Ten-year- old Judith lives a life of prayer, preaching and bible readings with her father, a man so absorbed in his relationship with God that he forgets to build one with his daughter. McCleen grew up in a similarly fundamentalist environment and the authenticity of the experience is part of what makes this book, and it’s astonishing young heroine, so memorable.
Painfully lonely and a helpless outsider, ten year old Judith finds herself bullied at school and escapes to the Land of Decoration, the miniature ‘Promised Land’ she has built in her bedroom. One night, consumed with fear she prays for snow to fall and close the school. When she wakes the next morning to find the town covered in the real thing, it can only mean one thing: she can perform miracles.
The consequences of this and other ‘miracles’ along with conversations with a vengeful God compelled our group to continue reading through this thoughtful and complex novel. McCleen has a vivid way with words which creates an often grim and claustrophobic atmosphere, not always easy to read but nobody could put it down!
Pat Mutton