Thoughts and Themes: There is so much that I could say about this book and how I read it at just the right moment. The interpretation of my religion and what I chose to follow from it will always be something that I disagree with my dad about. If I ever needed a message from above to let me know that I was okay in what I’m doing then this book was that for me. Books that feel like a welcome home or that help me heal in some way will always be something that I remember. It’s not steeped in religion or faith the way other religious books are but it serves as the foundation and the upbringing for Ami.

I was really excited to read this book as I really enjoy dystopian books and was pleased to find that it was also LGBTQ+. I liked how this book mixed a lot of different themes together and liked how the plot played out. I liked how you didn’t really get to know immediately if what Ami went there for was waiting for her but you really got to see her figure out who she is. I liked that this was a science fiction coming of age story because I feel that I haven’t read many of those. I liked that this story was a reminder that history repeats itself as Ami is taught that interracial relationships are a sin, and that to be a worthy woman are supposed to produce children. I thought it was interesting to see that while the world around Ami had progressed her town hadn’t and they had gone backward in time. I thought that the revelations that happen throughout the story are really well written and enjoyed the moments that they happen in. I think that these moments are shocking to the reader because your reality is very much what Ami has told us.

I really enjoy the old timey feel of this book and how it feels like you are going on an adventure with the main character. I think that the setting really added to making it feel like I was in the future with so many elements and rules of the past. I liked how this book was set in the future but it was as if society had taken several steps backwards. Something that I really enjoyed about it being set in the future is the scene in which they are talking about computers and record players as I thought it was a nice callback to our present times and the past.

Characters: While there is one main character there are a lot of side characters that you meet throughout the book. I liked how this story takes the time to introduce you to Ami’s family before really getting into the story. I think that it is important that you know them and their role in her life so you understand where she is coming from.

Once Ami leaves her home, she meets a lot more people in the area that her mom is supposed to be at. I really enjoyed her interactions with each of those characters and how vulnerable she is with one of them. I really liked how the relationship between Ami and Jessie develops and the way that Ami struggles through this all. I like how this book shows that this goes against everything that Ami has been taught and how multi-layered it is for her.

Writing Style: This story is written in the first person from Ami’s perspective which I found to be great. I liked that we always know how Ami is feeling and what she is thinking but we don’t know the inner thoughts of anyone else. I liked that we didn’t know anything about anyone else besides Ami because it let you feel and discover things along with her.

Initial Thoughts

I was excited to be chosen for this tour. I have been watching a ton of TV shows about cults lately and this dystopian setting seemed like it would really fit that theme.

Some Things I Liked

Ami’s story. I really enjoyed the way that the focal point of the story was on Ami herself and her journey of self discovery. There were excellent supporting characters but, the crux of the story was about Ami.
Cult vibes. Heavenly Shepherd was most certainly a cult. They had extreme views, a hideous dress code, and various other rules that would seem insane to an outsider. I absolutely loved the way Ami discovered what Heavenly Shepherd was as well as her introduction to all of the things she was missing in the real world.

One Thing I Wasn’t Crazy About

The explanation of the infertility. I found myself confused at a point because was it just Ami’s family that had this problem? Ami obviously discovered people who didn’t seem quite so plagued with the issue so I couldn’t understand if she was simply lied to or if the problem wasn’t explained clearly enough for my understanding.

Series Value

Ami’s story feels complete. However, I think this world is interesting and I’d be eager to know more about it. I also really enjoyed Kristy Dallas Alley’s writing and would read her future novels.

Final Thoughts

I enjoyed this book. I didn’t realize how much I was missing a book like this until I read it. Ami’s story was different from anything I had read in a while and I loved that.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Recommendations for Further Reading

Escaping Eleven by Jerri Chisholm – if you’re looking for a dystopian story where the societal structure is not all that it seems, try this new release.
The Grace Year by Kim Liggitt – if you’re looking for those Handmaid’s Tale vibes, look no further than this 2019 release.

The Ballad of Ami Miles is a coming of age story set in a near future where women are no longer able to have children and Ami Miles leaves the survival compound, Heavenly Shepard, in search of her mother who left when she was a baby.

I was expecting your typical “escaping a cult” book with a little bit of survival thrown in thanks to the synopsis. What I got was an unexpectedly queer coming of age story featuring found family and first love.

As a narrator, Ami was relatable but a little young. According to the novel she is suppose to be sixteen but the way she perceived the world felt much younger (think 12-13). On the one hand, I found it exhausting at times, but on the other I think it had to do with Ami’s exposure to the outside world and in that sense, I appreciated it.

The story moved quickly and while I think a couple scenes dragged in places I found myself interested the entire time. My favorite aspect of the novel was the development of Ami’s romantic relationship– the details of which I will omit to avoid spoilers.

Overall, I gave this queer coming of age tale 4/5 stars and recommend it to anyone who enjoyed books like Gather the Daughters by Jennifer Melamed and Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan.

Ami has grown up on her family's trailer dealership turned compound after the world fell apart. She knows she is one of the lucky ones. She has grown up safe, with enough food in her belly and her family around her. That is until the day the man appeared, the man her grandparent's intended to pair with her with, because Ami might be one of the few fertile woman left in the world.

Realizes this isn't something she is ready to face Ami runs away with the help one of her aunts. She hopes to find not only her long last mother, but hopefully a husband of her choice as well. But journey away from her family's home leads her to learn and find so much more.

Kristy Dallas Alley builds such a realistic world that is easily pictured when telling this story. You can picture the world we live in now that has fallen apart, still exists but had died and left to rot as the human population died off. It makes you understand how hard survival is outside of encampments would be, things wouldn't be easy to do on your own, information would be limited, and nothing would be easy.

Not only is the world well built but Kristy Dallas Alley's character are beautiful. You can feel the confusion and excitement in Ami as she moves through her journey. She has only seen one thing her whole life, her families compound. So when she leaves it is a lot to take in to see anything different or to be told anything different than the religious redirect her family believed. While I loved Ami's character, the side characters were amazing as well, you could see and feel their struggles. They were all fairly well developed and for a shortish story that is quite impressive.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys dystopian stories, or stories that involve cults. It is a quick read I read it all in one day always excited to find out more about Ami's thoughts and feelings.

Thank you to TBR and the publishers for my eARC all opinions and thoughts are my own.

Overall: Although it was bit shorter than I would have liked, this dystopian cult story is truly interesting.

Pros:
The cult aspects. What can I say, the cult aspects of the this book were what drew me in and they were what set this story off.
Why Ami ended up running and what she learns about herself along the way as a result. Okay, I know neither of these things are truly spoilers, but I just truly loved how they played out in the story.
The coming-of-age story aspects. Ami is on a quest of self-discovery which truly at it’s core was one that was a coming-of-age story.

Cons:
The length. A lot of my issues with this story could have been fixed with just a little more time. Specifically, in terms of the romance we are given.

I love cult books. I love post-apocalyptic books. So how do you improve upon these already fabulous genres? Why, mash 'em together, of course! And I shall now tell you exactly what worked for me in this book, and then what kind of didn't as much.

What I Enjoyed:

I was rooting for Ami from the start. How could I not? We open the story with her about to be married off to some old man, a literal stranger who just happened to wander into the family cult. Hard pass. And at first, Ami tries to be okay with it, even though she is clearly not. Luckily, not all of her family wants her to become a baby factory, so she's able to get out of dodge. Which leads to the next thing I enjoyed...

Ami had to survive and make her way to a place she hoped her mother would be. I also quite love a survival story, and while this wasn't the whole premise of the book or anything, I did enjoy that we got a bit of it. It was extra intense because Ami had to keep looking over her shoulder (literally, often) to ensure she wasn't being followed by disgusting men trying to impregnate her.

I really enjoyed Ami learning how to navigate friendships and romantic relationships and familial relationships. Ami has never met people before, basically. Certainly not peers- she was told that none existed, for the most part. So to learn how to coexist with people outside her small family cohort was a big change. And, Ami had to navigate how she felt about the family she grew up with, now that she was more aware of the lies she'd been fed her whole life. Fascinating stuff, really.

The overall messages of the book were really positive. I loved that the main focus was, ultimately, inclusion. Ami learned so much, but she also taught people stuff too. There's frank discussion about racial discrimination, homophobia, sexism, and religion, and I found them to be handled well.

What I Wanted More Of:

World Building! I loved the concept of the world. Clearly, there was a big disaster of some sort that lead to a population decimation and reproductive complications. And I wish I had known more about that! And, more about what the world looked like beyond Ami's small corner of the world. Obviously I understand that the story was limited to Ami's knowledge, but I am a curious sort and I cannot help my need to know!

Perhaps a bit more... difficulty? I think this probably ties into the length of the book, and I was thrilled that the story was resolved as a standalone, but there were a few moments that I thought could be better served with a bit more tension or struggle.

Bottom Line: A young woman figuring out who she is and finding her agency all while realizing that everything she thought she knew was a lie.

Thank you to Macmillan Children's Publishing Group for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

First and foremost, I loved this book! This is definitely one of my top 10 reads of 2020.

Ami is an innocent 16 year old girl who has grown up in a very isolated place. After "the change" most women became unable to have children, so when Ami was born she was considered a blessing. Now that she is of child bearing age her grandfather tries to arrange a marriage between Ami and an older stranger. Not wanting to get married and start having babies, Ami runs away in search for her long-lost mother. If Ami finds her she will have to decide if leaving was worth it, or should she return home to beg her grandfather's forgiveness.

I absolutely adored Ami. I think the author did an amazing job of showing her vulnerability, fear and bravery. You can feel Ami's emotions throughout the story. She learns and grows so much throughout the book and it's reflected in her character.

The story was paced perfectly and the flow was just wonderful. This is an absolutely beautiful piece of work.

I recommend this book to everyone. I can't wait to read more by this author. I'm officially a fan!

Born into a world where bearing children is becoming rarer and rarer her family creates a compound to stay safe and to live by the rule of the Lord. Ami's mother has fled the compound and left Ami behind. When Ami is 16 her grandfather brings home a stranger who he wants to "mate" with Ami to continue their bloodline. Worried and scared Ami flees with the help of her Aunts to find her mother. What she finds is so different from her upbringing its almost a shock to her system. Ami always believed it was her destiny to marry and produce babies but that isn't the way the community her mother is a part of believes. They believe in free will and love. People pair off as they want, create families, and have children if they want. There are also gay couples and mix race couples on the compound something Ami was taught was wrong.

Ami also meets people her age for the first time and while it is overwhelming she likes that she can play and learn from people her age. However when she meets Jessie something strange takes over her body that she has never felt before. Could this be love?

This is a beautiful coming of age story, where Ami learns not just about herself but about standing up for whats right, learning about love and intolerance. A really well done dystopian story with a slightly different twist than many of the others I've read.

First up, thank you so much for the opportunity to read. But i think this is a case of ebook not working out. That happens sometimes and can also happen the other way around. Sometimes one format just isn't for me at the moment.
But there is something else. I have read plenty of books about cults and love them mostly, it was just written in the same style as all these cult books. Is there some kind of manual that tells you how to write a cult book? Because it sure feels like it.
I also felt the first chapter just didn't feel like a first chapter. More like I stepped into the story at chapter 5.
I gave it a bit more but in the end I just give up on this one. I am still going to try reading it if I get my hands on a papercopy, and maybe will update my review then. Because I still want to give it a shot. Again, I just love books about cults and this was pretty interesting.
Despite not finishing I give it a 3 star for the compound, the mysterious illness that I want to know more about, Ami is an interesting character.

This was a very fast read, and it certainly kept me engaged. However, I found it difficult to connect to any of the characters, and they fell a bit flat for me. I found the MC to be unbelievable- she seemed very easily persuaded to change all the views and beliefs she had been taught her entire life. Even though as a reader I naturally wanted her to break free of the brain washing she'd grown up with, this all happened too easily. I did not feel much conflict or tension from her, which would have felt more realistic. Instead, she simply accepted the "new ways" without much thought or questioning. In general I thought the book held promise and the story itself was interesting, but I would have liked to see the characters (and the world building) more fleshed out. 2.5 stars rounded up.

Excellent read. If you loved 'Where the Crawdads Sing', this one is a must-read!

Ami Miles is being raised in the middle of nowhere Alabama in the latter part of the twenty-first century after Americans have ruined the country and the big break has taken place. Her mother is long gone and grandparents have bestowed their own beliefs upon her. Then her suitor arrives and Ami knows she is too young to reproduce so she sets off on a journey to find her mother.

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange of an honest review. Thank you so much, Macmillan Children's Publishing Group and Swoon Reads, for the chance to read and review it.

TW: racism, homophobia, bigotism

Ami is a young girl who was raised in isolation with her family at Heavenly Sheperd, her family's trailer-dealership that became a survival compound. Safe and cared for, her life changes when her grandfather brings home a stranger and makes clear her "destiny" as one of the few female still able to bear children is to be with him. Ami isn't ready to be a wife and mother and with the help of one of her aunts she escapes, trying to find her long-lost mother, in a long journey that will bring her to question everything she ever knew.

The ballad of Ami Miles is a book about self-discovery and I really liked reading it. Ami is a young girl and her whole world was the compound and everything she knew was through her grandparents' lessons, through the Bible. How to be a good girl, what her "duty" and "destiny" was, the difference of roles between male and female, how female should act and dress, when to speak and how and so on.
Set in an almost apocalyptic world, where a sickness made almost every woman barren, Amy could be one of the last able to bear children and so, according to her family, it's her duty to God. But Ami can't do it, she's not an animal to be bred, so she runs and her journey to find her mother, who left her when she was a baby, is journey that will open her eyes about the reality and herself, making her question beliefs and everything she thought was true, only because her family said so.

The story is intense, the prose fluid and Ami is a captivating main character, strong, stubborn and determined, willing to learn new things, to grow and face the truth. Because she was so sheltered she is naive and surprised of things other people consider normal and sometimes it was hilarious. Maybe the way she was able to question and discard a lifelong set of ideas in a just few days was a bit unlikely (since her mother wasn't absolutely able in years), but apart from this, I really liked this book. I loved reading how Ami adapts hersef in this new community, how she grows and changes and finds her place in the world.

There are many themes in The ballad of Ami Miles, like racism, homophobia, bigotism. The way the women were treated in Heavenly Sheltered isn't so far-fetched and unfortunately I could see a world where things like that could happen.

I really liked the queer relationship, even though I found it a bit too rushed, but it's lovely and the way Ami was able to find her place with family and friends was beautiful and intense.

Overall, this a 4.5 stars book and I definitely recommend it to those who are looking for a dystopian, queer and apocalyptic book.

I could see The Ballad of Ami Miles coming to fruition in some aspects. You hear more and more about infertility as well as couples deciding not to have any children. The attitude surrounding women and their roles that we see at Heavenly Shepherd is unfortunately nothing new. I wouldn’t be surprised at something like it cropping up if something like the Break happened in the near future. Heavenly Shepherd is a terrifying example of a mentality that could take root in isolation and societal collapse.

It is a little difficult imagining Ami adjusting to all the new changes in her life in barely over a week. However, sometimes all it takes is just one example of how you were raised being called into question to uproot other significant ideals instilled at a young age. I found Ami delightful, even if she was exceedingly sheltered and naïve – her situation and the result of it is not something that she could have prevented herself. Ami’s journey to find the mother she has never met is a beautiful one where she learns she is so much more than her origin.

In addition to young adult and LGBTQ+, I would also consider this a coming of age and dystopian. It isn’t so far off from our current time that it feels completely alien and doesn’t feature fantasy or sci-fi elements. If the book description sounds interesting to you, I must tell you that this book is so much MORE than that – I highly recommend checking this one out. It tackles some tough subjects not limited to abandonment, sexuality, religion, and racism. The Ballad of Ami Miles completely surprised me, and I would like to thank Xpresso Book Tours and Kristy Dallas Alley for the opportunity to read it. *Rounded from 4.5 stars*

I didn't have a lot of expectations, going into this book, but it was still completely different from what I imagined. Opening up with the history of Heavenly Shepherd, an outpost and colony of people who fled during the government breakdown, these people reverted back to historic and bigoted practices: racism, sexism, homophobia, and general isolation. What I didn't expect though, was the fact that Ami was meant to be breed like an animal. 

This book is only 262 or so pages long and yet so much happens in this story. Ami runs away from home, getting away from the family who mean to make her a baby making machine. She is given information on where her mother might be and goes after her, ending up at Lake Point - a resort getaway turned encampment which is like it's own town. She traverses through woods, escapes her family, and ends up in an entirely new world.

There were a lot of things I really liked about this book and I kind of wished it was longer. I wanted to see more drama between Ami and Papa or an attempt to get her back as she scrambled to get to Lake Point. But besides avoiding people and trying not to starve, the journey seemed easy. 

Then we have Lake Point, where Ami meets kids her own age. And meets a girl that she might like. Which is wild for her, since she has grown up with the expectation that she is going to marry a man and have his babies. To serve him. Now, she has friends and a crush on a girl. We talk a lot about the differences between Heavenly Shepherd and Lake Point, but I really wanted the author to go into Ami's transformation more. We see her thoughts and feelings towards certain things start to change, but surprisingly, Ami is very quick to let herself go with the flow and change her opinions. 

Honestly, I really liked this book and I think I just wanted more of it. As it is now, it's great. But with more in depth explanations or prolonged anguish, like trying to escape, questioning her sexuality, and really diving into the root of Ami's racist upbringing, I think this book would have been longer and possibly even better.

Overall, I liked this story. I loved the discussion of sexism, racism, and homophobia that this book touches on. I think Kristy did it in a way that is very open, honest, and considerate. Though there are some moments where language needed to be considered and could have been changed. But, generally, a good story with a lot of in depth discussions going on. A solid 4 // 5 stars for me!

One of the things I liked best about this book was the conversations that revolved around perspective. Ami really has to contemplate her upbringing and sense of self when confronted with people and ideas that contradict what she knows and believes. I also like how the queer aspect of this story subverted some of those societal expectations that Ami thought were rigid.

I think the story wrapped up a little too quickly, but I was satisfied with the ending. Although I couldn't fully immerse myself into the world of the story, I still felt it had a strong premise and that the characters were written very well.

The premise for this book was amazing. It reminded me a lot of elements from the Handmaid's Tale. As a middle school teacher, I am not sure my students would pick this up and love it immediately. There is a lot of world/character building at the beginning that my students usually struggle with. All in all, good book, and I think if I can get my students through the first quarter of the book, they will really enjoy it.

Overall I thought that this was a great premise that had a solid framework to work with that unfortunately just kind of fell flat for me a bit in terms of the overall story, especially as it came to plot and conflict. I was expecting more of an intense conflict to come to the lake resort community from an outside force such as Ami's family or even other survivors that maybe wanted to target the community in an attempt to get supplies, women, etc. The author decided to go in a different direction and really focus the conflict on the interpersonal relationships. There is nothing inherently wrong with that, but it just wasn't really what I was looking for, and after Ami meets her mother and establishes her new romantic relationship, I thought the story just got a bit boring overall. I think the writing was solid but I would have liked a little bit more action.

This book tells the story of Ami Miles, who grew up sheltered on her grandfather’s compound. The fertility rate has declined, and Ami comes home to find that her grandfather has brought in a man to breed with her. Luckily she is able to escape and goes to search for her mom.

This was an interesting and enjoyable read, but I felt the characterizations seemed kind of shallow. There were no shades of gray. Ami seemed to quickly embrace her new life, which seems odd in the face of being raised in such a strict household,

The Ballad of Ami Miles is a post-apocalyptic story with a cult feeling to it.
Ami is a young girl who lives in isolation at a survival compound with her grandparents.
When her grandfather tries to arrange her marriage to an older man she knows she has to run. And so the story of Ami begins.


I’ve been wanting to get my hands on this books for a while! Dystopian novels was something I used to read daily. It’s been a while since I picked one up so I was very excited to get this one.


While this is a dystopian book it’s also a coming of age story. It’s a story about a brave girl trying to find out the truth. And experience the world outside of the compound Heavenly Shepherd.
I really enjoyed this novel. I liked the backstory of how the world ended up the way that it did. I’ve always been fascinated by post-apocalyptic stories.
It was a fast and easy read for me because I just couldn’t get enough!

Even if you don’t read dystopian books I think this can be enjoyed by anyone that likes YA novels.

I have long identified as a cover-snob and I don't really try to hide it at this point. I was obsessed with this covers as soon as I saw it. Fellow bloggers have read and reviewed it and the story was interesting enough that I requested it and was surprisingly approved.

I don't typical do dystopian post-apocalyptic stuff. But I am endlessly intrigued by cults and that is how this one hooked me.

First up, the only negative for me is that the ending felt a bit rushed. Even so, I really enjoyed the story.

Ami has been raised in complete isolation within the "safety" of her family's survival compound/trailer dealership. I put safety in quotes because now that she is old enough, it has been decided she will marry a man chosen for her in order to bear children. Most women are sterile in this new world and Ami is one of the few who can still become pregnant.

Ami's mother left long ago, though Ami has been lied to about how and why. Once her chosen husband-to-be arrives and Ami realizes what is going on, she is aided by one of her aunts and escapes her 'destiny' - it was comforting to see that despite her aunt choosing to stay (and she did not really have a choice anyway), she did not want this life for Ami any more than Ami wanted it for herself.

Alone and unsure, Ami heads toward the place her mother might be, searching for this missing part of her life and hopeful that she will find something better than what she left behind - despite that being all she has even known.

Despite being this dystopian/post-apocalyptic world, this is very much a coming-of-age story and we are privy to the day-to-day happenings once the old world has completely gone and the brave new world is upon us. This is the new normal, and it is treated as such. I found this to be helpful in my case specifically, because I don't much care for the battles/world-falling-apart parts, they simply do not appeal to me. It is not an action/adventure story so if that is what you are after, this is probably not one that you would enjoy.

Ami finally reaches the community where her mother has, at least at one point, found refuge. I do not want to say a whole lot because I do not want to give away the story. It is in this hodge-podge community that Ami feels a sense of belonging and meets people so vastly different from her. She has to reconcile the thoughts drilled into her head by her horribly racist and misogynistic grandfather with the reality of what she finds with those who have taken her in.

Ami learns so much about herself and what she wants out of life, and that growth is not without setbacks and bumps in the road. But she never gives up, and knows that she could never return to her life before these discoveries. This is a story full of both hope and heartbreak, and I enjoyed it immensely.