LDS Books: Don't You Marry the Mormon Boys

When Andy McBride met Louisa Martin, he knew he had found the girl for him. There was only one problem: polygamy - a lifestyle that Louisa could not escape and Andy would not embrace.

As medical students at the University of Utah, Andy and Louisa fall in love - but can a mainstream Mormon and a Fundamental polygamist overcome the cultural barriers between them? Both realize that their choices will not only affect their own lives, but will also have an impact on their family, friends, and even their communities. Fearing that the sacrifices required of them would be too great, they go their separate ways.

Yet for Andy in Kentucky and Louisa in Utah, life does not go as they'd planned. While Andy is serving as a country doctor and trying to bury his pain, Louisa is coming to terms with the fact that all is not as perfect in her tight-knit community as she'd believed. As doctors, each will have to choose between keeping the peace in their communities or doing what they know is right. And someday, both will have to face their past and decide if they can make the sacrifice to be together.

Set in the red hills of southern Utah, the cosmopolitan center of Salt Lake City, the Smoky Mountains of Kentucky, and the lake-studded country of Finland, Don't You Marry the Mormon Boys is the heartfelt and engaging story about the power of love and acceptance in an ever-changing and often surprising world.

Reviews -

I absolutely adored Janet's debut novel!!!! From first page to last page, I was hooked. Andy McBride and Louisa Martin come from simiiar and not so similiar backgrounds, in that Andy is from mainstream LDS and Louisa is from fundamentalist background. As I am descended from several polygamous ancestors, I know quite a bit about the innerworkings of how polygamy works and understand the reasons we had "The Principle" in the early days of the Church. Janet has woven a compassionate understanding of how close these wonderful and caring sister wives could be, living in love, peace and harmony. It was so nice to find a real close and loving family living this practice the way Heavenly Father had set it up.

I liked the way Janet interweaved both Andy and Louisa's story, going back and forth between the two. I really liked how Andy never condemned Louisa's life-style, which was so foreign to him, even though their belief systems were similiar.

I thoroughly enjoyed Eliza R. Snow as Andy's specially trained Border Collie to sense when Andy had seizures, as I didn't know there were dogs that were trained for this. I laughed at how Smoky treated Andy until Andy found the cause.

Don't You Marry the Mormon Boys deserved its nomination and would make a defdinite Oscar-worthy film, esp with the dynamics between Andy and Louisa's fathers. These two men who love their families deeply, learn much tolerance and forgiveness by their children's example.

Learning more about the Finnish people and country was very enlightening and Janet made the scenery come alive for me.

I loved Miss Carolina and her marvelous down home country remedies and had to laugh a lot of situations in this most warm novel. This novel is just a wonderfdul, feel good story which we need more of. I can't wait for Janet's sequel, but will be patient. I have two close friends and my wonderul hubby lined up to read this endearing novel.

—Teri Rodeman, Washiongton

Louisa Martin knew she was very privileged to be in medical school. Being from a lifestyle of polygamy, few girls had ever had the chance to do anything like this, but her clan needed medical people who understood and would follow their belief system. Medical school had been incredible and Louisa did very well, but there was Andy, a young Mormon man whose family was mainstream and didn't follow the same lifestyle. -Two different cultures that neither could accept; a love that was doomed to fail.

Andy went to Kentucky to develop a practice and learned to love the country and its inhabitants. Louisa returned to her community to begin her practice but there she found abuse, illness and deformity. How could she have not seen these before? Try as she might, she could not change the way of things and had to decide to accept or reject her old way of life. Throughout their trials, neither could forget the other. Then circumstance pulls them together, while family and culture force them apart.

Throughout this beautifully written book, winds the thread of acceptance; acceptance of differing cultures, beliefs and lifestyles. Author, Janet Kay Jensen brings her characters to life and makes them feel like our neighbors. We can feel their uncertainties, fears and joys. We travel through their days like a friend. Mother, wife, member of the Author's Guild and winner of several awards for her writing, Janet Kay Jensen has given the readership of America an exceptionally well written, charming story of adventure, love and acceptance. I look forward to her future endeavors.

"Must-read for literary fiction fans!" Janet's debut novel proves to be a brilliant piece of work with all its characters well depicted and its story masterfully crafted. One word of caution: Do not expect to be bored!

"Don't You Marry the Mormon Boys" is not your typical LDS/Christian romance; it is a piece of fiction that not only focuses on a wonderful plot and convincing characters, it is also a novel that finds victory in its use of words. Janet beautifully-composed sentences read poetically and are measured with intricate details and care. Although the relationship between the two lead characters is the driving force of the story, the real core of the novel lies in the underlying theme that continues to play masterfully between the lines--the true meaning of family, love, redemption and forgiveness. It is not a story about a group of Mormons; on the contrary, it is about a group of ordinary people who happen to be of the Mormon faith. Janet plays with her theme wittily, teasing the reader with traditional tales and urban myths about Mormons and polygamy. I will not expose the plot here for everyone; it will only take away the pleasure of your reading. Instead, I will tell you this: if this novel were to be a movie, it will definitely be Oscar-worthy. A (work of) literary fiction at its best, perhaps the best contemporary LDS fiction in years. I would read and reread a certain passage just to savor it before moving on to the next best passage. Janet is a promising writer who will undoubtedly break into the general market in no time. And this is a promise.

Who ever said that love was smooth sailing was either lying or has never actually been in love. When two University of Utah Med Students from different cultures meet, the seeds of a lasting love affair are planted. Louisa Martin is from a close-knit polygamous community and Andy McBride is from a mainstream Mormon family. Both Louisa and Andy realize that any choice they make will have far-reaching consequences.

Andy ends up in Hawthorne Valley, Kentucky as a country doctor, making house calls and running the local clinic. As the reader gets to know him, they will be treated to his favorite memories and the most painful ones about his relationship with Louisa. Life falls into a pattern for him and he is met with unique neighbors and hard decisions that he needs to make as a doctor and friend. Little does he know the long lasting effects of his choices as he helps his patients.

Louisa goes back home to Gabriel's Landing, Utah to provide medical care to a town that is distrustful of anyone outside their community. She is the sole medical provider and her eyes are opened to realities that she hadn't noticed before. As Louisa strives to follow the rules and traditions of Gabriel's Landing and be the best doctor she can be, she finds the balance impossible to keep. She also shares with the reader her memories and convictions about Andy and their time together. As Louisa makes the hardest decision in her medical career she is forced to leave her home.

As life moves on, fate brings them together in Finland. While there Andy and Louisa are finally able to be honest with their feelings for each other. Both of them realize that neither of their families will be thrilled with their marriage, so after enduring years of loving and heartache, they elope.

This story shows how love, respect, tradition and truth can blend the best of two cultures into one happy family. With snippets of Americana and good old fashioned "Healer advice" thrown in for good measure, this turns into an intriguing story with unique characters from all walks of life that blend together for a satisfying read.

Andy McBride and Louisa Martin meet in Medical school and fall in love, but soon realize that they can never have a future because of their backgrounds. Louisa is from a polygamous family that expects her to return home after school and attend to her community's health needs. Brokenhearted, they both go their separate ways after school is over. But true love is not easily dismissed.

What a unique, interesting book! I think almost everyone is a bit fascinated by polygamy. The author has obviously done a lot of research into polygamy and what the goals of a polygamous family are or might be. There were a lot of characters in the book and I had trouble sometimes keeping track of them and who was who. My only real problem was with the sister of Louisa. The author brought her up, explained her and then neglected to do anything else with that information. That bothered me because there was no purpose in her being in the story if she was not going to be used for anything. I'm sure it was an oversight.

What I liked about the book was the topic, it is truly unique, (this is certainly not a predictable love story) and the examples in this book of taking risks and helping someone else, regardless of personal ramifications. I think that sometimes we know we should do something to help someone else - but we're too scared that there may be problems - so we let the opportunity pass by. This book was a great illustration of the difference it can make in someone's life when we take the opportunities to serve others as those opportunities come. You won't be able to put this book down!

When Andy McBride first sees Louisa Martin at University of Utah's medical school, he's immediately intrigued - as is the rest of his class. Louisa is obviously different than the rest of the class with her long hair pulled up in a bun and her old-fashioned, long-sleeved ankle-length dress. She has all the markings someone from a polygamous community. But it's not what she's wearing that intrigues Andy - it's her beauty. But how can a fundamentalist Mormon and a mainstream Mormon ever have a relationship?

It's an interesting topic for author Janet Kay Jensen to write about: a mainstream Mormon boy that falls in love with a fundamentalist Mormon that believes in polygamy. The only reason Louisa Martin is in medical school is so she can return to her community to be the resident family physician. It's nearly impossible for her to have a long-term relationship with Andy, and when medical school ends, they both go their separate ways - Louisa back to her community, and Andy to the hills of Kentucky. But with a twist of fate, love is found again and if you want to know how that happens, you'll have to read Don't You Marry the Mormon Boys.

I was really intrigued by this book. Granted, it's a work of fiction, but polygamy is a pretty mysterious topic. I thought Janet Kay Jensen's plot worked very well - the two separate but intertwined lives of a couple separated by religion. The book went very well until the climax, and then I lost interest during the last 45 pages. It's hard to say in this review what went wrong with the book without giving away the ending, but I just thought it became disjointed at the end, almost like the author was starting another story after one had just ended with happily ever after.

Still, it was a decent book from a budding novelist. I'd love to see what Ms. Jensen comes up with next.

Nominated in 2007 as a finalist in USA Book News in the Religious Fiction category, Janet Kay Jensen's Don't You Marry The Mormon Boys narrates the story of two medical students who meet and fall in love while both are attending the University of Utah. However, there is one big problem, Andy McBride is of the Mormon faith while Louisa Martin was born and brought up in a strict polygamous community. After graduation and a painful break-up caused by their seemingly irreconcilable differences, the couple pursue different paths.

Andy, after several years of medical training, winds up with his dog, Eliza R. Snow, in the rural town of Hawthorn Valley, Kentucky where he is received with open arms, as the town is in dire need of a family doctor. Louisa, on the other hand, follows her idealistic dreams and returns to her hometown of Gabriel's Landing, Utah.

Although the two continue to experience strong feelings towards each other, it would appear that there is little hope that they will ever again reunite and marry. In order to accomplish this feat, Louisa would have to abandon her dream of bringing modern medical practices to Gabriel's Landing and leave her polygamous community. Further complicating matters is that Andy's father Cole is an Assistant Attorney General in Utah who has been assigned to prosecute several polygamy cases, and he is not too thrilled with Andy's choice of a girlfriend and possible future wife.

As Louisa settles into her new position of family doctor in Gabriel's Landing, her idealism is soon shattered when she discovers the community's dark side where women and children have been abused by their husbands and fathers and that there is an unusual number of stillbirths and birth defects. As she states, "Gabriel's Landing was not the peaceful, harmonious community she had always imagined, though members of her family continued to be, as far as she could tell, kind and loving to each other."

Thrown into the saga is the Council of Brothers decision obliging Louise to marry John Olsen who already has five wives and thirty children. Furthermore, Olsen is only a few years younger than Louisa's father Joshua. Upon being notified of the Council's decision, Joshua is unyielding in his refusal to permit the marriage and openly challenges their decision by informing the brothers that she cannot marry a man whom she does not love.

Louisa also finds herself in a great deal of hot water when she is summoned before the same Council and questioned if she counselled her patients about contraception, birth defects and depression. Her reply was that to answer the question would be to defy doctor-patient confidentiality, something she was not prepared to do. When she tries to explain the problem of marrying close relatives, she is rebuked and informed that the community does not need outsiders to meddle into their affairs for it is only the will of God that they must obey and no one else. Louisa, who causes quite a media stir, is forced to leave the community she loved and moves to Salt Lake City.

Andy discovers that practicing medicine in a small town is not exactly something he had envisaged particularly when he is called upon to treat an unwed pregnant teenager, who was badly beaten by her drunken father, Bo Rawlins. As Andy is soon to learn, his kindness towards the teenager and her brother will eventually result in some very harrowing experiences between himself and Bo, someone who doesn't appreciate outsiders intruding in his family affairs.

Janet Kay Jensen is a writer of enormous talent, skill, and quite knowledgeable as she sheds light on Mormonism and polygamous communities which she skilfully interweaves into her story.

She also has a gift of descriptive prose, stirring up a sense of presence and emotion. Particularly striking is the small slice of life of a country doctor that rings so true, and when reading about Andy, it brought back my own childhood memories when my father would tell me how he began his medical practice in 1925 in a small village in Quebec.

Moreover, all of the supporting characters carry out important plot functions and it is here where Jensen is at her best, capturing wisps of their thoughts and emotions. Louisa's father Joshua effectively playing the "fight role" when he stands up to the Council of Brothers with his fiery reactions to their dictatorial behavior. The mean Bo Rawlins seeking revenge, and Miss. Carolina with her herbal remedies and down-to-earth advice that startles Andy and even perhaps makes him a believer in alternative medicine.

This is one compelling novel you won't want to miss.

—Norm Goldman, BookPleasures.com

LOGAN AUTHOR Janet Kay Jensen is nothing if not persistent, and her tenacity has finally paid off in the publication of her first novel, "Don't You Marry the Mormon Boys," after seven years of research, writing, rewriting and 75 rejection slips.

Jensen and I became friends several years ago when we first met through the League of Utah Writers. I was one of the first to read the original version of this book, and as we made ourselves comfortable in her lovely living room on a sunny October afternoon to talk about her experiences in getting this book written and published, I wanted to know what had changed in the book in the intervening years, since I hadn't yet read the final version.

She smiled and said, "Almost everything. I'm a better writer now, and I've learned a lot from writers like Rachel Ann Nunes about tension and flow."

Jensen first got the idea for the book when she and her husband drove through Colorado City several years ago. There she was amazed to find neat, well-cared-for homes standing in stark contrast to other homes that were falling apart, with dirt yards overrun by weeds.

"We spent some time in the graveyard and took pictures of tombstones of 15-year-old mothers buried beside their babies who died the same date. The infant mortality rate was very high. The cemetery and the stark contrast between the have and have-nots made a lasting impression on my mind."

Around the same time, she and her husband were invited to a family reunion in Brigham City. Jensen had heard stories of a distant aunt who returned from an LDS mission and married into polygamy, but had never met that side of the family. In spite of her foreknowledge, she was still taken back when 12 women, sans men, with long hair, no makeup and plain, old-fashioned dresses arrived with their children and stayed mostly to themselves.

When the women stood and introduced themselves, including x-number of children and x-number of adopted children, the light finally came on: "These were polygamous wives, and that's when I began to think seriously about the sheltered lives these women lead."

"We noticed a government health clinic built in the midst of a shanty town," she said. In her research, she became aware of Martha Hughes Cannon, fourth wife of Angus Cannon and Utah's first female doctor and senator. From her research and personal experience, Jensen fashioned her fictional polygamous family.

She contrasts the upbringing of Louisa in a polygamous clan with the upbringing of Andy in a traditional 20th century LDS family. While both young people are attending medical school at the University of Utah, they meet and fall in love, but on graduation day they go their separate ways because they both agree their different views on marriage present an insurmountable barrier between them.

Louisa returns to Gabriel's Landing to open a clinic and fulfill her obligation to the community that paid her for her college education. When she returns, she starts to recognize disturbing trends within the community that she never noticed before and when she starts educating women on pre-natal care and how to avoid unwanted pregnancy, she runs afoul of the governing brethren.

At the same time, her father, Joshua, turns down an unacceptable, arranged, plural marriage for Louisa, which further agitates the community to the point of harassment and physical attacks on the clinic and the Martin home, ultimately forcing Louisa to flee.

In the meantime, Andy has taken up practice in a small, backwoods town in Kentucky. He too takes over a small clinic and soon becomes involved with the colorful residents of Appalachia, including Miss Carolina, a "healer." Like Louisa, Andy soon finds himself in hot water with a particular local resident who believes in settling his grievances with a shotgun in the middle of the night.

Whether intentional or not, the parallel between these two isolated communities are striking. Both communities have their unwritten code of behavior, which everyone is expected to live by - what happens in the family stays in the family. Strong patriarchal beliefs, suspicion of outsiders and their newfangled ideas, and "take care of and punish your own" are themes that emerged in both locations.

Jensen does not sensationalize polygamy, nor does she condone it. However, she does recognize that some families, like Louisa's, live in peace and harmony, that there is genuine love among family members and that most who practice plural marriage genuinely believe in the "principal."

She also points out that today's polygamy is shrouded in secrecy, which often breeds the headlines we read in the paper. After Louisa's return to Gabriel's Landing, she laments that things have changed in the eight years she has been away and finally comes to realize that she too has changed.

"Don't You Marry the Mormon Boys" is a light read with some interesting insights into two ways of life most of us are not familiar with. Jensen says she has learned a lot in the seven-year journey to getting this book published. Besides "my writing style and editing improving, I also found that nobody wanted to publish a book about polygamy."

The irony is that the book has placed as a finalist in the 2007 National Best Books Awards, Fiction & Literature: Religious Fiction category. For a book that was turned down by 75 publishers to receive this national distinction is nothing short of phenomenal.

Jensen is a member of the Author's Guild, LDS Storymakers and the League of Utah Writers, three organizations she credits with giving her support and encouragement along the way. Her goals include writing for a mainstream market, where this book could easily fit. She is currently looking for an agent and hoping this book will get her the attention she needs to get her foot in the door.

So far she has done her own publicity, which she has gotten quite good at following her experience in promoting her nationally published "The Book Lover's Cookbook, " which she co-authored with another local writer, Shaunda Wenger.

"I learned a lot about contracts and publicity working with Shaunda on that book, " she said. She laments that "publishers really need to get on the public relations bandwagon, " which only seems to happen after the book has shown promising sales, which makes it doubly hard for first-time writers to get their work out there.

Released just today by Cedar Fort, Don't You Marry the Mormon Boys was written by author Janet Kay Jensen, who also co-authored The Book Lover's Cookbook (Wenger & Jensen, Ballantine Books, 2003).

Andy McBride is a student at the University of Utah Medical School. While there, he meets Louisa Martin, a young woman who sweeps him off his feet. However, there's a problem, and it's a pretty big one. Andy was raised in a traditional LDS home, and Louisa was . . . not. To put it more precisely, she was raised in a little town called Gabriel's Landing, a fictional polygamous community. To add more fuel to the fire, Andy's father is Utah's Assistant Attorney General and has been working diligently to prosecute cases of polygamy.

As much as Andy and Louisa love each other, they can't plan a future together; after graduation, they know they must go their separate ways. Andy completes his residency and moves to rural Kentucky, along with his dog, comically named Eliza R. Snow.

Meanwhile, Louisa returns to her community and brings with her the medical knowledge she needs to treat her friends and family, many of whom don't trust those from the "outside." When her father announces that he will not be arranging a marriage for Louisa with one of the men in the community, he is disciplined by the Council of Brothers. Louisa comes under scrutiny as well for her "unacceptable" medical practices which include diagnosing depression among the women patients, expressing her concern over birth defects resulting from relatives intermarrying, and advising natural methods of birth control. She soon finds that she cannot practice medicine in Gabriel's Landing. Heartbroken, she leaves and joins a medical group in Salt Lake City.

Unexpectedly, Andy and Louisa meet again after four years, but did the time spent apart soften their hearts? Did either of them reach a different conclusion about their religious beliefs? Will their families support their decisions? With evocative language, Janet Kay Jensen brings to a life a story that echoes but does not imitate today's headlines, and answers many questions asked by the public today concerning polygamous communities and their former ties to the LDS church.

This book was named a finalist by USA Book News in the Best Books 2007 Religious Fiction category.

Don't You Marry the Mormon Boys is a story, with a cast of characters that face many obstacles, emit much love, and learn about the different beliefs that can either destroy a family or make their love stronger. I believe Janet Kay Jensen has written a great eye-opener book good in many ways. I liked the part where marriage is spoken as being a partnership. She sketches heartwarming, realistic people who share different cultures, dissimilar lifestyles, but who all in the end work to have their own unforgettable love that shines. Andy and Louisa are not only refreshing, but an engaging couple that makes this story wonderful as they work through their difficulties. There were times I could almost see the expressions on their face and feel their emotions. Ms. Jensen creates a background that puts the reader right in the center of everything, in this splendid read.

Don’t You Marry the Mormon Boys is a great story. Janet Jensen has written a romance that incorporates drama, humor, and suspense into a great plot. She does a great job with creating some eccentric, likeable and not-so-likable characters. Using her knowledge of the Mormon religion, she also dispels some misperceptions that people have about Mormons and polygamy. I think that she also does a great job of writing from the polygamist’s perspectives. She wrote from both the good and the bad sides of what it must be like for the women that are living that lifestyle.

I think Don’t You Marry the Mormon Boys will be enjoyed by women from all religions. She is very respectful of the Mormon beliefs and I think that this would be a great gift for someone of that faith. It would also be a great selection for a reader’s group because in addition to enjoying the well written story, the storyline will also stimulate some interesting discussions.