Review & Interview: Immaculate by Katelyn Detweiler

Review & Interview: Immaculate by Katelyn Detweiler Immaculate by Katelyn Detweiler
Published by Viking Books for Young Readers on May 26th 2015
Pages: 464
Format:ARC
Source:Copy provided by publisher for review

Mina is seventeen. A virgin. And pregnant.

Mina is top of her class, girlfriend to the most ambitious guy in school, able to reason and study her way through anything. But when she suddenly finds herself pregnant—despite having never had sex—her orderly world collapses. Almost nobody believes Mina’s claims of virginity. Her father assumes that her boyfriend is responsible; her boyfriend believes she must have cheated on him. As news of Mina’s story spreads, there are those who brand her a liar. There are those who brand her a heretic. And there are those who believe that miracles are possible—and that Mina’s unborn child could be the greatest miracle of all.

reviews

I was curious about Immaculate from the first time I heard about it. It was a “Waiting on Wednesday” back when I still did those. And I will fully admit to being a little apprehensive because of the potential for it to end up being very religious, which is not really something I like to read.

Alas, I am here to report that it was not only non-preachy, but completely full of amazing characters and amazing, thought provoking messages. Was religion a topic that was in the book? Absolutely, I think it would be impossible not to have it involved when it’s a book about someone immaculately conceiving a child. Rest assured that it is in no way going to overpower the book or try to get you to believe in any religion in particular, or any religion at all. We needed to clear that all up, because I know a few people have been a bit hesitant to read because of the religious concerns, but one needn’t worry. There were a few moments in the middle of the book that felt just a tad slow, but overall, it was very well done.

What made this book so special? Let’s discuss:

  • Mina Mina was just a fabulous main character, and I was so able to feel her emotions throughout the book. She was obviously upset and scared and feeling like her world was collapsing around her. She had moments of despair and weakness (as you would) and moments of incredible strength and bravery. She was so believable, and to be honest, reminded me a bit of myself in high school, minus the miraculous pregnancy. One of my favorite things about Mina was that while she was upset about her boyfriend being a jerk about things, she was much more concerned about her friendships and family relationships. That was a huge win.
  • Everyone else So obviously, I loved the characters who stood by Mina. Her mom was an absolute rock. I hope that I can be as good of a mom as Mina’s mom was. Mina’s sister Gracie was amazing, her friend Hannah was amazing, her OB was amazing, all supportive of Mina, even if they didn’t know exactly what had happened. There were characters who were introduced as the story went along who were so wonderful to Mina, and there were characters who grew so much as the story went on.
  • The realization of so many characters that they could support Mina and show kindness even if they didn’t quite know if they could believe her. Listen, I probably wouldn’t have been able to unequivocally believe Mina’s story. But, I would like to think that I could show her kindness and support, which some people were so, so wonderfully able to do.
  • Online and in-person bullying is portrayed in an eerily accurate way. Sadly, this stuff happens over all sorts of things, and I have absolutely no doubt that the way Katelyn portrayed the bullying would have played out very similarly if this was a real world story. It’s so easy to hide behind a computer screen and/or a crowd mentality, but to judge, threaten, harass, and scare a teenage girl? Never acceptable, no matter what the circumstance. Unfortunately, in the culture we live in, this kind of thing happens far more often than it ever should (which, for the record, would be never).
  • This isn’t just a story of a miraculous conception. Yes, that is a part, of course. But to me, it was more a commentary of how we treat each other, how we can have faith in people without having to fully understand what is happening, and how we can be braver than we’d ever imagine possible. These are really powerful messages, and when told through a beautiful, life-affirming story, they become even more profound.

Bottom Line: Immaculate was about a pregnant virgin, yes. But it was about much, much more. The messages were lovely and deep, and had me thinking about both how I’d react in the situation, and how I would act toward someone else being in the situation. Immaculate is a fabulous, unique, and thought-provoking debut. 4hstrs

 

interview

Hi Katelyn! Thanks so much for taking the time to do this interview. I finished Immaculate about a week ago, and it was so incredibly unique, and I loved how thought provoking it was. As a mom, my first question to myself was, of course, “would I be able to believe my daughter?”. So I will ask you the same: Do you think you could unconditionally believe someone in this situation the way Mina’s mom trusted in her?

Ahh… good question!  I think my most honest answer is: I hope so, but, it’s so hard to say without really being in the situation. I feel like it’s one of those character tests that are just so hard to know definitively until life actually throws you into that very specific tangly mess of a dilemma. We like to believe that we’ll react one way, but when push comes to shove—is that really what we’ll do? If I saw a stranger getting mugged, would I try to help somehow? Would I run away? I want to believe I’d do something. I want to believe I could be brave.

I have family and friends whom I love and trust more than anything in this world. So yes, I really, really want to believe that, sometimes, unconditionally trusting is the biggest test of love there is.

I find the whole concept of “Miraculous Births” pretty interesting in general, so when I came across this article that featured a study about a whopping one percent of all U.S. moms claiming to be virgins, I was intrigued. Do you have any thoughts on it? They can’t all be Minas, right?

….!!!!!!! Those are my initial thoughts, summed up as best as I could articulate with letters on a keyboard. I managed somehow to never come across that article in my researching and brainstorming. Can I meet some of these people?! My gut instinct is that a lot of this stems from fear and denial, but… who am I to judge? This is seriously fascinating.

What do you think you would have done if you woke up in Mina’s situation as a teenager?

Oh, I would have totally freaked out. Lots of tears, lots of making myself physically ill I’m sure with anxiety and terror and confusion. I definitely would have wanted—needed—to hide out under my blankets for days. School… no way. I would have tried to keep it to myself—deny that it was happening—for as long as physically possible. But I’d like to think (not to spoil things too much for anyone) that ultimately I would have handled it much like Mina did. I’m too curious to not have stuck around, waiting out any potential answers. And I couldn’t have given up on the baby without understanding what giving up actually meant.

One of my favorite things about the book is that not only does Mina’s personality shine through, but so do those of the supporting characters. Do you have a favorite character other than Mina, one who has really stuck with you?

Mina’s mom, closely followed by both Izzy and Hannah, the two (very different) best friend characters. I see this book very much as a book about strong female relationships—how they ground and shape us, how they give us more power than we could ever have alone. The mom in the book is very much my mom, these friends very much pulled from my lifelong friends. These characters (I hope!) jump from the page because they are so very, very true to the beautiful relationships I’ve been blessed with in my own life

Since I enjoyed Immaculate so much, I obviously plan to read whatever your next book is! Do you have anything in the works that you are able to share with us?

Yes! Absolutely. I’m very excited to say that there will be a follow-up to IMMACULATE publishing next year. It’s not a direct sequel—it stands on its own—but it tells the story that takes place seventeen years after IMMACULATE ends, when Mina’s baby is a teenager, learning about his/her very complex past for the first time. It’s definitely different—the story goes darker and deeper—but still grounded in many of the same big questions asked in IMMACULATE.

One last question, completely unrelated to Immaculate or writing in general: We’re both from Pennsylvania, and I saw that you went to Penn State. So are you up for a Pennsylvania lightning round of sorts?

Yes! PLEASE. Seven years in NYC / Brooklyn now, but Pennsylvania is my eternal home. So much love for PA.

Are you a Penn State football fan? I loved going to home games in college (Hot dogs! Hot chocolate! Sing-alongs! People-watching!) but these days I only get updates from my dad and my brother. They are rabid super fans, so I take a perverse pleasure in remaining totally ignorant about wins / losses / players, just because it frustrates them so deeply. : )

Who has the best cheesesteaks? I actually never loved the gooey orange cheese of the “Philly” cheesesteaks I’ve had. (Though maybe I’m missing something?) I always preferred the completely mozzarella-covered sandwiches I could get from the more under-the-radar pizza places in my town.

Amusement park of choice- Hershey, Knoebels, Dorney, etc? I grew up near Dorney, so that was my go-to park. But let’s be honest, if I was closer to Hershey, the kingdom of chocolate would win every time!

Best thing about Wawa? WAWA. You are truly speaking the language of my heart now. It’s a dead tie between a turkey shorti and pumpkin spice coffee. So usually: shorti in one hand, coffee in the other. (I’m okay with mocha or caramel, too, off-season.) The day a Wawa opens in Brooklyn will be the day my entire life is made.

Snow and cold: Take it or leave it? Snow in PA often meant SNOW DAY, so as a kid, I loved it. Less so now, especially in the city, since after a few hours of lovely, sparkly whiteness it transforms into deathly black sludge. But snow on the trees and fields surrounding my parents’ house back in PA—sigh. Just thinking about it now makes me want to curl up with a good book and a mug of hot chocolate.

Thank you so very much for playing along! I am so excited for Immaculate to be released into the world for everyone to read. Congratulations on your fabulous debut!

**Sidenote: I had the amazing luck to run into Katelyn on the last day of BEA, and I have to say, she is just as lovely in person as she is in this interview, and I am so incredibly excited to hear that she is working on another book, because I will absolutely be reading it!

 

About Katelyn Detweiler

Katelyn Detweiler was born and raised in Pennsylvania—in a small town much like Mina’s—living in a centuries-old farmhouse surrounded by fields and woods. After graduating from Penn State University, she made the move to New York City, where she is a literary agent representing books for all ages and across all genres. Katelyn currently lives, agents, and writes in Brooklyn.

You have to know what my question is: What on earth would you do if you found out you were pregnant… and absolutely could not be, scientifically speaking? (Or if you are a male, if a female in your life was?)

Posted June 1, 2015 by Shannon @ It Starts at Midnight in Interview, Review , / 19 Comments

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19 responses to “Review & Interview: Immaculate by Katelyn Detweiler

  1. Wow, I’d never heard of this book before. The plot definitely sounds intriguing and out of the box. But I like that you mentioned there are underlying messages that go beyond just the story itself. I’ll definitely have to check this one out. Great Review 🙂

  2. I WOULD FREAK OUT. ahah. No really, I can’t even fathom that at all, which is basically why I do want to try this book because it sounds so wildly crazy. :O I kind of was avoiding it at first because of the religious tones (I’m so not a fan of books with religion) but if it’s not-preachy then…I’M GAME. XD
    I loved reading that interview! I had to giggle with the “Pennsylvania Lightning Round” because I HAD NO IDEA WHAT EITHER OF YOU WERE SAYING lol. It was like a complete other language and that made me laugh. Idek why, Shannon. Don’t ask me hard questions. It’s late. I’m crazy. ANYWAY. Rambling. 😉 I really enjoyed this review/interview!!

    • I would like, laugh, and be in complete denial until said baby actually popped out.

      And no worries, the religious stuff is minimal, and even the stuff that is included is not preachy- it’s neither pro NOR con, it just offers different views, which is kind of a win for me!

      BWHAHAH I love that the PA lightening round was so foreign- because we are weirdos! She actually grew up close to where I went to college, so it worked- and then my dad used to take us every weekend to the place SHE went to college. I feel like we are connected by location 😉

  3. I think I’d completely flip out but I really don’t even know what I’d do. I can’t even imagine being pregnant to begin with much less through some kind of immaculate conception. The book sounds incredibly interesting though and I’m adding it to my TBR!

  4. Aha! I remember this one of one of your WoW’s (since that was how I found out about this one!) Yay (no but seriously, I can take religiousness when it comes to cults, because that’s usually there right along with it, but something like this? Nope) so glad it’s not preachy or over opinionated when it comes to the religious parts. Now yes, Mina, you do sound fabulous and level headed, and I haven’t even “met” her yet and she’s already a wi for me just because she was concerned about her friendships and family relationships more than about her boyfriend.
    All the people who stood by her are definitely awesome people, because I mean, there’s the obvious disbelief and people who aren’t going to believe her, which also, you can’t really blame them either, but exactly, you don’t have to actually believe someone’s truth to be nice. You don’t have to be mean about it, and exactly, whether she cheated on her boyfriend or not it is not right to bully, bullying is never right, but honestly, people who are bully behind screens piss me off more than if someone did it in person.

    Now that is a great first question, and equally great answer, because it’s definitely a you-don’t-know-how-you-would-react-until-you’re-put-in-that-situation.

    Ohmygod that article, I can’t even. Seriously. I maybe laughing hysterically right now…a lot.

    Ahhh! Okay, I’m so excited about that sequel and I haven’t even read Immaculate yet, but that should definitely be interesting and raise a whole different lot of questions (try explaining that to your kid).

    HAHA! Uhm, I’d laugh hysterically and then cry. And cry again. Maybe pass out? With a lot of swearing inbetween. Haha, I don’t know.

    • LOTS of bad words for sure. I seriously would just be in denial! And I cannot WAIT for the sequel. It should be really good, because I feel like Mina is going to be a fabulous mom character! She was really great during the book- she had appropriate responses (like, the usual “what the actual fuck is happening?!” sort of thing you’d expect) and she was definitely not any kind of Mary Sue, she was just… normal, but in a really good way.

      I hope you like this one!! Oh and I agree, that article had me dying- come ON people!

  5. I would absolutely lose my mind. I couldn’t even imagine being in Mina’s position! Absolutely speechless, to be honest.

    But ahhhh Shannon I think you’ve convinced me to read this one. ADDING IT TO MY BDAY WISHLIST. My mom’s going to be like… what is this? I’m going to have to ask her what she would do if I were in Mina’s position – that’d be interesting!

    • Right!? I would just deny, deny, deny. And then sob myself to sleep every night 😉

      YAYYY I really hope you like this! (Now I am worried, after the Sin Eater debacle 😉 ) but YESSS ask your mom! I need to ask mine too- I should have her read it!

  6. I have a copy of this in my kindle so I am excited to read it soon xD The re-telling of the Virgin Mary sounds amazing though, there’s not many books on it even though there should be. I’m glad you enjoyed reading this one. Wonderful review Shannon <3

  7. I have NO idea what i would do in this situation! I like the idea of this novel because it seems so unique. And I like that this was playing on the family and friendship side of things when the boyfriend wasn’t being useful. Mina sounds like a character who knows what is good for her. I like that the characters are especially realistic and add magic to this story. I can’t wait to try it if I get the chance to!

  8. I LOVE THIS INTERVIEW SO MUCH BUT YOU ALREADY KNOW THIS.

    I’d like to believe that I’d trust my daughter unconditionally if she told me she was pregnant and didn’t have sex. But like Katelyn said, it’s hard to know what you’d do in these types of situations until you’re actually IN them (which I hope never happens). I also NEED more books with great female relationships.

    This really makes me want to start the book now! I will do that soonish. 🙂

  9. I loved how so many people stuck by Mina, even though it was such a hard thing to do with her story of how she got pregnant. It definitely made me feel like there is still hope for humanity. 🙂

    Wait… Shannon… You’re from PA? How did I not know this? I went to Knoebels once, but I barely remember it. Hershey Park is okay, but you’ve got to come over to this side of the state. We have a few charming amusement parks.

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