The Book of Essie

The novel The Book of Essie (Knopf) follows Esther Hicks, who has grown up being filmed for a reality TV show about her family. Her father is a Christian pastor who is loved and hated for his fire-and-brimstone teaching, and on her 17th birthday, her family finds out that she is pregnant, which could end their career in television. Essie and her mother meet with the show’s producers to decide what to do about the pregnancy, while Essie attempts to free herself from the fame she grew up with.