Rating: 
Summary: EYE OPENING
Review: All of Francine Rivers books have been excellent, and this book is no exception. I love how Francine brings Mary to life in a real sense. You can really feel the struggle Mary must have had to know she had given birth to the Messiah and not be able to get anyone to believe her. I would definitely recommend this whole series to anyone who wants to understand the women in the lineage of Christ a little better.
Rating: 
Summary: If nothing else, thought provoking
Review: Aspects of this book I enjoyed:The portrayal of Mary and Joseph's relationship. While I felt Joseph was too good to be true, I did enjoy being swept along by his constant strength and guidance for Mary as she struggled with being the mother of Jesus. Mary's ongoing struggle between her will vs. the Lord's will. This gave me some insight as to what it may have been like for Mary. She was doubted and scorned and accused of being a liar when she claimed to be a virgin. It is human nature to want to be vindicated when falsely accused. It is a fascinating viewpoint to see her sense of urgency that Jesus reveal himself in order to exonerate herself. Mary's struggle between her loyalty to Jesus and her loyalty to her unbelieving children. Another interesting viewpoint on the struggles Mary was bound to have when Jesus declared himself the Messiah and yet his own siblings did not believe. Aspects of the book I disliked: Too much time spent on Mary's "awe". Personally, I think it's a given that she would have difficulty reconciling the humanity of Jesus and the Deity of Jesus. All of the "and still she couldn't believe that this man was the Savior" stuff was trite and overdone. Joseph is the perfect husband. Joseph, who struggled initially, becomes somehow the perfect, all-knowing, ever-strong husband after his encounters with the angel. One of Francine Rivers faults is he tendency to paint the male main characters of her books in too perfect of a light. Jesus (I'm sorry) creeps me out. His humanity doesn't come through at all. Rivers focuses a lot on the internal spiritual struggle Mary sees present in Jesus, but does little to develop his human side (but for a few snippets where Jesus tells his siblings stories while they sit in his lap). Irreverent as it sounds, Jesus just isn't a very likeable character in her book. All in all, it was an OK read. I would suggest checking it out from the library rather than buying it.
Rating:
Summary: The Very Best of Francine Rivers
Review: Each book of the Lineage of Grace series is excellent in its own right; however, UNAFRAID is exceptional. After finishing the book, I just could not help but praise the Lord. While UNAFRAID is the story of Mary, at its heart is the story of every person and his or her choice to either accept or reject Christ. Through Mrs. Rivers' unbelievable insight and her personal relationship with Christ, the story of Mary truly comes alive. While many authors would be afraid to put words in Jesus' mouth, Mrs. Rivers does so beautifully. The interaction between Joseph, Mary, and Jesus when Joseph is on his deathbed is so real that it brought tears to my eyes. No matter how gifted an author is, only someone who knows the Savior very intimately could write such a scene. The same questions that Mary and Jesus' siblings ask are the very ones so many of us ask today-why did Jesus come into the world the way He did, why did He live the way He lived, and why did He have to die. The answers Mrs. Rivers provides are not unique but they are provided in a unique way. If you desire to expand your understanding of the story of Mary and to grow in your Christian walk, this is the book for you. One of the things I truly love about Mrs. Rivers' writings is that I cannot read them and not be changed.
Rating:
Summary: The Series Ends
Review: Francine Rivers ends her wonderful "Lineage of Grace" series with the life of Mary. In this version Mary is hardly meek and mild, but a teenage girl impatient for the coming of the Messiah. When she has Jesus, she is shocked when no one believes that she was a virgin when she became pregnant - the begining of a rude awakening. It is Joseph who realizes, as he is dying, that his stepson will be the Man of Sorrows - and Jesus' refusal to save Joseph because it's his time is Mary's first sign that things will not go the way she expected. Will she spend the rest of her life bitterly waiting for Jesus to become the awaited warrior-king and prove to the world that she didn't sleep with Joseph before their wedding? Ms. Rivers has taken a daring risk by making her Mary a not-necessarily likable person who, for instance, can only see her children with Joseph as falling short of her expectations after having raised the only perfect child who ever lived. Herein lies the point. Up until now, the series has been admirably non-denominational. Ms. Rivers, a Born-Again Christian, deliberately makes the point that Mary was a normal person just like you and me - and in no way divine. I'm Protestant myself - and this is in fact one of the cornerstones of our denomination - but Catholics, you've been warned... This is actually in some ways my least favorite of the series, although I see what Ms. Rivers was trying to do. Read it to complete her vision, but also try the excellent "Two from Galilee" by Marjorie Holmes, which I feel covers the relationship between Mary and Joseph better.
Rating:
Summary: The Series Ends
Review: Francine Rivers ends her wonderful "Lineage of Grace" series with the life of Mary. In this version Mary is hardly meek and mild, but a teenage girl impatient for the coming of the Messiah. When she has Jesus, she is shocked when no one believes that she was a virgin when she became pregnant - the begining of a rude awakening. It is Joseph who realizes, as he is dying, that his stepson will be the Man of Sorrows - and Jesus' refusal to save Joseph because it's his time is Mary's first sign that things will not go the way she expected. Will she spend the rest of her life bitterly waiting for Jesus to become the awaited warrior-king and prove to the world that she didn't sleep with Joseph before their wedding? Ms. Rivers has taken a daring risk by making her Mary a not-necessarily likable person who, for instance, can only see her children with Joseph as falling short of her expectations after having raised the only perfect child who ever lived. Herein lies the point. Up until now, the series has been admirably non-denominational. Ms. Rivers, a Born-Again Christian, deliberately makes the point that Mary was a normal person just like you and me - and in no way divine. I'm Protestant myself - and this is in fact one of the cornerstones of our denomination - but Catholics, you've been warned... This is actually in some ways my least favorite of the series, although I see what Ms. Rivers was trying to do. Read it to complete her vision, but also try the excellent "Two from Galilee" by Marjorie Holmes, which I feel covers the relationship between Mary and Joseph better.
Rating: 
Summary: Good book if you want to turn away from Jesus!
Review: Francine Rivers is my favorite author. So I do not say lightly that this is one of the worst books I have ever read. I think this book greatly weakened my faith for a time. I would hate to think what this might do to a new christian. She reinforced all of the doubts that I think christians secretly have relating to Jesus' birth, with constant doubting as the books main theme. I think this book may have been her own personnal way of trying to deal with the pain and guilt feeling that doubt creates in us. I would never have read past the first two chapters in this book had it not been written by Francine Rivers.
Rating:
Summary: Good book if you want to turn away from Jesus!
Review: Francine Rivers is my favorite author. So I do not say lightly that this is one of the worst books I have ever read. I think this book greatly weakened my faith for a time. I would hate to think what this might do to a new christian. She reinforced all of the doubts that I think christians secretly have relating to Jesus' birth, with constant doubting as the books main theme. I think this book may have been her own personnal way of trying to deal with the pain and guilt feeling that doubt creates in us. I would never have read past the first two chapters in this book had it not been written by Francine Rivers.
Rating:
Summary: Could Hardly Put it Down!
Review: I enjoyed this book a lot. It gave an almost perfectly accurate description of the life of Mary and Jesus. It gave personal insight on Mary's thoughts and fears. This is the first book of the series that I have bought so far, so I couldn't compare it to the others. But if it is as good as this one, I should highly recommend all 5 books.
Rating: 
Summary: A neat addition to Francine Rivers' series.
Review: I had a few mixed emotions about this book. First of all, Mary's father's name was Heli, not Joachim.And second, I think that some of the fictional literature was taken overboard. For example, in this book, Jesus healed Anne, his little sister. But the bible clearly states that Jesus' first miracle was performed at a wedding in Cana, where he turned water into wine. Otherwise, I thought that this book was overall very well written, and good reading.
Rating:
Summary: Going too Far
Review: I have enjoyed many of Ms. Rivers' books but, in my opinion, Unafraid has fallen far short of any of her others. I am forced,as a Catholic, to take exception with the liberties she has taken in her portrayal of the Mother of Jesus.
In accordance with the teachings of the Church I believe that she remained a virgin all her life. From the very earliest days of Christianity the Church has taught, based on the tradition of those earliest Christians, that the Mother of God did not have other children. Scripture does not support that notion and where it is used to do that it is erroneous. The brothers and sisters mentioned in the Bible as being siblings of Jesus are in fact the children of another Mary. Besides that, it was customary to use the term "brother" and "sister" to mean those who are connected as extended family or as spiritual family. It is a custom which we use today when calling a good friend of a parent "Aunt" or "Uncle" or people speak of non-relatives as being a brother or sister. And, of course we use the term in the context of Brothers and Sisters in Christ.
I would not recommend this book to anyone who holds the traditional views of Mary's virginity. It is a waste of time and money and not very interesting.
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