Rating: 
Summary: Heavy-handed
Review: I love Francine Rivers' books. However, this one, besides being my least favorite, made me stop reading her for a time. Unlike her other books which focus on the glory and power of God, this one is largely about the evil of abortion. And while not all of the Christian people are pure good (the Christian school forcing her to either announce her rape or leave) the ones who are strictly against abortion are pure good. By contrast the pro-choice people are just morally disgusting humans. I found this to be a little heavy-handed, not to mention unrealistic. God takes a backseat to Ms. Rivers' stance on abortion in this book and the result comes off as self-righteous and judgemental. I was keenly disappointed.
Rating: 
Summary: Kinda' Boring
Review: I love Francine Rivers' books. I just recently finished the 'Mark of the Lion' series. I thought it was an awesome series. But 'The Atonement Child' was a let down. It was hard to keep my mind focused on what was happening. I thought it a little bizarre that a person who 'claims' to be a Christian, would even bring up the subject of having an abortion. I didn't think it realistic that everyone around Dynah, had an abortion, or had a part in one. It was okay, but definetly not one of her best books.
Rating:
Summary: Just awful
Review: I finished this book only because it was a selection of my book club. Frankly I did not care what happened to any of these people (as if I couldn't figure it out for myself by a quarter of the way through it). The dialogue was stilted and preachy, the characters were threadbare. I thought the book was very poorly written--something I would read from a high school student. One dimensional characters. Just awful.
Rating: 
Summary: Started off terrific...ended okay to bad
Review: The title was the first thing that grabbed me, and once I started reading, I couldn't stop. Although the story moved too fast for me to really get to know Dynah, I felt her pain, humiliation, and suffering and grieved for her prediciment. The well-meaning but insensitive remarks of those around her isolated her even more. Then with the pregnacy came Dynah's test of faith, her confusion and even more pain. All very real emotions for any real person in a similar situation. However, this terrific story is not without it's flaws. I felt the conflict between Dynah's parents was effective, but not very realistic. It seemed to bother Douglas more that his wife had slept with someone else (previous to their relationship) than it did that she'd had an abortion. I found it ironic that nearly every woman in the book had an abortion, and all of them suffered for it. The portrayal of the abortion clinic, with the ... administrator waiting to lure pregnant girls into her clinic and force them to have abortions, was unrealistic to me. Dynah was already a hard character to connect with. Even for a sheltered girl who grew up in the church, for a woman in her twenties, she seemed too childlike. Also was her absolute perfection, which made her seem unreal. Still, sympathy for her pain and struggle made me care about her and what happened to her. That was lost when Dynah became a prophet, delivering God's message to the doctor and hearing God's voice. Most people look for a sign from God--it's rare that anyone hears His voice telling them exactly what to do. How easy life would be for everyone if that happened, and how easy it was for Dynah. All her struggle, pain, insecurity, and confusion vanished and she suddenly knew what she had to do. At that point I knew where the story would end and felt no desire to even finish it. Dynah never seemed to suffer the aftereffects of the rape, she was so consumed by abortion issues, and I found that strange. Just like her mother and grandmother suffered for years to come about their abortions, a rape victim is usually severely traumatized by the brutal violence inflicted on them. It was almost like Dynah was never raped, she just got pregnant somehow. Those two topics--abortion and religion--are very sensitive topics and I applaud the author for approaching them. But I think she felt too strongly about this issue, and made her novel come off as somewhat preachy. Instead of dealing with Dynah's rape and resulting pregnacy and the difficulty she would have dealing with that, the book became a long anti-abortion campaign. I also didn't like the ending, where she and Joe plan to marry (which of course was coming all along) and live happily ever after. The baby's birth should have brought a whole new set of issues, or it would have for someone who was traumatized by a rape. But unrealistically, Dynah's rape becomes irrelevant. Other than the easy solutions and Dynah's unrealistic character, I enjoyed the book. It was well written and engaging, but it may lose your interest around the middle. ....
Rating: 
Summary: A healing book - for all women
Review: Francine Rivers is my number one favorite author. However, this book was distinctly different. She hit on issues in society which allows for compromise. This book is sensitive yet definitely guides into Godly principles - even when all have compromised. What especially got my attention and drove me to my knees for all women was the closing note to all women. Not only is this a story for the ages, but the ending has a warriors prayer that should be printed up and hung on refrigerators throughout the world.
Rating:
Summary: An awesome book!!!
Review: An extremely good book! I would recommend it young adults everywhere! The book is extremely well written and covers the biblical perspective of abortion really well. The author does a really good job of bringing the characters to life.
Rating:
Summary: Eye-opening on all sides
Review: Please go get this book if you have not read it already. What an amazing job the author does in covering all sides of abortion -- exposing the entire world of it from the dozens of perspectives. It is on the ever-sore topic of rape. I wept brokenly in so many parts, yet I closed the final page with tears of joy.
Rating:
Summary: Powerful
Review: This book is such a wonderful, powerful contribution to understanding the sanctity of God given life. It certainly shed some light on that topic for me, and I highly recommend this book to women who have faced abortion or feel that abortion is okay just because it's legal.
Rating:
Summary: Wow!
Review: I just want to recommend this book to anyone who likes to read! I happen to see this book in our local book store and told my mother in law that I might like it for Christmas. She bought me the book...and I couldn't put it down! I read it in all of my spare moments. I couldn't wait to get out of bed so that I could keep reading. Well, I finished the book in three days...but had I had more time...would've loved to sit down and read it in one sitting. This is the first book I have read from Francine Rivers, and I am hooked. This book was so well written...I am online to order a few more! =) This is a must read! So touching! It leaves you in awe of the Almighty!
Rating:
Summary: Beautiful!!!
Review: I've read this book 3 times, and every time I put the book down, I was crying. (and I'm not the emotional type!) It's a story about real issues, (rape, abortion, single parenthood) and I think Ms.Rivers did an awesome job portraying the characters in a realistic way. I'm glad that Ms.Rivers had the courage to write a story about this, because I'm sure other people didn't. Being in my late teens, I can identify with the characters, and love them! It's a beautiful love story of how Jesus Christ really does love us, even though we doubt him when we go through trials. Read it! You'll get a blessing!
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