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.)

This book . . . wowza.
I read this book in a day, on the recommendation of a friend who said it was one of the best pro-life books she had read, and I am SO glad I did!

Obviously, this book is about a rape -- you can gather that much from the back of the book. I felt it was tastefully handled, and as a girl who is already a Christian is faced with questions about the sanctity of life, who God really is, and comes to grips with the fact that she can't rely on her parents faith, but only on her own, we see this girl grow in amazing ways.

Some of it was shocking, but that's the point, right? We as American Christians have lived too long in complacency, afraid to sully our reputations, afraid to get our hands dirty, afraid of the emotional trauma that we'll have to deal with if we tackle this issue in a Biblical manner.

I would recommend this for people who have studied and know well what they believe about pro-life issues, as there are several scenes depicting abortion, abortion doctors, abortion rhetoric, and several people who advocate for this young lady to have an abortion. I know this has become a favourite book, as it showcases compassion for both the baby and mother.

Due to the obvious sexual content of the book, I'd recommend it for older readers/adults 21+, but everything was handled in a delicate manner, so younger readers, with parental discretion, could probably read it and not be offended.

:(

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.

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.

So glad I read this. I loved how each character develops throughout the book. I did think the begin was slow, but honestly I feel like there was so much development throughout of the story that once I got into it, I enjoyed reading it.

I agree with others who has said at times they felt like some of the characters were created as just another talking point, but I also felt like their situations were very relatable. Each of the characters represented situations that are happening in households all over our country/world today and it is sad to me. I don’t agree that others felt the rape was overlooked. I felt that there were many people brought into her life that helped her move forward and find meaning (which is in no way meant to justify that she was raped)… but there was healing in her and her family because she was willing to be open to those she trusted.

Anyone who has had an abortion or contemplated one should read this. It was phenomenal, compelling and a beautiful story of Dynah who was raped. Her fiancée is hopeless, the dean of her college is merciless. Even her father and mother want her to abort. Dynah does not know what to do. This is a novel of God’s love, forgiveness and his provision. It is also about support and friendship. Wonderful!

Wow! This book has been sitting by my bedside for probably a year. I only picked it up to read because I had nothing else. I figured it was going to be very preachy and full of religious righteousness. Well, it kind of was. While I do consider myself a religious person, I don't like to read things that preach to me. But the story was so, so, well told. I read it in a few days and had a hard time putting it down. I've never had any experience with abortion, nor known anyone personally who has, but this book sure made me think hard about the subject and see things from different views that I had not considered before. Excellent story. I give it 4 stars because, while the story was wonderful, and thought compelling, there were many times when I skimmed over sections (mostly the religious parts). Wonderful read, and would certainly recommend to anyone.

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.

I liked this book very very very very much :D actually I found this in my university library accidentally while I was utterly bored waiting for a friend of mine to come. I was surprised at how much I ended up loving this book actually though. Being a Catholic and a Sri Lankan the feelings that Dynah was going through became very personal to me. Not that I had any experience but it was very heart wrenching seeing her go through it. I guess if i had to go through a similar situation I would be as distressed as her. But the choices she made was good and I liked how she stuck by them. Her indecisiveness was totally ok by my standards. I also loved Joe. He stood by her all the time and he wasn't the always preaching type but a person loving God nonetheless. The only problem I had was how in the world could the grandmother, mother and daughter all go through abortion? I mean that was a little too much for the author to put but other than that this book was a very nice one that was more than fun to read.

The story of a Christian college girl who is raped, becomes pregnant and the struggle to decide what to do with her unborn child. In her heart she knows that abortion is wrong, but every Christian around her is telling her to have an abortion. She drops out of school, goes home, only to find that her parents want her to have an abortion too. She proceeds to run away and do things on her own since no one understands her, but ultimately goes home and reconciles with her family. I think this book may be helpful for someone who is going through the same thing as the main character. I lost interest in this book early on, finished it, but didn't really enjoy it. It was very boring too me and I found myself very annoyed by the main character.

Emotional book. Really broke my heart pretty much the whole time, but the ending was sweet and happy!