Rating: 
Summary: The pampered emprisonment of two fools
Review: Two fanatical Christian American girls are imprisoned by the Taliban for attempting to spread their faith.
(I know we don't like to associate the world fanatical and Christian but what else do you call it when they're ready to leave their homes and loved ones, travel far away, live in uncomfortable conditions and risk their lives and those of others in the process? Saints? I call it fanatical.)
I thought their story would be truly horrible: American females at the hands of Islamic fanatics? It sound very very bad. I thought I would read about strength of spirit, human survival etc. I was completely wrong.
These two girls purposefully and deliberately violated the laws of the country they were in. They were risking capture and once captured, anything might happen: rape, torture, death. They knew it or should have known it if they were not so darn naive and unexposed. They were also endangering the lives of other people by being unable to restrain themselves from gushing about their God, like infatuated teenagers.
So they were captured...and against all expectations, they were then basically pampered by the oh-so-evil Taliban.
They received more goodies and had more liberties than most of America's penitentiary population. They had money, they ordered extra food from stores, once a birthday cake from a bakery for a birthday party.
Their comments are sometimes mind boggling. Heather throws a spoiled child tantrum when a letter to her parents is confiscated by her jailers. ("After all the time I invested in writing the letter, he took it way") Sounds like a harried New York stockbroker not a prisoner with nothing to do all day long. She's indignant that she can't see her father on his birthday (oh, are the Talibans supposed to care?) and then complains that they took away his birthday card that she made herself. (No Heather is not 5, she's in her twenties).
As for Dayna, I'm puzzled by her preoccupation with make-up. During a visit to her house, when she can grabs some needed items to bring back to the jail, she gets more make-up since her supply isgetting low. She mentions make-up several times (first thing she does when she thinks she's free is to apply make-up - in the middle of chaos and bombing, she finally "gives up on putting any" etc) and when they finally hear that a helicopter will be picking them up and they cannot bring any bags with them, one of the first thing she stashes away in her clothes is her make-up and even her make-up bag. Never be part of a US military rescue operation in a country at war without it!These girls were intent on doing charity work. But they were unprepared, unexposed, naive and reckless. I'm not denying they went through a hard experience. But compared with what could have happened, it's a very relative hard experience. Although they have denied working as missionaries, the book gives you a taste of what they are like, and they talk about God A LOT. A fellow reviewer talks about "the horrible conditions of their captivity". Don't be fooled. They were not horrible. Given the time, place and circumstances, they were anything but. I think Amnesty International would probably have rated their captivity conditions as a first class hotel compared to what other unfortunate human beings live through.
I didn't gain much respect for them by reading this book, and they are definitely no HEROES. What is the media's definition of heroes, for heaven sake? Anybody who has to be rescued by military extraction? Please.
And this is not an anti-Christian bash. I am a Christian. But I like to think I'm not a fool.
Rating: 
Summary: You go, girls!
Review: What a great book this was--I didn't think women like this existed in today's world! I heard Dayna & Heather speak on Focus on the Family and I was so moved by their personal stories. Their experience in Afghanistan makes up most of this book, but I want to point out to everyone that they already survived a great deal of upheaval in their lives before they even became missionaries. This caused them to do a lot of soul-searching to find their faith. I think those tough experiences helped give them the strength they needed for surviving their imprisonment by the Taliban.
Rating: 
Summary: Loss of Faith
Review: What a horrible book. Poorly written and dull. Who cares what these supposedly un-Christian girls did in Afghanistan. What they do to humanity should be considered a crime. They behave in a pagan manner when they think that they are working as missionaries. Rather than spreading the word of God, they are spreading stupidity.
Rating:
Summary: Nothing Special
Review: What these girls did is nothing special. There are thousands of people like them (who weren't foolish enough to risk their lives and the lives of their national staff by trying to spread their version of religion in a culturallyl sensitive place like Afghanistan) all over the world working to try to help the poor. The 15 minutes of fame that these girls received is long over (thankfully). The book itself is fluff and poorly written. Let's look for other heroes. These girls certainly are not heroic; just a couple of simpletons who got themselves into a fix and got media coverage.
Rating: 
Summary: I am dubious
Review: Yes, the book was interesting. I am very glad these women and the others got out alive. Yes, they all did some really good works in helping destitute Afghani people in a variety of ways, i.e. money, food, businesses, friendship. However their main motive is clearly "preaching the word"...THEIR word (Jesus, Christianity, God, etc.) to Muslim people. This is self-righteous at best and extremely dangerous at worst. Not just to these 2 women but to the Afghani people they were vigorously pushing Christianity on during Taliban rule. They go to great lengths in this book to defend themselves...implying that these people ASKED for, WANTED,
NEEDED and INITIATED these "teachings". I doubt it. In their "missionary work" they managed to greatly endanger many people. How about the family that was closed in on after Dayna and Heather were arrested...the ones with the Jesus film being shown in their home? What about the poor guy last seen being thrown into a trunk by the Taliban? What about the other families who may have been tortured or worse during these deadly times because they had the "privelege" of being associated with these "saviors"? We heard nothing else about their fate after the women got their rears saved by the U.S. military and brought back to the comfort of the U.S. Oh..gotta mention too the danger that these service people faced in this daring rescue.
Good works, charity, friendship, help, kindness and courage are wonderful things. But stay out of people's religious lives. "Born again Christians" have a way of believing they are so terribly more enlightened then the rest of the world. It is arrogant and exclusionary and should not be cloaked in "we're just trying to save the world". Stick to practical assistance to those in need. Again, I'm glad they're safe but they are extremelly lucky they are not dead, though I question the fates of their Afghani "followers". Sad.
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