The Book of Mormon Girl

June 25, 2012
In this enchanting memoir, Brooks, a San Diego religion scholar (American Lazarus), portrays her pious Mormon upbringing in Southern California as both deeply grounding and later stiflingly sexist and politically wrongheaded. The descendant of Mormon “pioneers” who trekked out to Utah to establish their community of separatist believers, and raised among her large family in Orange County, Brooks re-creates with enormous feeling the sense of belonging inculcated by the community of kindly, well-intentioned Latter Day Saints who practiced strict rules about Bible study, baptism at age eight, reading the Book of Mormon, tithing, and keeping pure of mind and body. she and her sister Mormons, vilified by outsiders as a polygamous cult, felt strengthened by their “sparkling difference” from other people, such as in preparing for the end of the world, learning beauty lessons from Marie Osmond, and gaining insights into women’s roles from the church sisters while camping at age 15—all of which Brooks treats in charming, discrete short story–like chapters. Yet while studying at Brigham Young University, Brooks grew alarmed at patronizing attitudes by male leaders, scandals regarding surveillance files kept by the authorities, and excommunication of feminist critics. Brooks chronicles her painful years of “exile” from her faith and marriage to a Jewish man, culminating in her political opposition to the Mormons’ concerted 2008 effort to keep gay marriage illegal in California. Throughout this heartfelt work she remains braced and true to herself.

July 1, 2012
A scholar of religion and culture struggles to integrate her strong religious beliefs with a deepening awareness of social injustice. Brooks (American Lazarus: Religion and the Rise of African-American and Native American Literatures, 2003, etc.) evokes the close-knit joys and apocalyptic fears of growing up within the Mormon Church during the 1970s and '80s, a time many Mormons believed to be the prophesied "latter days." Living in California, far from the welcoming environs of Utah, she endured snickers about sacred undergarments and angels from other planets, agonized over drinking Sprite while the other children drank Coca-Cola, and cringed through a humiliating anti-Mormon comedy routine at a friend's evangelical megachurch. While the author also emphasizes the positive aspects of Mormonism, especially the industrious goodwill fostered by a long line of pioneer ancestors, she excels at portraying the complexities of doubt in the midst of faith. In one powerful chapter, she recounts how she confessed to her bishop, per church doctrine, that she had had a premarital sexual experience; the bishop responded with a parable about a school-bus driver who was able to avert disaster by putting on the brakes before hitting a train. Feeling empty and patronized, she experienced disillusionment with the traditional Mormon view of sexuality but found refuge in the teachings of feminist professors at Brigham Young University. In the early '90s, however, the church began a crackdown on dissidents, and several of these professors resigned; Brooks returned her BYU diploma in protest. She describes the decade after graduation as a time of exile when she felt estranged from her faith yet also worked toward a doctorate degree, married a Jewish man, and gave birth to two daughters. Eventually making her way back to the church on her own terms, she declares herself "an unorthodox Mormon woman with a fierce and hungry faith." This well-crafted examination of spiritual longing shows how one woman has carved out a niche inside the religion she loves despite its contradictions.

COPYRIGHT(2012) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

September 1, 2012

This engaging memoir is a welcome addition to the recent flood of books about Mormonism. Brooks (English & comparative literature, San Diego State Univ.; American Lazarus: Religion and the Rise of African American and Native American Literatures) left the faith and married a Jewish man. She eventually returned to Mormonism, albeit with a feminist, liberal bent. She talks openly about her childhood and the quirks that resulted from her Mormon upbringing. She struggles between her yearning to return to a familiar faith while having decidedly different opinions about issues like women's roles and gay marriage. Taking on the role of spokeswoman for Mormons who don't fit the mold, Brooks describes her activism and return to the religion of her birth. VERDICT A thought-provoking, conversation-starting memoir for those interested in Mormonism, feminism, and religion in general. The book includes a reading group guide as well as an interview with the author.--Holly Hebert, Brentwood P.L., TN

Copyright 2012 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 1, 2012
For Brooks, life as a Mormona member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saintshas been painful. In this lively memoir, she depicts that pain as the consequence of her commitment to progressive causesnotably feminism and homosexual rightsin a church that has resisted such ideals. Readers will sense the cost of that commitment in a pervasive residue of resentment laced with self-pity. That resentment darkens her depiction of callous and oppressively patriarchal church leaders. From the local bishop who confused Brooks in counseling her about her budding sexuality to the high councils who enraged her when they excommunicated progressive dissidents, the church's all-male priesthood comes across as a benighted lot. Though they may wonder why she retains any tie to the church, progressives will hail Brooks as a martyr. Devout Latter-day Saints, however, may find it hard to believe Brooks when she declares that although she is unorthodox, she is no enemy. A highly personal narrative characterized by the strengthsand weaknessesof angry dissent.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)