? I kept rereading it and just forgot about the due date. This book felt like my best kept secret. Until, two summers ago, I took a camp counsellor job. My first group was 8 boys, ages 12-14. Since reading your kids to bed was part of the job, I read this to them— I brought it from home, as an experiment, sorta; I wanted to see if it would have the same intrigue, as it did when I was their age.

Their 10 day session ended and we didn’t finished the book— we got up until [you know who] drowns. One of the boys, Marcus, asked me at the breakfast before the bus home, how the book ends. Couldn’t remember what I really said if I tried, but I must’ve given some sort of elusive answer, something he wouldn’t be satisfied with.

I’m gathering my stuff for my three-day break, and as I’m about to pack the book away, I start wondering if I was gonna read the book again. I didn’t know if it gave the same escape-feeling it did when I was a twelve year old, steeped in a religious context. I’m a 26 year old now, I use Uber to escape, music to fuel my imagination. I’m only now starting to rebuild the habit of reading, and I haven’t been drawn to too much fiction. But I began to sense something as I’d read to my boys each night— everyone loves a good story. From the 12 year old camper, to the 24 year old counsellor. Every ear and imagination was arrested as this story was being read. I knew before his query at breakfast— I knew I had a gem.

On the bus ride home, I wrote a note and signed the front of the book and gave it to Marcus. I knew I was done walking with the book, but Marcus was ecstatic and keen to see it through to its to-be-desired ending.

I’m more of an autobiographical guy anyways.

I was far, far too young to read this when I did, and I suppose as a result it has always stuck with me. I suspect it did more to prejudice me against religion than anything else I read as a child. Which makes it excellent in my opinion.