*Sniffles*

Well, Francine, you've done it again. Touched my heart, made me think, inspired me... Here's my review:

1. Characters: How does Francine do it? I can always connect with her characters. Good, bad, old, young... Her characters are all real. I long for the good relationships in her novels and my heart breaks for the strained ones. She has a way of creating a diverse mix of people and lets the reader get inside of each of their heads by alternating points of view.

2. Setting: Honestly, I'm at a loss for what to write regarding the setting. All I can think about are the characters, the story and the theme of this novel. There's two primary settings for this story and neither particularly stood out to me. In fantasy novel reviews, I usually have a lot to say about world-building, but for a contemporary set in the US that is very character/situation driven, I didn't give much thought to the setting.

3. Story: Here's where I expect to see a lot of controversy regarding my review. This story focuses on Dynah, a college student attending a Christian university, who is raped one night while walking home from work and later finds that she is with child. Everyone in her life has an opinion on how the situation should be handled- from her fiance to her roommate to the dean of the school to her parents to the doctors... everyone has an opinion. Many readers (and yes, I read many reviews for this book before and after reading) claimed this was just one big pro-life piece of propaganda. Please, allow me to assure you it is not. This is a story about pain and darkness, faith and family, forgiveness and redemption. It is not an easy topic to read or discuss, and many readers have left very hateful and critical reviews across platforms such as Goodreads, bashing Francine Rivers for daring to write about this subject let alone take a clear stance on the issue of abortion. Many claim that she doesn't know what it's like to be in a situation where abortion may be the "best option" or "only option," or they claim that it's all about preserving one life and saying "who cares about the mother?" This is not that stance. I encourage anyone and everyone to read into Francine's reason for writing this novel (you can find details on her website under FAQ where she discusses inspiration for the story). She has a personal history with the subject and this novel didn't serve to reach an agenda but rather to discuss the very difficult and heartbreaking decision many young women face. This story is much less about the issue of abortion itself and more about the women (and men!) who face these decisions or are affected by them (not just in cases of rape but in general- there are other characters in the story who come at the issue from other situations as well). Like I said, this is not just pro-life propos; this is a story of grace in dark times and the weight that unexpected tragedy can bring upon people of even great faith. "Why do bad things happen to good people?" is also a major theme throughout this novel and it's a question we've all asked at some point during our lives- some of us more than once. If you have questions about the content or have read this story and would like someone to talk to about it (whether you loved or hated it), please feel free to leave a comment or reach out to me in some way!

4. Overall Rating: 5/5 Stars. All the stars. Forever all the stars for every Francine Rivers novel I ever read. I keep expecting one of her novels to come up short but, thus far, she has constantly delivered. And if you read the testimony on her website about why she writes, you'll understand why. She writes when she's searching for an answer, when she's exploring something heavy on her heart, or when she feels God is trying to reveal something to her through her characters and their journeys. There is a definite purpose behind each of her works, and it is evident when reading. I would absolutely recommend.

*3.5
Very powerful but a little bit preachy at times.

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.

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.

This book is a very good read. It covers every aspect of abortion vs choosing life and how it effects everyone and every institution that would be connected to a life in the womb (generation after generation).

Excellent book! My first Francine Rivers & certainly not my last. This touched my heart in so many ways. I loved it.

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.

Yeah, nah.

Read this book in 1 day! Highly recommend!

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.

This was such a well written Christian fiction novel with good character development. I don't think I've ever read a novel that dealt so well with rape and an unexpected pregnancy. I was also intrigued by the fact that Dynah's mother and grandmother had both terminated unplanned pregnancies in the past and how they each tried to influence Dynah's choice of whether to have an abortion or not. So many people in Dynah's life made me so mad by their reactions to the fact that she was raped and that she ended up pregnant. Uggh, so many emotions in this story. There were a few theological issues I had with some of what the author brought up in the book, but, in general, this was a brilliant book that dealt well with some of the toughest topics out there.

Such a beautiful book ... the best one I've read in a long time.