Customer Reviews

I Am Not Esther

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

One of the most moving, strikingly original teen novels to come our way in a long time is this candid story of a young girl's sudden introduction to a religious cult. When her flighty mother brings Kirby to live with her aunt and uncle, it's to a strict religious world where little is allowed and much regulated. Kirby's spunky spirit fights back at first; but she must learn to live within the family's rigid boundaries if she's to escape and find her mother. Eye-opening and vivid, this will keep readers guessing until the end, and provides a sharply poignant picture of brainwashing and cult control as experienced by a teen. Very highly recommended.

i started to read this book because a friend of mine had told me about it. i partially read it because my name is esther, and i am part of a pretty strict religion. I Am Not Esther had so many twists in it that i never would have expected. i loved that Fleur Beale kept Kirby's character strong to the very end. i was amazed to see what kind of a cult she was thrown into. just the thought of it makes me shudder. it was amazing to me that Kirby could stand up to a whole cult for such a long time, with pretty much no one to back her up. i thought this book was great, and i think everyone should give it a chance.

i got to read this amazing book when i was doing my reading log for my english assignment. I read this book once before i was given the assingment. I like it personally because if the persistent character of kirby. She is strong and even in the hard times she know what she is heading to and need to get to. She keeps her goal throughout the book. It is amazing really!!
i recommend this book to anybody trying to decide on the book! dnt hesistate to get it!!!!!!!

P.S I READ IT OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER...IT DOESNT GET BORING!!!!

I am not Esther are so many things I cannot describe, but I do not know for sure boring is not one of them. Though I didn't feel any real suspense troughout the whole book, I sure was curious to keep on reading, about such a fantical family and community.

I thought Kirby's sarcastic remarks about using God's name in vain were amusing, and her close relationship with Maggie was something that I was absolutely loved and one of the reasons Kirby didn't lose her audacious personality. Kirby's relationship with Daniel was well played with a nice strong bond as well as with the other siblings.

Fleur did a wonderful job and I would love to read more of her work.

Aurevoir, Amicia

Kirby's mother is a caring nurse and a humanitarian,but quite dysfunctional in her own personal life, particularly with regards to her relationship with her daughter Kirby. Kirby and her Mum love each other but Kirby's Mum won't discuss her past- being a teenage mother and having to be excommunicated from the cult. When Kirby is is sent to live with her uncle (in the cult) she is able to piece together the reasons behind her mother's problems. The techniques used within the cult are powerful and influential.Kirby even has her name changed to Esther Pilgrim.The influence of the cult is so powerful that Kirby questions her own identity. She has to discover who she is,what she wants,and decide her own path for the future. Kirby deals with issues of growing up,sexuality,relationships,authority,choices and awareness of her place in the world. I found the story about a single parent and her daughter tracing the roots of their problems and trying to deal with their dysfunction well done.Kirby doesn't understand why her mother has abandoned her or how she really feels about her relationship with her mother.She begins by looking inward and then looks outward to the bigger picture.Kirby rises above the mental abuse of her over bearing uncle and the cult and with the help of an understanding school counsellor tries to break away.

It was an ok book but it was very predictable. Kinda cool concept though.

I started reading this book out of a sort of curiosity. I'm very interested in different religions, how they work, and where they started, and I also love dramatic mysteries about teenage girls. With the whole religious cult thing and confused girl, I knew it would keep me going. It has done so much more than that.

Once I started reading this book, I became hooked. This young girl had been torn away from her mother and shoved into this up-tight family who belonged to this unheard of religion called the Fellowship of the Children of the Faith. I couldn't believe it when it talked about all of the rules this religion went by. To me, it was almost unfathomable.

Once I had finished reading the book, I was talking to a friend who told me about a religion her mother had been involved with, and quite upsettingly to me, a lot of what they did was what happened in the book. It was so hard to believe that people would actually do these kinds of things, and believe all of it too.

Ultimately, I definitely enjoyed this book. It was interesting, filled with drama, love, and hardships, and it will certainly keep you entertained to the very end. I honestly don't think there was a single dry spot. Besides from being interesting, this book certainly opened my eyes to what really happens, and that sometimes people take religion to an uncanny level, a level where it can get dangerous.

Kirby's Mum's a great nurse, but not very organized. Still, that's okay. Fourteen-year-old Kirby's efficient enough for two. Then Mum announces they're moving. Kirby finds herself living among religious relatives who insist on calling her Esther and make her dress and act like a character from history. She'd like to run away, but where can she run? In Wellington, New Zealand, Kirby has no friends, no relatives beyond the strangers she's told are family, and no hope.

Soon a burgeoning care for her new brothers and sisters gives Kirby another good reason not to leave--how can she desert them here? How would they cope? But how does a young teenager balance her own needs against others', and how does she balance her own identity against the one they impose upon her.

By the end of the story Kirby and Esther are so closely intertwined the young fugitive's not quite sure who she is, or who she can rely on. The story of her transformation and rebellion is beautifully told in Fleur Beale's I am not Esther, even to the details of language slowly changing as the narrator absorbs her new identity. Faith and love are dealt with gently; even rebellion is tinged with the recognition of kindness; and a story of hopelessness ends with hope restored. Kirby is a wonderful character. Her journey is a fascinating, thought-provoking read, filled with vivid detail and genuine humanity. And I am not Esther is an amazing tale of survival, identity and mercy.



Disclosure: Nothing to disclose. I liked the picture on the cover. I'd just been studying Esther in the Bible. And I bought the book.

The book was in poor shape, cover and spine of book is not intact. seller email me after I ordered and shipped. I didn't want to go through hassle and spend more money on shipping back.