Immanuelle

Immanuelle is the protagonist of the novel. She grows up in Bethel with her grandparents, Abram and Miriam, because her mother died during her birth and her father was burned at the stake for having an affair with her mother, who was betrothed to the Prophet. Immanuelle is a quiet girl who feels isolated from the rest of Bethel because of her family’s history and because of her dark skin, which she inherited from her father, who was from the Outskirts of Bethel where the second-class citizens lived.

Immanuelle is 17 during the primary events of the novel. Immanuelle works for her family as a herder for the flock of sheep and rams they tend to and sell for profit. Her best friend is Leah, a girl her age who is betrothed to the Prophet. Immanuelle learned to read from her grandfather, Abram, and she loves poetry despite...