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"You've been Godshot!"

"Drought has settled on the town of Peaches, California...In their desperation, residents have turned to a cult leader named Pastor Vern for guidance."

 My immediate response to reading the summary of Godshot by Chelsea Bieker was "Ooh, very interesting!" I hastily placed the book on hold at my local library, and waited anxiously for COVID restrictions to decrease so that the library would start lending out books again. 

 Needless to say, there was a lot of build-up to reading this book. 

A Rough Beginning

It took me two days to get through 40 pages of this book; for some reason, I just was not clicking with the story. But on the third day, I sat myself down, determined to read this book in its entirety. After all, it was the first recommendation I ever received from a reader, and I don't like to leave books unread; it feels unfair to the author to write a review without knowing the full story. Thankfully, the story did get better as I read on, but it was still not what I was expecting. 

Lacey May is a fourteen year-old girl who grew up in Pastor Vern's cult, but when her mother is banished, she is left to navigate life in Peaches on her own. Her story is intriguing, and with every turn of the page I thought to myself, "Do something, Lacey!" But Lacey was a rather passive character. She had thoughts about what was going on in her life, but she seldom acted. Was this because she was 14? Perhaps, but even 14 year-olds can be powerful.

Not The Right Fit

Try as you might, sometimes a book just isn't the right fit for you, and that was the case with me and Godshot. I gave it 110% effort, but I wasn't eagerly turning the pages as much as I was forcing myself to. The plot does pick up significantly in the end, but I was disappointed by the lack of agency displayed by Lacey throughout and especially at the conclusion of the novel. Because of this, I can only give Godshot 2/5 stars. That being said, I won't discourage those who are interested in this novel from reading it. I feel like it was a good story that many readers will click with, unfortunately, I was not among those readers. 

As always, please comment below, email me (theopinionatedbookworm@gmail.com) or follow me on Instagram (@theopinionatedbookworm1) to share your thoughts or recommendations with me. 

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