Imperfections

As the Civil War looms, a teenager finds refuge from her abusive father in a Shaker community in this "lovely and thought-provoking" novel ( Kirkus Reviews).   Rosemary Elizabeth likes Pleasant Hill. Unlike her former home, the Kentucky Shaker community is serene and full of beautiful things. The food is plentiful and delicious, and she dresses in spotless white garments. Above all, she and her younger siblings are now safe from their drunken, often violent, father, and from the war between the Union and the Confederacy, which is said to be drawing closer every day.   Perfection is the goal at Pleasant Hill, and Rosemary Elizabeth vows to be perfect so she'll be allowed to stay. As time passes, however, she finds herself more and more at odds with the Shaker path, the rules that are supposed to govern everything she says and does and even what she dreams. If she eliminates all the imperfections the Shakers find in her, will anything remain?   "Built around a historical incident—a visit by the soldiers of Morgan's Raiders to Pleasant Hill in 1862—this fine coming-of-age novel rewards readers with an unusual glimpse into a rarely portrayed religion as well as a different perspective on the Civil War." — Booklist