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.
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.)
What do You think about The Atonement Child (1999)?
Dynah Carey has is all - the perfect fiancé, a job at a local elderly folks home, freedom, good friends, and is attending a bible college. Or she has it all, until she loses it all. Simple mistakes pile up on one another until a tragic event happens. Shattered, Dynah tries to recover the scattered pieces of her life. But with more betrayal in the near future, things look grim. Only when she seeks help from the most high and works through the many secrets that plague her family will she be able to fight the future, make the right decisions, and ultimately renew her faith.I blew through "The Atonement Child" in one morning. I couldn't bear to put it down and nearly held my breath through the whole thing; waiting to see if Dynah would make it out of the battlefield alive. This story helps me to understand more about working through our trials, fighting off our demons; and that the only way to do that is to put your trust in God. Read "The Atonement Child" for a renewal of faith and a strengthening of empathy.
—Marybeth Taylor
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.
—Yarril
Atonement Child Atonement Child is a must read foe every parent,teenager,youth if possible children cos it tells how we can go about breaking genarational cause,it happend to Dhyan granma,it happened to her mother,now its happening again to dhyan but she belived in Gods mercy God helped her saw her through the process and she broke the cause that was on her family by not doing the abortion......oh i LOVE THE BOOK.....am buying and the book and will have my children and childrens children read it....cos u ve alot to learn fron the book.....God bless FRANCES Rivers.
—Joy
