Prayers and Lies

 

I just finished reading Prayers and Lies .  It's a great book...even better if you can relate to the very small town, southern, country life.  I'd never heard of this book until I randomly picked it up at Target last week, but I was hooked from the first chapter.  For someone who is naively citified, this book may seem repulsive...but it (unfortunately) touches issues that happen all too often, but no one ever talks about outside of close family-and sometimes not even with close family because they are too stuck in their city-slicker ways to understand and accept the things that happen in some small, country towns like the one in this book.  The theme and specific events in the story are a little too real and familiar, but I think that's what makes it more interesting.  Prayers and Lies follows two cousins, who are more like sisters thanks to the rest of their family and situation in the valley, from the time they are 6 & 7 until they are well into high school and a little beyond.  It tells the story of their separate lives that come together during the summers and holidays...one is a life of horrors and tragedy and never-ending fight and struggle while the other is a life of comfort in a nice house in a suburb with two loving parents and sisters (she knows her cousin's life is very different while the cousin has no idea how their lives are different-the fortunate cousin is taught to never flaunt her luxuries, but never pity her cousin).  The girls are brought together by a common evil, and that common evil follows them through life.  Even though they are so different they are good friends (most of the time), understand and rely on each other, and do their best to help each other.  The title is very descriptive of the entire book....they grow up entangled in all sorts of lies-about family, to family, to the outside world, to each other-and one girl prays continually while the other doesn't even though everyone tells her to (but you will have to read to learn more about that).  Lies, abuse, incest, love, loss, understanding, compassion, and prayer follow "the trashcan twins" through life and make for an incredible story.