The Sacrifice

Rating:
Summary: Riveting --and inspiring-- to the very last page
Review: Although a practicing Jew, I enjoy Christian fiction, especially the pen I have recently discovered in author Robert Whitlow.

After reading The Sacrifice, it's not too hard to understand why Whitlow has been called a Christian version of John Grisham. This was an engrossing legal thriller, entertaining and riveting to the very last page, while carrying many moral and religious themes, exploring darkness, light, good, evil, salvation, faith, trust in a Heavenly Father and more. One of the most prominent themes, however, is the efficacy of prayer. In a post-Columbine world, with a depressed, morally confused, spiritually empty generation of teenagers and high schoolers, this book touches upon the vital and urgently necessary power of prayer in public schools.

The central characters involve a young attorney, his old high school ex-girlfriend and now colleague in teaching a group of high school students in a mock trial competition, students intent of prayer, faith, and love, other deeply troubled students intent on hate and destruction... and, my favorite charater, Tao pang, a "simple" immigrant janitor in the high school who barely speaks a word of English.

I felt I lived with these characters, especially Tao.

I look forward to reading Whitlow's other books, for which, if this book is any indication, I'm in for a treat.

Rating:
Summary: Defies expectations
Review: Legal thrillers are a dime a dozen these days. For every Grisham, there are three to four other others turning out formula legal thrillers in an attempt to cash in on the popular trend in publishing. Which is what makes the works of Robert Whitlow such a marvelous find--they are legal thrillers, but they're well told, entertaining, page turning stories, the likes of which I haven't read in the legal genre since the earliest works of John Grisham.

Robert Whitlow is an amazingly talented author and that keeps showing through again and again in his work.

"The Sacrfice" is no exception to this rule.

What could have been little more than an exploration of a possibly racial motivated incident in a Southern small town (ala "A Time To Kill") instead turns out to be much more. "The Sacrifice" is an intimate examination of the events and circumstances that shaped the character of the protoganist, Scott Ellis. Ellis has returned to his native town to begin practicing law and gets his first big case--defending a young man who is accused of shooting into a baptism service at a local African-American church. The case isn't helped by the fact that the young man is a bigot, whose outward appareance and internal attitude reflect this. As he takes on the case, Scott also accepts a position to work with the local high school's mock trial team and is unexpectedly reunited with his high school sweetheart, Kay. Kay is going through a divorce and the relationship didn't end on a good note between them--Scott just let the relationship wither away.

As the novel progresses, you slowly begin to realize that this is a character study of Scott. He's never really allowed himself to be close to anyone for fear of causing or recieving pain. He can't be open with others or himself and he really only has an abiding friendship with his constant dog companion, Nicki. Slowly over the course of the novel, Scott's pattern becomes more and more apparent--as do the reasons behind it, which I won't give away here as it may ruin some of the enjoyment of the novel. We see Scott struggle--not only with his renewed feelings for Kay, who is going through a divorce, but also with his feelings about his friends, his client, his life in general and his relationship with God. One particularily powerful scene comes when Scott attends the church where the shootings occurred to possibly get information on the case and is almost confronted by the minister about his personal walk.

What surprised me most about this book was how quickly the pages turned. Whitlow's work has proven to be rivetting and compelling in the past, but "The Sacrifice" went above and beyond that. We come to care about Scott and what's going on in his life and I couldn't turn the pages fast enough at times. This is truely one of those novels that goes by far too quickly and the only regret you have when you've finished is that there isn't more of this great story to keep reading.

In addition to our journey with Scott, we also get an examination of evil and how it is at work in our world, sometimes hiding in plain sight. Whitlow builds the suspense of this storyline well in the story of Scott's journey and it leads to a truly compelling and page-turning conclusion. It is also extremely powerful to read, especially in the light of what we learn about Scott over the course of this novel.

"The Sacrifice" is a rich, compelling novel. It is Whitlow's third book and the third book of his that I've read. In fact, while I have one more of Whitlow's novels left to read, I think this one might be my favorite. Whitlow has crafted a novel that is next to perfect and I heartily recommend it.

Rating:
Summary: "The Sacrifice", best book of the year.
Review: Robert Whitlow's newest novel, "The Sacrifice", is the best of his three novels. His previous works, "The List" and "The Trial". were excellent books, but "The Sacrifice" is by far the most exciting. The writing is fluid, the story is captivating and the ending is gripping. I think "The Sacrifice" should be required reading for every pastor, teacher, parent, grandparent and teen. The book kept my attention and I could not put it down, reading it in one sitting. I intend to read it again and again.

Rating:
Summary: Somewhere Between Grisham and Peretti
Review: The Sacrifice should be read by every educator, student and parent. The issue of violence in our schools is unfortunately not a dead issue, as the shootings in Germany demonstrated. Whitlow gives us some answers. I highly recommend this newest book, as well as his other two, The List and The Trial.

Rating:
Summary: The Sacrifice by: Robert Whitlow
Review: This was the first whitlow book i've read and i went from being on the computer, watching tv, listening to music etc to reading books all the time. This was one book that kept me up many nights because i couldnt put it down. I always wanted to know the full story and i finally fingured it all out at the end. A lot of unexpecting events happend a lot. It kept me on the endge of my seat the whole time. Now thanks to this book all i do in my spare time is read. What a great book to start with to becoming a book worm. this is a must read for any one expectially teenagers. whitlow does a good job gettin inside our heads.