From the author of The Deep End of the Ocean comes a rather unusual, and somewhat discomfiting, book about a Mormon family in the midst of tragedy, searching for a way to move beyond their worst nightmare, and somehow pick up their lives.

The Swans live a peaceful life in suburban Utah. Veronica (fondly known as Ronnie) is their twelve-year old daughter. They have two younger daughters, sometimes left in Ronnie's loving care.

One day, a crazed neighbor named Scott Early arrives at the Swan home while the girls are playing hide-and-go-seek. Scott, in the midst of a schizophrenic episode, slashes the throats of the two younger daughters, leaving Ronnie to discover their bodies.

Scott's trial results in a verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity, and is sentenced to a brief term in the psychiatric hospital. It is hoped he can emerge stable and ready to go on with his life. And, indeed, the Swan parents also want to move on. But Ronnie is not quite ready. She wants revenge. When she learns that Scott has been released from the hospital, and he and his new wife have relocated to San Diego, she determines that she will find her way there and execute the kind of justice she deems fit.

What follows is an incredible odyssey with Ronnie enrolling in school, taking up residence with a kindly elderly landlord, meeting new people (and, for the record, tasting Chinese food for the first time), with every aspect of her life dominated by her need for revenge.

As the story unfolds, readers may find themselves wondering who, at this point, is the disturbed one -- Scott or Ronnie. Readers will be amazed at how she manages to insinuate herself into the lives of the Earlys. And through it all, we are given a glimpse into the sometimes immature, but always volatile, mind of a young Mormon girl who has yet to come to terms with her own religion's teachings about atonement and forgiveness.

Mitchard's writing style is one of casual grace, but I didn't think it ever reached the level of elegance, as some believe. And some of Ronnie's observations about Mormonism are off-course ("You can even be baptized as a Mormon after you're dead, whether you want to be or not." (p. 19)), but it's never made quite clear whether this is what Mitchard actually believes, or if she is reflecting on the immature understandings of one not yet out of her teen years.

Mitchard is not a Latter-day Saint. She gives a brief history of her experiences with Mormons on her blog. The entry is worth reading. She mentions that it's hard to write about Mormons without being one, or without spending a lot of time in their company. She's right. While some of the Mormonism is right on target, some of it seems forced. All in all, however, she seems to catch the spirit of Mormon life fairly well.

Upon finishing the book, I imagined I would say in my review, "This is a book about redemption." And perhaps it is. Maybe, in the end, Ronnie comes to terms not just with the murder of her siblings, but with her own innate need to make sense out of a world spinning out of control.

Cage of Stars should be well received, by Mormon audiences and by others. It's a compelling story, told tactfully and with a deep understanding of the fragility of the human animal.

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Jeff Needle
April 18, 2006