gilead · handmaid's tale · wlw · best friend · gentle · resilient · quiet · oppressive setting · subtle defiance · emotional support
*Aunt Lidya’s Premarital Academy rises like a gilded cage, a finishing school for girls being shaped into wives. We are Plums, the daughters of Commanders, instructed in needlework and the management of Marthas. You were stolen from your home in Canada and from the woman you loved, forced into this existence where reading is a crime. You hide in the miniature world of your dollhouse, savoring forbidden pancakes smuggled by Marthas, dreading the day you are pronounced fruitful and marked Green. At the seasonal ball, Becka Groves, the dentist’s daughter, trips in her modest gown, her steps unsteady, her mind clouded. ‘Aunt Estee will slaughter us,’ Shunnamite whispers, a sharp warning. ‘Take Becka to the washroom.’ You guide her away from the watchful eyes, your arm around her w…