Seed

Summary (from the publisher): All that Pearl knows can be encapsulated in one word: Seed. It is the isolated community that she was born into. It is the land that she sows and reaps. It is the center of her family and everything that means home. And it is all kept under the watchful eye of Papa S.

At fifteen years old, Pearl is finally old enough to be chosen as Papa S’s companion. She feels excitement... and surprising trepidation that she cannot explain. The arrival of a new family into the Seed community — particularly the teenage son, Ellis — only complicates the life and lifestyle that Pearl has depended upon as safe and constant.

Ellis is compelling, charming, and worldly, and he seems to have a lot of answers to questions Pearl has never thought to ask. But as Pearl digs to the roots of the truth, only she can decide what she will allow to come to the surface.

 

Review: I received a proof copy of this book from NetGalley.

 

This novel is narrated by Pearl, a teenage girl who was born and raised in the isolated community called Seed. Pearl's whole life has been about the small group of people who all follow the instructions of "nature" that are delivered to them by their leader Papa S. No one is allowed outside of the community (except for supervised visits to sell things at market). The children have very little education, and it quickly becomes obvious that they don't believe in modern medicine. Pearl, having never known anything else, doesn't question the group's way of life until three new members join their group and her new friend Ellis begins to point out ways the community's choices are flawed and how Pearl has been lied to about the world outside of Seed. 

 

This was a disturbing novel to read because it's about a cult that is led by a man who is clearly taking advantage of women and children. All of the girls in Seed dream of the day that they will be Papa S.'s "companion" - meaning they will sleep with him and possibly have his children. But if they give birth they will not be able to raise their child as their own, since they are taught to believe that all individuals are "Nature's" children. In addition to the sexual abuse going on, the fact that Seed is allowing individuals to die without medical intervention was particularly egregious.

 

This novel hinges on the fact that its readers are like the character Ellis - we're from the "outside" and unlike Pearl, we know hospitals aren't evil and the world isn't running to ruin beyond Seed's boundaries. I think the novel hits close to home because cults like this aren't unknown. I do wonder if Pearl's growing realization throughout the book would truly be that quick a process in reality, since she was born and raised in this community and it's all she knows.

 

I was disappointed by the relatively abrupt end of this novel. This is Pearl's story so we already don't learn anything about the beginnings of the Seed community or why the original members felt called to begin this lifestyle. Yet we also don't get to learn about Pearl's life after Seed. What happens to the members of this community after the conclusion of the novel?

 

Stars: 3