| Title | : | The Atonement Child |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 1414370644 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9781414370644 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 416 |
| Publication | : | First published January 1, 1997 |
Dynah Carey knew where her life was headed. Engaged to a wonderful man, the daughter of doting parents, a faithful child of God--she has it all. Then the unthinkable happens: Dynah's perfect life is irrevocably changed by a rape that results in an unwanted pregnancy.
Her family is torn apart and her seemingly rock-solid faith is pushed to the limits as she faces the most momentous choice of her life: to embrace or to end the life within her.
This is ultimately a tale of three women, as Dynah's plight forces both her mother and her grandmother to confront the choices they made. Written with balance and compassion, The Atonement Child brings a new perspective to a widely debated topic.
The Atonement Child Reviews
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I'm impressed that a popular Christian author would be bold enough to write about a subject like this. At the time that this book was published, she was already well-known and could have chosen to stick to less controversial topics to avoid offending the masses and losing her broad support base. The fact that she chose to write a novel tackling rape and abortion from a pro-life stance is admirable and demonstrates the prioritising of Christian values in her profession as a writer. One might assume that all Christian writers would do this, but sadly that is not the case as many have sacrificed and compromised to entertain or avoid being controversial. Indeed, those who don't like this book have focused on the overt pro-life stance and the fact that it is "overly preachy." But maybe that is what is needed in a day when Christian compromise is the norm and thorny issues are avoided.
The story itself is well told and believable. Dynah is heading for the American Christian dream--pretty, popular, doing well at school, prospective pastor boyfriend etc. All of this is shattered by rape when she is walking home alone one night. The resulting pregnancy exposes the hypocrisy of the mostly Christians around her who in their different ways begin pushing her towards having an abortion. After all, her circumstances are exceptional and surely God would understand.....
Dynah's dilemma opens up deep wounds in her own family as well as in the lives of those performing the abortions in the clinics. Although some of the dialogue and scenes were a little predictable, I liked that the author touched on the fact that abortion can effect every person involved for a very long time, some may never get over the trauma or physical consequences. I wasn't sure about the supposed link between abortion and increased chance of breast cancer but it wouldn't surprise me if it was proven one day.
The obvious message of the book is that every life is precious to God and created by Him in the womb, regardless the circumstance. That He can redeem any situation and bring peace to those that believe it is impossible. I liked that Rivers chose to focus on moving forward rather than dwelling on the act of rape itself or of the attempts to identify and bring the offender to justice. The book carries the pro-life message but shows how difficult it might be to take that stance when someone is seemingly alone with their life-changing decisions. However, Rivers makes it clear that the person doesn't have to be alone--God is always present and waiting for the cry of help from a repentant soul.
This book is not suitable for children and may disturb some sensitive readers. Although the rape itself is not detailed, some details of the abortion procedures are mentioned. There is no bad language and no graphic violence. I note that some readers felt that the psychological trauma of the rape itself had not been considered and that the story followed a kind-of predictable happy-ever-after pattern. I don't agree with this. The aftermath struggles that the main character faces are traumatic and make the important point that all of us need to learn to trust God completely. She struggles with guilt, shame and questions why God allowed the experience which shattered her perfect life....that is not unrealistic nor is it a cliche. If Rivers had introduced too much psychological trauma it would have made the book more graphic and would have changed the focus from God's plan of redemption to the crime, victim and criminal. The reality is that all of us are broken through sin--sin in our own lives and the sin of others against us--the focus needs always to be on God and the price that has already been paid by Jesus on the cross for our sin.
Although not perfect, I rate this highly and hope it will influence those considering abortions, those working in the clinics/hospitals, those providing funding for services and most importantly, those counseling people dealing with choices they have made in the past and the consequences of them.
Check out my Francine Rivers shelf! -
Warning: This book (and this review) discuss rape, pregnancy, and abortion.
Yuck.
I'm tempted to just leave it at that, but my frustration with this book deserves more than a one-word review.
To start, I can't really remember the decision-making process when I chose to read this. I know it fulfilled a category in a reading challenge I was casually participating in, but so would a thousand other books. Maybe I should have known better than to read a Christian novel about rape and pregnancy, but (like, five years ago) I read and loved
Redeeming Love by the same author, so I figured I was relatively safe.
Booooo.
This isn't even a real novel. It's three hundred pages of pro-life propaganda. I think what pisses me off most about this fact is that Rivers could have told this story with a protagonist who got pregnant after having sex, but instead she chose to use rape as a means to communicate her agenda. Her storytelling choices were disgusting, insensitive, and manipulative, to say the least. At one point her poor main character explained that being raped wasn't even that bad; it was just physical pain that went away pretty quickly. No, what really hurt her was the way her loved ones tried to pressure her into getting an abortion. Maybe there are real people who feel that way, but it was extremely obvious that Rivers wasn't interested in telling a story about sexual violence and healing. She was only interested in convincing her readers that abortion is the evilest thing on the planet.
I don't really care about her stance on abortion; this review isn't a criticism or a support of her opinion on that topic. But I am completely disgusted by the way she chose to tell her story and express her opinions. Even though I'm a Christian, I almost never read Christian fiction and I think it's going to stay that way for a long time. I feel so sorry for any rape victims who picked this up hoping for encouragement or compassion and instead got a sermon, and not even a very good sermon at that. Even the discussion questions at the end of the book were all about abortion and had nothing to do with sexual violence, so there's no possible excuse to make for the author's agenda. This is a pro-life opinion piece which is so clunky that when it tries to demonize the pro-choice group, even its stereotypes are stereotypes. I'm so sad that Rivers dragged the sensitive topic of rape into this just for cheap manipulation and drama. This book was gross, gross, gross. (Writing an angry review is cathartic, though.) -
The Atonement Child by Francine Rivers follows the story of a young college girl who is raped and finds herself pregnant. Yes, it’s intense material and an intense read.
While she struggles with the decision of what to do and her faith, her family struggles and nearly falls apart in the process. This is a hard topic for anyone to discuss and while the novel itself is an excellent read (Rivers is by far one of my favorite authors), I was surprised to find out how close the issue was for the author. When asked which book has been the hardest to write and why, Rivers responded: “The Atonement Child was the most personal and difficult to write because I had to face my own abortion experience. Added to the considerable research I did, and women who shared their experiences with me, I went through an intensive post-traumatic stress Bible study for post-abortive women at our local pregnancy counseling center. Reliving all aspects of my abortion decision and experience was excruciating – but healing. After twenty-six years of being imprisoned by guilt and shame, I was free through the power and love of God. Though the book was the most heart-wrenching to write, it also proved to be the most life changing. I’ve received countless letters from other post-abortive women and have learned my experience is not unique. Our nation is filled with wounded men and women. The character of Hannah is based on my story, Doug is based on Rick’s, and Evie is based on my mother’s.”
It’s an incredible story that is beautifully written. It’s honest and doesn’t sugar coat how hard a situation like that would be. Whatever your thoughts are about abortion, I think its a story worth reading.
booksandbeverages.wordpress.com -
Since this book was a Christian novel about an unwanted pregnancy, one would also expect a strong anti-abortion message, but one also would expect a novel. Ms. Rivers delivers on the former, but not the latter. The novel was not without some good points and strong writing, but rather inconsistently. At times it appeared Ms. Rivers forgot about the quality of the novel altogether. Having read Sure As the Dawn I should have been prepared for the fact that Ms. Rivers is capable of churning out some really bad junk, as well as her quality novels. This sad abortion of a promising novel is one of the times when Ms. Rivers drops her standards. Yes, I am a Christian and anti-abortion and I agree with much of her message, but that doesn't change the fact that the novel has some big problems that, if not Ms. Rivers, some good consultants or editors should have fixed. Right from the beginning there were some factual errors that put holes in the story so big that you could fly the space shuttle through them--and had me gritting my teeth in frustration. If she has no medical background, she really should have consulted with a gynecologist before starting the book based on erroneous assumptions (like that painful cleaning done in the ER, it is called a D&C and prevents pregnancy). Possibly, she figured all Christian readers are idiots, so she doesn't have to worry about accuracy or Truth--just like the Supreme Court decision she so severely bemoans in the book. To me the Truth is important--not less so for a Christian, but more so. Since there was much to like in the book in spite of its flaws, I will end with a positive note. Ms. Rivers does not take a simplistic black/white, secular bad/Christian good approach. Instead she chooses a more thoughty Secular and Legalist bad/True Christian good. She does not spare the perfect, perfect Christians (aka hypocrites) in this book. The father is a total Christian Slimeball, who thinks his role as spiritual leader is a blackjack God gave him to pound on the inferior females in his life. Dean Abernathy is so typical of many I know, primarily men, who love the fetus but not the child--and certainly not the mother. One can't help but wonder how many of those who scream bloody murder, literally, during anti-abortion protests have never lifted a finger to help unwed mothers with their burdens--or are content just to add to those burdens. I guess they never read what Jesus had to say about that in Mathew 23 and Luke 11:46, but Joe paraphrased it so wonderfully in his confrontation with the Dean--one of the book's high points--that maybe they'll see the message here in case they skip over the verses of the Bible that address their own sins.
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Francine Rivers did such a great job portraying the big issue of abortion in this book. The main character, Dinah, a godly young lady, who is serving the Lord has the unexpected happen to her. You know the "why do bad things happen to good people" ordeal? Her "perfect" life is shattered by rape and the consequences multiplied by an unwanted pregnancy which now brings the question, "What to do with this child?". Her life as she knows it is over, unless she does what everyone else seems to think she should do, gets an abortion. That would solve it all. No bad reputation, no ruined life, no reminders of the bad thing that happened to her, as far as those around her it seems to be the perfect solution.... but what about the emotional scars abortions can leave? No one wants to talk about the facts, or give her any real information on the long term effects of a decision like this. Her family is being torn apart, her faith stretched to the limits, and time is running out. What will she do?
This book is so worth the read, for many reasons, but it especially gives insight about the damage abortion can do to a woman physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. I wonder how many women are out there that no one knows what they have gone through or suffered in the course of their lives after having an abortion, whether out of choice or possibly being forced or coerced into one. What does God have to say about it? Is society's view on the issue an accurate one in light of His Word? This book certainly gives much to think about. -
After reading several other books by Francine Rivers, I was highly disappointed by this novel. While most of her books have a clear evangelical message only bordering on "preachy," this one was blatant in its aims. I understand that her goal was to unpack abortion, and the regrets and ramifications it causes; however, this book felt like a con list for the procedure thinly veiled by a "story," rather than a well-written plot about a central issue.
While I enjoyed the main character and her love interest, the rest of the characters fell flat. They were simply tools used by the author to show another pro-life point. Also, I feel like the psychological wounds of the rape causing Dynah's pregnancy were largely glossed over in order to focus on the author's goal.
To me, an author, or any kind of Christian artist should make people ask questions, think about things in a different way. But in this book, Rivers simply beats her point into the ground with every angle she can get. In doing that, she failed to write an effective novel. -
What a deep read! The premise of the book is rape and abortion, both horrifically nightmare inducing topics. If you have a weak system, do not read this book. If, however, you do find yourself desiring to place your feet into a rape victims' shoes, please put them on carefully. A very heart wrenching look into the REAL church culture surrounding abortion and the hypocrisy we tend to hide. Francine Rivers never fails to provoke intense reflection and a desire to live a better life. This book will bring you to your knees literally, and you will go through a box of kleenex. You may even find yourself challenging your own church family to better educate and love their own. I read this at a time when a woman made news for being fired from her teaching job after becoming pregnant, and while under different circumstances; I find myself questioning the morality. Would they have her abort the baby and keep it a secret, enabling her to keep her job? What a humbling thought. As christians, we are called to love; and again Ms. Rivers points out the inner selfish desires that cause us to overlook the voice of God pleading with us to open our hearts and arms.
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It was seriously hard to read this book. I'm prolife, yes even in the instance of rape, and personally don't agree with birth control either. But seriously, this book wasn't a story, it was a prolife, anyone who thinks abortion is ok is an evil person, pamphlet. The woman who runs the abortion clinic? Well she's a crap parent with a drunk daughter who of course was on birth control.... And how many people in one story can have an abortion that ruinned their lives and gave them cancer???? Drivel...... This book could have been so awesome if the author told a story instead of pushed an agenda.
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So terrible. I tried to give Rivers one last chance. Even though I already suffered through Redeeming Love, everyone said I should give this one a chance. I thought it was supposed to be a novel, but its actually pro-life propoganda, which wouldn't be so bad if you classified it as such. But it fails in every way possibly as prose.
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I KNEW I would hate this book just from reading the summary and the fact that Francine Rivers wrote it, but I just had to read it. This has been on my TBR list for a few years now and I finally had to subject myself to this trainwreck because I freely admit that I am a rubbernecker.
I do not like Francine Rivers as an author because despite loving the historical research and details she puts in her novels (the Mark of the Lion series, for example. 1st-century Roman life is presented to the reader in amazing detail) she gets heavy-handed with the preaching. Not only that, but she also pushes toxic feminity (submitting to the man, submitting to the pastor, other male lead figures) and this causes the women in her books to make some really bone-headed decisions.
Like, for example, in this book, Dynah is raped, and then when she is taken to the hospital, she refuses estrogen therapy (this book was written in the 90's, so today it'd likely be referred to as Plan B) and refers to it as an abortifacient. Mind you, she'd been raped only a few hours earlier, and pregnancy does not occur until the fertilized egg is implanted into the uterine wall, so a woman does not actually become pregnant until about 5-15 days after sex. But the author is so staunch in her Christian/pro-life beliefs that plan B is the devil's work. This is one of the reasons I gave this book 1 star.
I'm thinking to myself, oh my god, Dynah, you fucking dumb cunt. If you'd just agreed to take the pills, then you wouldn't have had to deal with all the bullshit and grief that would happen eventually in the book.
Another thing that really bothered me was how near the beginning of the book, Dynah is thanking God for everything in her life, and then after the rape happens, she asks God if she did anyhing to deserve being raped. I mean that in itself is a normal line of reasoning for a religious person to ask after a traumatic event, but this kind of thing is one of the reasons I became an atheist.
If a god truly is a loving one, then he would not allow women to be raped, among other awful things that happen in the world. But in the mind of the author, everything happens for a reason, including the sexual assault of a woman, the unwanted pregnancy that follows, and all the sadness and psychlogical trauma involved.
The title itself pisses me off too. 'Atonement Child' somehow feels like the child was foisted onto Dynah as punishment. Punishment for what? Having the nerve to walk part of the way home (to the dorm) at night after work?
I'd love to see a novel where Francine Rivers just focuses on historical research and writing a good story instead of shoving her beliefs down readers' throats or trying to convince us that a god that allows awful things to happen "has a plan", because that is a theme/message I've read in all her other books that I've read. -
Sanctify unto me all the firstborn, whatsoever openeth the womb among the children of Israel, both of man and of beast: it is mine. Exodus 13:2
First Sentence: It was on a cold January night when the unthinkable, unpardonable happened.
I think the first time I read this book I was to young to fully comprehend the emotional carnage that this book brings. I had to take breaks, put the book down and read something else, or just not read for a few days.
Some times it's so hard to follow God's word, to do what He wants.
Rivers portray this struggle so beautifully, so real to live.
To date all of
Francine Rivers' books had made me look at live in new light. -
Obviously when I picked up this book I knew it would have a lot of prayer and Church-y stuff, but I think that it was still a little over the top, and that isn't even my main problem with this book. My main problem with this book was the ending. Seriously, "Will you marry me?" You have to be kidding me. And then the Epilogue, what was up with that? I don't know what it had to do with anything and it seriously took away from the book. Who were those people supposed to be and what was the point of having the boyfriend walk the girlfriend to the nurse at the abortion clinic? Was that supposed to be her daughter in the future in this far fetched viscous circle of getting pregnant when you don't want to and deciding whether or not to abort the baby. What I would have liked to see was how her parents reacted to her keeping the baby, if she got married, how the baby was a couple years in the future... anything other than how it ended. I might seriously say it was one of the worst endings to a book I've ever read.
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I appreciate that this book delves into the controversial moral and intimate subject of abortion. I'm glad that the author didn't make all the Christians "good guys" and the non-Christians "bad guys". I'm glad she shone a light on the hypocrisy that's rampant in Christianity.
But I just didn't like very much else about this book. The characters were pretty one-dimentional. The story was predictable. The dialogue was cheesy. The way everything resolved was too perfect. I've never read Christian fiction before, but I had high hopes that this would be a though-provoking and deep book, based on the beginning. About a quarter of the way through, though, it just got a little to schmaltzy and preachy for me. -
Such a beautiful book ... the best one I've read in a long time.
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I read this book in one sitting, I couldn’t stop. This was the only Francine Rivers I hadn’t read, so I was very excited to do so. This book tells the story of a girl who is raped and has to decide whether to keep her baby; it is so emotional and made me cry a few times. This book opened my eyes to the fears and struggles an unplanned pregnancy can bring, and just how much the abortion industry lies to women about side effects, the dangers of the actual procedure, and the emotional damage an abortion can have. There is also a large amount of commentary on people who are “pro-life”: until they are involved. We see many people around Dinah, the main character, treat her terribly or try to push her to get an abortion, even as Christians. This opened my eyes to how much the church needs to help those recovering from an abortion to find help and forgiveness, but also to think about the mother involved, not just the child. Dynah’s own fiancé internally blames her for the rape and wants her to get an abortion, despite being a champion for the pro-life movement previously. This book exposed hypocrisy on both sides and I really recommend it.
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I really don't like this. Every single character is so depressed and has tons of problems. From abortion to cancer to sex before marriage,it made me feel sad, and it's not even a good sadness. I have to say that I expected something a bit more uplifting from a christian author. :(
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*3.5
Very powerful but a little bit preachy at times. -
I read this for a book club and I have to pat myself on the back that I actually made it through the entire thing.
It's bad. So very, very bad. It's bad in every way a book can be: the plot is full of holes and is so predictable, the interactions and dialogue are one dimensional and lack any of the qualities of real human interaction, the writing flow is stuttered, it is poorly researched, and it is literally the most judgmental thing I've ever read. And her characters... they are like paper doll people with no depth or real personality. And she apparently did zero actual research when crafting her settings. The first half of the book takes place at a college. At one point, her main character goes to talk to her professor. The name of said professor? "Professor Provost." Professor. Provost. I wish I were joking. Alas, I am not. (If you don't get why this is mind-numbingly dense: Professor is an academic role at a university. Provost is also an academic role at a university. It's like naming her character "Doctor Nurse.").
The subject of the book is abortion and let me be transparent. I'm pro-choice but respect diverse opinions on this issue. People are entitled to feel however they feel about sensitive and personal topics like abortion. But, and this leads me to the absolute worst part of this book, when you start trying to use misinformation or out and out lies to push people to your side, you've moved from having a heartfelt opinion to being intentionally manipulative and deceitful. And that is what this book is. There are many, many examples of factual inaccuracies in this book with which she tries to leverage the readers towards her pro-life perspective. But I will only rip apart two of them for the sake of time.
1) She references "Post-Abortion Syndrome" as a condition women who have had an abortion often suffer, which supposedly ravages them with guilt. If you have no awareness of psychology, it sounds plausibly like a real condition. Except it's not. It's not an actual syndrome. It isn't in the DSM. It isn't diagnosed by actual mental health professionals. And despite her claims, that isn't because of some "medical bias" that causes people not to research this issue. It's because it HAS been researched extensively and there isn't evidence it really exists. Some women experience trauma tied to their abortion experiences and that is real. But that does not seem to be most women who have an abortion. There is no evidence that abortions themselves are significantly associated with a measurable and specific mental health condition or a deterioration of mental health. And there certainly isn't evidence of any causal relationship between abortions and the development of Post-Abortion Syndrome specifically (if you know anything about causation, you know in part why her claim is so bananas). This syndrome isn't real. And if you don't want to believe me, here's a quote from an American Psychologist journal article on this very issue:
"The most rigorous studies indicated that within the United States, the relative risk of mental health problems among adult women who have a single, legal, first-trimester abortion of an unwanted pregnancy is no greater than the risk among women who deliver an unwanted pregnancy. Evidence did not support the claim that observed associations between abortion and mental health problems are caused by abortion per se as opposed to other preexisting and co-occurring risk factors. Most adult women who terminate a pregnancy do not experience mental health problems. Some women do, however. It is important that women’s varied experiences of abortion be recognized, validated, and understood." (Major et al. 2009)
2) She also discusses abortion "causing breast cancer" in the later sections of the book. Shocking, no? What's a scarier boogie man than abortion? Cancer. And she claims (via dialogue from one of her characters) that of course we Americans wouldn't have heard of this, because the scientists that research this can't get their research funded or findings published. Except... Guess what?? Again, this HAS been researched extensively. In fact, there was a study done about 10 years ago with 83,000 participants (if you know anything about research, that is a huge sample) and they found no association between intentional abortion and breast cancer (it's from the Lancet in 2004). There are some studies that find an association between multiple miscarriages and breast cancer (although most research is pretty skeptical of this as well). In this literature, miscarriage is often referred to as spontaneous abortion, so maybe she just skimmed studies and didn't understand what she was reading. But given some of the other nonsense included in the book, I'm going to guess that no, she didn't in fact bother to do any real research.
This book is basically the LifeNews website turned into a novel. It's just as barren of fact and clearly biased, and the writing is even worse in quality. It is literally the worst book I have ever read in my life.
But hey, I finished it. Somehow. -
The story of a protected, adored virgin being brutally raped and dealing with a resulting pregnancy could not have been an easy story to write. The author did a good job of creating a believable Christian family in crises by allowing us inside their deepest thoughts thereby revealing weakness, doubt, fear, and anger woven with faith, redemption, and hope.
The Atonement Child was an interesting mixture of thoroughly developed characters undergoing intense trauma mixed with a few secondary players that seemed a bit flat. While I'm glad to have read the book I did not love it for a few reasons. I felt it hurried key moments of development in the central character, Dynah. The story spiraled out from her forming a generational anthology introducing us to three generations of women each with their own story of unwanted/inconvenient pregnancy. At times I felt like I'd been wandering in the desert for forty years trying to sort out the timeline. Eventually things snapped back to the current storyline but by midway through it was exuding an almost fairytale like feeling. The story becomes wildly implausible because everything works out seamlessly right down to the tiniest detail but it's presented in a "well, with God all things are possible" kinda way. And, of course, with God all things are possible so perhaps...
Despite the lower points there were moments that shined. The author excelled at examining marriages and family dynamics by exploring the vast range of emotions felt by Dynah, her parents, and her grandmother. She captured the nuance of Dynah's parents' marriage and feeling for one another to perfection.
The greatest failing was in the lack of discussion about the option of adoption. While it was mentioned briefly very little time was spent looking into adoption as a legitimate means for coping with unwanted pregnancy. Normally the omission of options would not be criteria for ranking a book but it is clear the author is using the story as a means of helping girls in this situation and I applaud her for doing so. Yet, while Dynah was a nineteen year old college student with many options available to her most girls who find themselves pregnant are much younger and adoption is almost always the very best option. Teens in high school should not and cannot be presented only the options of abortion or raising a child. Of course, this book was published in 1997 when pregnant twelve years old wasn't quite so commonplace as it is today. So, perhaps if given the chance to write the same story set in the current time frame this oversight would be attended to more carefully.
Speaking of the year of publication... I caught myself thinking, "Why don't they just use their cell phone?" only to remember they weren't widely in use or quite so small back then. In the same vein I was amused to think of Dynah and another character, Joe, actually writing letters to one another instead of using email. Oh how the world has changed! :)
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I love Francine's work, she's one of the best christian writers I know and my absolute favorite, why? Because you can see God's love, God's message in every single page of every book she wrote. Her writing flows beautifully, her dialogues are well written and keep you reading, plot, romance, love, forgiveness, God's wisdom is all wrapped up in her books. The Atonement Child was such a good book, it thought me so much, it really opened my eyes to the post abortion depression and made me see those doctors that perform abortions daily under a new light. The way Francine stays objective but at the same time makes you go on a rollercoaster ride full of emotions and surprises is phenomenal. I was Pro-life before I read this book, and I'm even more pro-life after reading it. I have some friends who sadly got writ of their baby, yes it IS a baby and I refuse to call it "the problem" or the "fetus", they all confirmed what Francine wrote about, even if they may not believe in God, they all agree that they regret their decision and they will carry that weight for the rest of their lives. One dear friend even told me that she sometimes stops to look at a little boy or girl and think about how her son/daughter would have been of the same age. That said, I love how Francine doesn't say that it is wrong, she just tells you all the details and all the conflicts and makes you decide what to think of it. Let's face it, Francine has a gift for writing. If you're looking for a good book with a lot of suspense, love, truth and God's wisdom, please read it, and I promise you won't regret it. cheers and God Bless ;)
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I thought this book had an incredible story line and above average character development. I am staunchly pro-life and so completely appreciated the books position. I am however not too fond of fiction that has undertones. This book is just that. There is a lot of preachy sections and though I think all of it is true and worthwhile I don't think a novel is the place for it. I don't think that someone who is looking for or in need of encouragement to make a pro-life decision is going to look in a novel and if they happen to I don't think they'd take it that seriously, since it would be QUITE ridiculous to site sources in the text. For this reason a lot of the preachy sections just come across as over the top and condescending toward someone who might not be pro-life. I hope that it encourages some but for me it is just not what I want in a novel.
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This is a very hard book to read even for a believer. Well I should say it was hard for me personally to read this book with choices I have made in my own life. This book will have you angry, in tears and ashamed all at the same time. The story is redeeming in the end and of course it all works out as God has intended but you learn a lot about yourself, other believers and faith along the way. This book put a lot of focus on generational sin and how one grandmother's choice has tainted all the women in her line. I believe this to be for many famillies still today. I see it in my own family and seeing the courage Dynah has to overcome it, stop the cycle and begin again is overwhelming for such a young women.
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One of the BEST books ever written about the abortion issue. Francine Rivers masterfully and sensitively examines the topic from just about every possible angle. Having been involved in the pro-life movement for decades, I have seen many sides of the abortion debate. I have read many books. This is the most outstanding. Buy it for teens, adults--anyone you care about. Whether staunch pro-lifers, "pro-choice," or undecided on the issue, ATONEMENT CHILD will give them plenty of food for thought. We read this novel in a book club I facilitated, and all the ladies loved it! Discussion questions at the back make it a powerful tool to assign in an ethics class or other church and educational venues. Gotta get it folks! Then try out her other powerful novels, as well.
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Francine Rivers always give a great story based on God's character and men's depravity. This is a great example. With abortion such an issue even among Christians, I would encourage all Christians to read this. Her characters could be based on real people. I saw some that I knew personally. I think the one that gripped me the most was the doctor that was performing the abortions and the reasons why. I realize not all doctors have the same reason but I appreciated this part of the story the most. The story has real conflictions and emotions thru out. If you are pro choice, you will either feel that this book is an attack on your beliefs, however, I am sure that Rivers prayer that is God will grip the hearts of those that read this and see the truth of abortion.
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Kristīgā lubene, kuru noteikti neiesaku kādam, kurš nav kristietis, jo šosreiz Riversai sanācis pārāk moralizējošs gabals. Autore un viņas rakstītais gan man vēl arvien patīk, pat ja nepiekrītu visam, ko viņa raksta.
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In reality, I would have agreed that Dynah take the morning after pill in order not to get pregnant after she was raped. Even when she got pregnant, her boyfriend (trained to be a pastor) and all her Christian College dean and professors, parents and friends wanted her to have an abortion saying that God will understand. Dynah made the decision to listen instead to her heart and her heart said that killing the baby is not right. It also broke my heart to read that she was shunned by the College she was studying in because they don't want her to stain the school's reputation that there might be talks that she got pregnant out of wedlock because she refused to announce to the world that she got raped (understandable, with trauma and all)..
Anyway, I love this book. My most favorite and heartbreaking part was the ending...
When a girl and her boyfriend was in the abortion clinic, Jesus was there with them saying No, I love you. Don't do this. Trust me.
And when the girl went into the examination room to have the baby aborted, Jesus was crucified once again - God's Atonement Child for our sins. -
A Quickie Review
Abortion has never affected me personally, but, as an emotionally sensitive person, this novel still moved me nonetheless. Dynah's struggle about what to do with her unborn child, and her desire to do the right thing without knowing what it is, made for very gripping reading. Though it wasn't perfect--that's why I didn't give it a perfect score--the overwhelming emotional themes make up for any complaints I could come up with.
Content Concerns: Themes of abortion, rape, and sex outside of marriage, as well as emotional intensity, are all through this book. Anyone who is unable to understand or deal with such material should probably stay away.
Score: 4.5/5 -
WARNING: REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS.
Confession time: I chose this book as a 'hate read' (you know a book that sounds so terrible that you just HAVE to read it to see if it's as bad as it sounds? Yeah...). And honestly, some aspects of the books surprised me by how NOT terrible they were. But there were several parts that made me want to throw it against the wall (and if I hadn't been reading it on my kindle, I probably would have. Multiple times). So yeah, I have a lot of thoughts on this book. Here we go.
Let me preface this by saying that I am a Christian and I have read and enjoyed a few of Francine Rivers' books, namely, the Mark of the Lion series and Redeeming Love. I've read many many books by Christian authors in the past, and Francine Rivers is one of the authors that I do like for the most part. I commend Rivers for trying to tackle a subject that is obviously dear to her heart, but I feel like this book ultimately failed (HARD) for me. To be fair, I'll start with:
The Good (and/or The Not Terrible)
1. Again, this is a tough and very loaded subject. I am begrudgingly impressed that this book exists at all, and I'm sure that Rivers has gotten a lot of flak for it.
2. As much as this book annoys me, I have to admit that it was pretty darn readable. I finished it in less than two days.
3. Despite the fact that the majority of main characters in this book are Christian (or claim to be), they are flawed in a very believable way instead of being super perfect.
4. The relationship that builds between Joe and Dynah is nice.
5. I liked that this book expressed how people can talk a big game about their morals, but the true test of what you believe occurs when you're thrown into a terrible situation. Ethan, the 'perfect Christian guy' becomes a massive victim blaming jerk who can't deal with the fact that his fiancee has been 'defiled' (seriously, I wanted to punch this guy in the throat so many times), Dynah's good, moral parents have so much baggage that is brought to the surface by this event, and Dynah has to reconcile her previous views of God with the horrible things that are happening to her. Seriously, bravo, Rivers.
But for all the good, I am still giving this book one star, and I would give it zero if I could. And so:
The Bad (aka Things that Made Me Want to Light Every Copy of This Book on Fire)
1. It's sooooooo preachy...sooooooooooooooooooo preachy.
2. You expect me to believe that every single person that Dynah knew besides her grandmother and Joe was THIS gung ho to try and make Dynah HAVE an abortion? REALLY? Not ONE OTHER Christian she knew was going to try and convince her not to have an abortion? REEEEEEEEEEALLY????
3. Holy cow, has EVERY WOMAN in this universe had an abortion? Two generations in the same family and then the third generation considering it seriously enough to actually go to an abortion clinic? Seriously? I get what Rivers was trying to do but it was all just way too convenient for me.
4. The victim blaming in this book is off the charts. Does victim blaming happen in the real world? Yes, and it makes me equally as angry. Added onto that is the extra layer that exists in a lot of Christian purity culture that any woman who has sex before marriage is dirty, defiled, impure, and broken. This mentality is disgusting and sadly happens all the time in the real world. I'm not saying that it's bad that Christians believe premarital sex is a sin, but mentally throwing women (and especially, oh, I don't know, RAPE VICTIMS) in the metaphorical garbage is just vile, and Jesus would not have done it (see: the fact that he hung out with ACTUAL PROSTITUTES and treated them with compassion and love) Is this mentality throughout the entire book believable? Definitely yes, unfortunately. but it makes me SO ANGRY regardless.
5. This book had so many one-off comments that made me want to flip ALL the tables. I returned my digital copy to the library so I can't give exact quotes, but here are the worst offenders that I can remember (and trust me, there were many more):
-While fighting with Hannah (Dynah's mom), Doug (Dynah's dad) is freaking out about the rape and yells that the rapist might have AIDS! Or he might be BLACK!!! I seriously had to put the book down for a minute after this. Yes, the rapist was despicable. All rapists are. But WHY WOULD IT MAKE A DIFFERENCE IF THE RAPIST WAS BLACK? Racist, Rivers. Disgustingly racist. Shame on you.
-When Dynah runs away from home to gather her thoughts, there is a brief period when she is living in a hotel and cannot find a job. She contemplates applying for benefits, but remembers that her father (again! Prince of a guy, Dynah's dad) has often ranted about people 'leeching off the government' so she decides she doesn't want to do that. There is no shame in needing public assistance and to shame people who DO need it is extremely gross. And, reality check Dynah, if you are unemployed, single, and pregnant, you are EXACTLY the kind of person the system exists to help. It's your choice if you don't want to apply for it, but don't dump on all the people who use it.
-The waitress that worked at the diner before Dynah got the job there (Susan, I think? I don't remember her name) mentions that she calls one of her Asian coworkers 'Ho-Chi-Minh' (I believe-it was something similar if not that exact nickname) and that he hates that nickname. Here's a tip, maybe don't call someone a nickname that they don't like, especially if that nickname is directly tied to the other person's race. Again, that's racist.
6. I do not like how this book addressed the topic of rape. I suspect that Rivers chose to make her protagonist a rape victim so she wouldn't have to deal with the touchy topic of consensual premarital sex among Christians, and also the fact that Dynah got pregnant from rape pulls the whole abortion debate into a gray area for a lot of people. However, the rape seems to get shoved pretty far into the background as soon as Dynah finds out she's pregnant. Then it's 'should I or should I not get an abortion' for the rest of the book. I don't want to diminish how difficult it must be to decide whether or not to get an abortion. That has to be one of the most difficult decisions for any woman to make. But aside from the men in Dynah's life repeating over and over that they want to beat the rapist to death and everyone contemplating what a 'monster' the baby will be because her father is a rapist (which seriously, gross), the book just seems to mostly drop the rape aspect of it. I also take issue with the fact that the rapist was the stereotypical 'stranger in the shadows' (which I know does happen, but much less often than the victim knowing their rapist), but I assume that Rivers didn't want to deal with fleshing out the character of a rapist and possibly dealing with Dynah taking him to court or anything like that. At its heart, this book is about abortion, not rape, but the fact that Rivers introduced rape as a plot point and just conveniently disposed of the rapist bugs me.
I know that a lot of people loved this book. If you loved it or were moved by it or it changed your life for the better, I will not discount your experience or say that you're wrong. You're entitled to your opinion and I am not going to fight anyone about whether this was a good or a bad book or extrapolate on the reasons I listed for disliking it. But personally, I hated this book. Capital 'H' HATED it. Would not recommend. To anyone. Ever.
