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Down from the Mountain Elizabeth Fixmer Books

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Down from the Mountain Elizabeth Fixmer Books

From the age of five, Eva -- along with her birth mother -- has lived on the compound of the religious cult Righteous Path in Boulder, Colorado. Her childhood has been strict but not completely unpleasant overall.. but now as a teen Eva has started noticing things that leave her confused and concerned. The group's polygamist leader, Ezekiel, has fervently started stockpiling guns, insisting every Righteous Path member down to the young children has shooting lessons. Ezekiel himself begins to show increasingly elevated levels of paranoia. His generally calm, generous demeanor flips to much more of a trigger temper, beating the children members of RP with more frequency over the most minor infractions, things such as simply stumbling over reciting a bible passage. Stirring up his ire even more, Ezekiel gets word that a man has been spotted just outside the compound gates -- possibly a reporter -- asking questions about Righteous Path. Ezekiel immediately instates a 24 hour lockdown on the whole compound until further notice.

The group's largest source of income is from the selling of handmade jewelry to the "heathens" (non-RP members) at market stalls downtown. Eva gets special notice from Ezekiel for her jewelry making skills, even hears rumors that she might be slated to be his next wife.

There's also been a noticeable shortage of food. For some time, Ezekiel has been disguising the shortage by calling for more and more religious fasts, but Eva learns the painful truth when she finds her mother becoming seriously undernourished during her pregnancy. Eva, under Ezekiel's rule, is not allowed to show special attention to her birth mother but instead must acknowledge all the women as RP as her mother. Still, Eva coverts finds ways around this rule and with the help of "heathen" Trevor, finds ways of stockpiling money and food supplies to help out not only her birth mother but also other members of RP who have shown signs of malnourishment from the food shortages (some of the women in the group even going months without any menstruation).

To add to her new, confusing feelings, Eva begins to have memories of her life before becoming a member of Righteous Path, memories that included a biological father and a love for libraries, and specifically a love of C.S. Lewis' The Chronicles Of Narnia. She once had a copy of The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe, but unfortunately, Ezekiel put a ban on the reading of any fiction, so she had to relinquish her copy. Still, she revisits the world of Narnia in her dreams and begins to see correlations between that novel and what's going on in her own life. These dreams help her slowly work out what she needs to do to save herself and those she loves.

If you're a fan of the works of Ted Dekker, I found similarities between this book and Dekker's book Water Walker (Book 2 in the Outlaw series, if you don't count the prequel Outlaw), which also largely takes place on the compound of a cult. Some scenes are really similar, in fact. There wasn't quite as much suspense or mystery in Down From The Mountain as I was hoping... I was left feeling like this was a good start... but something about the characters felt a little underdeveloped. Still, the novel was far from being a disappointment. I liked seeing Eva grow as she gradually learned to tap into her inner strength. She discovers the power in learning to take control of her thoughts and memories. She also begins to see just how much more precious memories, experiences and education are than any amount of physical possessions could ever be. Just with that little bit of Eva's personal growth, combined with her friendship with "heathen" Trevor (who actually gives her a crash course in religious tolerance / friendship & acceptance without stipulations), I can comfortably recommend this as a worthwhile read.


Tags : Amazon.com: Down from the Mountain (9780807583708): Elizabeth Fixmer: Books,Elizabeth Fixmer,Down from the Mountain,INDPB,0807583707,Religious - General,Social Themes - General,Christian life,Cults,Cults;Fiction.,Fanaticism,Fanaticism;Fiction.,Mothers and daughters,Polygamy,Polygamy;Fiction.,Children's Teenage fiction & true stories,Children: Young Adult (Gr. 10-12),Family - General (see also headings under Social Themes),Fiction,JUVENILE FICTION Social Themes Self-Esteem & Self-Reliance,Social Themes - Self-Esteem & Self-Reliance,YOUNG ADULT FICTION Religious General,YOUNG ADULT FICTION Social Themes General (see also headings under Family),YOUNG ADULT FICTION Social Themes Religion & Faith,YOUNG ADULT FICTION Social Themes Self-Esteem & Self-Reliance,YOUNG ADULT FICTION Social Themes Values & Virtues,Young Adult Fiction,Young Adult FictionFamily - General (see also headings under Social Themes),teen; YA; young adult; cult; polygamy cult; faith; religious community; compound; FLDS; polygamy; young adult novel,Family - General (see also headings under Social Themes),JUVENILE FICTION Social Themes Self-Esteem & Self-Reliance,Social Themes - Self-Esteem & Self-Reliance,YOUNG ADULT FICTION Religious General,YOUNG ADULT FICTION Social Themes General (see also headings under Family),YOUNG ADULT FICTION Social Themes Religion & Faith,YOUNG ADULT FICTION Social Themes Self-Esteem & Self-Reliance,YOUNG ADULT FICTION Social Themes Values & Virtues,Young Adult FictionFamily - General (see also headings under Social Themes),Young Adult Fiction,Fiction,Children: Young Adult (Gr. 10-12),Children's Teenage fiction & true stories

Down from the Mountain Elizabeth Fixmer Books Reviews

DOWN FROM THE MOUNTAIN
By Elizabeth Fixmer

Publication Date March 1, 2015

Genre Young Adult Fiction

* I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*

I have always had a strange fixation with cults and cult-like religions such as the polygamist ex-Mormon sects from Utah. The television show that was popular a few years ago called "Big Love" was a show I watched religiously (pun intended) every week. It was fascinating to me that the women on that show saw nothing wrong with the way they chose to live. Because I have no particular belief system it boggles my mind what some people can be convinced to believe.

Cults have been around for a long time and there are quite a few groups that are active in the United States to this day.

This book may be fiction, but it highlights an issue that is very much a part of the lives of thousands of Americans every day. Children raised in these isolated communities know nothing else. If they are taught to believe in a specific set of principles by their parents, they have no reason to question whether these practices are right or wrong. They quite simply do not know that they have a choice.

In "Down From The Mountain" the story begins with fourteen year old Eva attending church. The culture of fear in which she lives is evident from the very first paragraph.

"I try not to stare at the discipline paddle that hangs on the wall near the bare table we use as an altar. Fourteen swats if I mess up the Bible passage. One swat for every year of age."

Right away the reader must ask themselves what kind of church has a discipline paddle beside the altar? I know that in Ontario, Canada where I live, it is illegal to hit a child. If a child were "paddled" in church the police would be called and child abuse charges would be laid.

Eva has been taught to believe that God talks to Reverend Ezekiel and "has given him the job of shepherding us to keep us pure." The Reverend gives out rewards and punishments to keep his followers on "the righteous path."

Eva and her friends Annie and Jacob live in a closed community surrounded by an electric fence. They belong to a group that call themselves "Righteous Path." They refer to everyone who is not part of their group as "heathens." They believe that only 444 people will survive Armageddon and go to Heaven and that they are among the chosen few.

Eva and her mother joined the community when Eva was only four years old. When they joined her mother sold their home and belongings and turned over all the money to Reverend Ezekiel. This is common practice for cults. It keeps the cults coffers full and because the members no longer have money or possessions of their own, they are reliant on the leader for everything.

Eva knows that she must follow all the rules set out by Reverend Ezekiel. These include not showing too much pride, keeping her heart pure, not being selfish, not wearing jewelry, being demure, not speaking to the heathens, etc. Basically she must be pure in thought and deed.

Eva loves school. Even if they only have a few textbooks and most of the information in them has been blacked out to avoid them learning worldly ways, Eva craves knowledge. They used to have a few novels including the first Narnia book, which Eva adored, but Ezekiel burned them all as being inappropriate. He believes that girls only need to learn to read so that they can read the bible.

The problem arises when Ezekiel calls Eva into his office and announces that she is almost a woman. He has already married every woman on the compound and they rotate which of them spends the night in his trailer. Eva is terrified that he will want to marry her too. Thankfully it isn't marriage that he wants to talk to her about ... Yet. He assigns her to make jewelry to sell at a local flea market to the heathens.

When Eva gets a look at what the outside world is really like, she begins to have questions. How can all the nice people she meets be agents of Satan? Is it so bad to come up with ways to make more money for the group? Why is it wrong for her to want to read books? Is the outside world really evil? And most of all, she begins to question whether or not she believes Ezekiel is right about God and heaven.

This book illustrates the brainwashing and the culture of fear that cult children grow up with. I believe that it is important that books like this are written, published and marketed to young adults. They need to know that sometimes evil comes in the guise of a Prophet or Priest. This book will open the eyes of many who read it who were not aware that cults like this exist in our modern society.

I give this book a rating of 4 out of 5 stars. It is a quick but dramatic read.

To learn more about this author go to www.elizabethfixmer.com

To read more of my reviews visit http//amiesbookreviews.wordpress.com
What a strange book! I really loved the premise before I even started this book. Religious cults?! Sign me up. But I was let down with the delivery of this book. For starters, I was really confused by the inclusion of The Chronicles of Narnia. I know what it's like to have a deep love for a piece of literature. Yet the way that the author included Narnia was really strange. It didn't fit into the story. It didn't read like the rest of the story. It stuck out like a sore thumb and really slowed down the book.

The characters were really interesting. The author has a way with descriptions that made me feel like I was on the compound and getting to know the members. Reading about the leader, Ezekiel, was chilling. The author knew exactly how to portray him as the sociopath that he is. Eva was a strong character. I enjoyed her curiosity about the world outside of the compound and her spirit.

Down from the Mountain was a good read, but ultimately it left me wanting more. The book seemed really short, and I wasn't ready to let go by the time it ended. It seemed like Eva's story wasn't finished and the ending was rushed. If you have an interest in cults, you'll definitely find an interesting read with this one, though!

**I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review with no compensation.
This was a great book it was hard to put down it was interesting because I've been to that area of the country and I thoroughly enjoyed it
I wouldn’t recommend it to others, but if you have nothing else to read, it’s alright.
From the age of five, Eva -- along with her birth mother -- has lived on the compound of the religious cult Righteous Path in Boulder, Colorado. Her childhood has been strict but not completely unpleasant overall.. but now as a teen Eva has started noticing things that leave her confused and concerned. The group's polygamist leader, Ezekiel, has fervently started stockpiling guns, insisting every Righteous Path member down to the young children has shooting lessons. Ezekiel himself begins to show increasingly elevated levels of paranoia. His generally calm, generous demeanor flips to much more of a trigger temper, beating the children members of RP with more frequency over the most minor infractions, things such as simply stumbling over reciting a bible passage. Stirring up his ire even more, Ezekiel gets word that a man has been spotted just outside the compound gates -- possibly a reporter -- asking questions about Righteous Path. Ezekiel immediately instates a 24 hour lockdown on the whole compound until further notice.

The group's largest source of income is from the selling of handmade jewelry to the "heathens" (non-RP members) at market stalls downtown. Eva gets special notice from Ezekiel for her jewelry making skills, even hears rumors that she might be slated to be his next wife.

There's also been a noticeable shortage of food. For some time, Ezekiel has been disguising the shortage by calling for more and more religious fasts, but Eva learns the painful truth when she finds her mother becoming seriously undernourished during her pregnancy. Eva, under Ezekiel's rule, is not allowed to show special attention to her birth mother but instead must acknowledge all the women as RP as her mother. Still, Eva coverts finds ways around this rule and with the help of "heathen" Trevor, finds ways of stockpiling money and food supplies to help out not only her birth mother but also other members of RP who have shown signs of malnourishment from the food shortages (some of the women in the group even going months without any menstruation).

To add to her new, confusing feelings, Eva begins to have memories of her life before becoming a member of Righteous Path, memories that included a biological father and a love for libraries, and specifically a love of C.S. Lewis' The Chronicles Of Narnia. She once had a copy of The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe, but unfortunately, Ezekiel put a ban on the reading of any fiction, so she had to relinquish her copy. Still, she revisits the world of Narnia in her dreams and begins to see correlations between that novel and what's going on in her own life. These dreams help her slowly work out what she needs to do to save herself and those she loves.

If you're a fan of the works of Ted Dekker, I found similarities between this book and Dekker's book Water Walker (Book 2 in the Outlaw series, if you don't count the prequel Outlaw), which also largely takes place on the compound of a cult. Some scenes are really similar, in fact. There wasn't quite as much suspense or mystery in Down From The Mountain as I was hoping... I was left feeling like this was a good start... but something about the characters felt a little underdeveloped. Still, the novel was far from being a disappointment. I liked seeing Eva grow as she gradually learned to tap into her inner strength. She discovers the power in learning to take control of her thoughts and memories. She also begins to see just how much more precious memories, experiences and education are than any amount of physical possessions could ever be. Just with that little bit of Eva's personal growth, combined with her friendship with "heathen" Trevor (who actually gives her a crash course in religious tolerance / friendship & acceptance without stipulations), I can comfortably recommend this as a worthwhile read.