Book Review: “Immaculate” By Katelyn Detweiler

You probably feel like you’ve heard it all before. You think that any teen fiction novel that gets put up on the shelf is about falling in love with vampires, abandoning your family to survive in a dystopian society, or just simply believing that a pair of pants will keep four friends from growing apart. But believe me when I tell you; you have never read anything like “Immaculate.” When you read the back of this book these are the thoughts that will likely cross your mind:

“This is about a pregnant virgin; seriously?”
“Shouldn’t this book be in the religious section of the bookstore?”
“I’m not really religious. Is “Immaculate” still something I’d enjoy?”

Whether you practice religion every week, just during the holidays, or you are the most atheist person to walk this earth, please rest assured that the only concept this book will preach to you is how to become an all-around better person in life, love, and friendship.

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Seventeen year-old Mina is the virgin in question. At the beginning of this story Mina is what every parent hopes their child will be as a teenager. She is #1 in her class, she has a tight-knit group of great friends, and she has a respectful boyfriend who excels in both athletics and academics.  Mina had the world at her fingertips until a “miracle” made everything come to a crashing halt.

After a unique acquaintance and a very vivid dream, Mina finds out she is pregnant. You are then taken on the journey through the conversations she has to have with her loved ones. Mina has to tackle the incredibly difficult task of explaining that she is a virgin, but she is also in fact pregnant. Between her friends and family, you find it hard to side with any specific character’s reaction. After getting to know Mina, you want to believe her. But throughout the entire book you are wondering how you would react if your best friend, daughter, or even a stranger told you they were a pregnant virgin.

There are only a few seemingly believable explanations for a person claiming to be a pregnant virgin. They are either flat-out lying because they are ashamed of having sex and are afraid of the consequences, or they were traumatized from being raped and they blocked out reality. Both of these explanations are debated throughout the book, but people also start forming sides on whether or not to believe the miracle of this “immaculate” conception. When the media catches on to this story, people around the world start to look at this through a very black and white scope. Mina soon realizes that people are either with her or very much against her.

Being the brilliant mind that she is, Mina does a lot of research to find something that will help explain why this is happening to her. She comes across a quote that deserves to be reread multiple times because it makes you ponder:

“Miracles are not contrary to nature, but only contrary to what we know about nature.” – Saint Augustine of Hippo

This thought creates a waterfall of questions that relate to Mina’s story. At what point do you stop believing in miracles? Is it when you find out that Santa isn’t real? Or is it when death takes someone too early from this world? Everything is impossible until it’s proven to be possible. In many cases, if science can’t explain it then it doesn’t exist. Dreams can’t be explained or even how we can create life in the first place. So why is it outside of the realm of possibilities that a miracle like Mina’s could ever happen?

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This is the first book released by author Katelyn Detweiler and my hat is off to her for being able to create such a strong, brave, and flat-out courageous character that teens and even adults can relate to in a real way. Katelyn does a great job creating a story that evokes thoughts and feelings that resonate in the soul and make you question what kind of person you are this day in age. Are you someone that will stand up for what you know is right? Or are you a bully who can’t handle the unexplainable?

This story just makes you want to be a better person. By the time you are done reading you are walking away with a little more faith in humanity that you didn’t have previously. For that reason I am grateful this story was created. I hope this is only the beginning of Katelyn Detweiler’s writing career because I can already tell you that I am a fan.

“Immaculate” By Katelyn Detweiler is release on May 26th, 2015.
Make sure to reserve your copy on Amazon by clicking HERE!

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