Anyone who has been following my book reviews for a while knows that I am rather fascinated by Christian fundamentalism, particularly of the Quiverfull variety. So far, I've covered Kathryn Joyce's groundbreaking 
 Quiverfull 
 , as well as the Duggars' (who popularized the movement through their reality show on the TLC channel) 
 20 and Counting 
 . I also regularly read blogs like 
 Love, Joy, Feminism 
 , 
 Broken Daughters 
 , 
 Defeating the Dragons 
 , and Cynthia Jeub's new blog. And, of course, Vyckie Garrison's 
 No Longer Quivering 
 that started it all. 
 There's a sideshow aspect to my fascination, I suppose, because the lifestyle and beliefs really are weird. But far more than that, I think I feel so attracted to these narratives is because of how familiar they are. When I read Garrison's early posts, I could see her brain working the way mine works, her conclusions trending in the same directions. Had I been exposed to fundamentalist Christianity at certain points of my life, I'm pretty sure that I could have - that I would have fallen into the same traps. So when I read these accounts, it's with the relief of a narrow miss, and perhaps an inoculation. 
 In any case, all this is just to say that I was very intrigued when I heard about Devoted, and I ordered it through my library immediately. 
 The book follows Rachel Walker, the second daughter and currently eldest in-house, of a family with eleven children. She is responsible for cooking, laundry, cleaning, teaching, and caring for her younger siblings. She is a mom in all but status - a mom to an industrial-sized family. Things start to change for Rachel when a miscarriage throws her mother into a terrible depression just as Lauren comes back to town. 
 I really enjoyed Devoted. At first, I wasn't too sure about Rachel. I was glad that she wasn't a transplanted feminist, nor does her epiphany processes seem too easy. She just seemed so very immature, and I worried that it might be due to Mathieu's poor writing. About a quarter of the way through, however, I realized that quite the opposite was the case. Rachel was immature because of course she was, she has been sheltered her entire life, denied all opportunity to form thoughts of her own. Once she starts thinking, however, she develops beautifully, and it's wonderful to see that process. Mathieu handles it exquisitely. 
 I really enjoyed the depictions of both Lauren and Mark. It would have been very easy to have them there to serve the purpose of progressing Rachel - Lauren could have said all the right things, Mark could have swept her off her feet. In the hands of a lesser writer, that's exactly what would have happened. 
 But Lauren is flawed, and she is still going through the same process as Rachel, albeit farther along and on a different path. And that's the best part of her character - that she and Rachel are growing differently, coming to different conclusions, yet they are able to learn together and support each other. Seeing Rachel assert herself and firmly explain to Lauren that she can't go from being under her father's protection to being under Lauren's protection was wonderful and very moving. 
 I enjoyed the little games Rachel plays with Mark, and his efforts to be conscientious despite her needs being so alien to him. (view spoiler)[I was also very glad that they never kissed or entered into any kind of relationship - I didn't feel that Rachel was really ready for that yet, even by the end, and it would have seemed somewhat predatory for Mark to approach her in that way while she remains still so innocent and child-like. Developing their friendship, allowing Rachel to learn that it's okay to be around boys, to be friends with boys, struck just the right tone. (hide spoiler)] 
 Rachel's experiences are, to use her word, complicated, but Mathieu wisely didn't make them horrific, though I do think she could have covered the good times a little more - Libby Anne of 
 Love, Joy, Feminism 
 makes a point of talking about her family's closeness, her good memories, to balance the bad, and Devoted didn't really have any of that. Apart from Ruth, it didn't really seem like Rachel had any attachment to her siblings, not even the little ones. I think it would have made her decision to leave her family more painful, and her initial depression more relatable. But that is my only complaint in a book full of great characterization. 
 I really enjoyed Devoted. Mathieu made a lot of great choices, and I really had the feeling that I was getting to know the characters - to the point of being a little sad when the book was over because I wouldn't get to be in their lives any more. She's managed to provide a lovely companion piece for Kathryn Joyce's Quiverfull.