Atonement Child

Rating:
Summary: a moving story
Review: This is the third book I've read by Francine Rivers and she is fast becoming a favorite author of mine. All three books dealt with various topics but all were well written and thought provoking. The Atonement Child deals with a controversial subject in today's world - abortion. I found myself caught up in Dynahs story and her predictament. In the beginning of the story, she had everything a girl could want....an engagement to a promising young man; a normal, loving family (or so it seems). But tragedy strikes and Dynah's world is turned upside down. The people who were strong influences in her life now disappoint her. Throughout her ordeal Dynah stays strong in her faith, focusing on God, His Love and His Word. I found myself wondering if I could stay as strong as Dynah, or would I have given in to what others in my life suggested be done. This book challenges you and makes you think about choices and about the unborn truly being REAL. What a moving story this was. This is a book I will highly recommend to others!

Rating:
Summary: I JUST COULDN'T PUT THIS BOOK DOWN !!!
Review: I was encouraged by a co-worker to pick up a copy of Francine Rivers' book " The Last Sin Eater ". After I read that book, I searched on the net and came across this book. It had a catchy title so I thought, why not. I started this book and absolutely could not put it down until I finished it. I am not what you would call an avid reader, but this book is so well written, you just feel the pain of Dynah when she goes through all of the ordeals of being raped and finding out she is pregnant. She has so many people trying to tell her what to do. You would be surprised at who they are and what they are telling her. She only has to realize what God's plan is for her life, and who her real friends are. This book keeps you on the edge consistently throughout, from the first page to the last. It will make you think the next time you say "I don't know what God wants me to do in a certain situation". I highly recommend this book for christians and non-christians alike.

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful!
Review: It took me all of a day and a half to read this book. This book is so powerful and inspiring, you will immediately want to recommend it to any and everyone. Not only does this book send a powerful pro-life message, it also makes you realize how easy it can be to have an intimate relationship with God. The way Dynah continually spoke to our Father and listened to Him when she was seeking His guidance inspired me. I now find myself doing the same thing more and more often. In addition, you can see the many ways that God can and will work in our lives if we just allow Him.

Rating:
Summary: An amazing book dealing with today's issue of abortion.
Review: Francine Rivers has written a masterpiece on today's issue of abortion. She digs in and deals with the tough cases and the issues that no one is willing to discuss. Coming from her own heart, she displays the pain and guilt that many women and men face after an abortion, showing that the baby is not the only victim. Creatively written, the book takes you on a journey of not only a family, but also many friends, that must come to terms with their past. In the end, it is the choice to give birth to a baby conceived of rape that brings the truth to light for everyone. This book will capture your heart without preaching or telling you what to believe. The facts are presented in a way that allows you to see all sides of the issue. You will finish the book feeling as if you really knew the characters. It is an excellent piece of work and a must for all to read.

Rating:
Summary: expecting more
Review: This book really disappointed me. I agree with the reader who said it seemed like every woman in the book had had an abortion. I also really didn't like Dynah all that much. She was a shallow character, and the whole time I read I kept thinking about how stupid she was for waiting so long to make her decision (like not getting the morning after pill) then waiting 6 months to see a doctor for prenatal care. Just because she didn't get the abortion doesn't mean she took care of her baby in her womb. It just seemed like I kept waiting for her to stand up for herself and she never did. She just remained frail and kept running away from everyone. Is that how Rivers wants women to be? Maybe I've just known people who have kept babies who thought they did it because it was the right thing and they cared for it. They didn't need to be self righteous about it like Dynah was.

Rating:
Summary: One side of the issue
Review: Dynah is a young woman who is attending a Christian college when she is brutally raped. When she discovers that she is pregnant, she finds little support from her fiance, her family, or her college and she is pressured by many of them to have an abortion. There is no doubt where Francine Rivers stands on the subject of abortion. She is squarely against it and she uses everything in her writing arsenal to put across that point. Even while agreeing with her viewpoint, I feel that she has not done the topic justice in this book. The plot is very predictable from the very beginning and the characters are one-dimensional. It seems as if every woman in the book has had an abortion at one time or another and that is not realistic. There are several questions left unanswered at the end of the book. Who will take care of Dynah's grandmother? How much support will Dynah receive from her father? How will Joe finish his education? If you want to read better Francine Rivers books, I recommend her Women of the Bible series.

Rating:
Summary: The Atonement Child is a must read
Review: The book the Atonement Child by: Francine Rivers is about choice, sacrifice and love. The book is about a young girl who gets raped and becomes pregnant. After she finds out she's pregnant her whole world falls apart. The book then is about her struggle to decide what to do with this child that's growing inside her. Her religion makes abortion to her seem completely wrong, but she doesn't think she will be able to give the baby up. All the people in her life a screaming for her to get an abortion when her whole life they've all been against it. The rest of the book is about Dynah's struggle to decide what to do. I really enjoyed this book, it was well written and made me think about things.
With me myself being a Christian I could really relate to what Dynah was struggling with. I mean its really easy to say something until it actually hits home. The subject of abortion is a complicated subject , but I think Francine Rivers did an excellent job portraying what people put up to that decision go through. She also shows the long term affects an abortion can have on people, through the mom and grandma's abortions. She also so the affects it has on others, like Ethan, Joe and Dynah's father.
After Dynah brakes off her engagement to Ethan, she moves home to her parents. She moves home because the dean kicks her out of school for being pregnant. She had not yet told her parents that she is pregnant or that she got raped. When she does return home and tell her parents it brings up stuff from there past, and causes problem between her parents. She learn that her mother had an abortion before she met her father. After this Dynah runs away, because she feels like things are her fault, and starts to work at a little diner. Until Joe comes and finds her and convinces her she must go back. On the way back Dynah stops at Dr. Wyatt, the doctor who was supposed to do her abortion. His wife and him take her in for a week until she must return home. In her week there she witnesses to the doctor and he decides to stop doing abortions. When she moves back home her parents begin to work on things and everything begins to look up. She decided to give the baby up for adoption, Joe helps her pick a family. Then she has the baby. Joe is there to help her with it all. After she has the baby she decides no to give it her daughter up for adoptions. After that Joe and Dynah decide to get married. So the point of the book kinda is listen to the lord and good things will come your way.
This book did a excellent job of portraying what women go through when they have an unwanted pregnancy. She showed all different aspects of what people go through, form the women to her family to the doctors who do the abortions. The books main theme says that abortion is wrong. It also tells people that the need to listen to the lord or there heart. Although this book portrayed all aspects it was a little one sided towards anti-abortion, which I personally was ok with because I don't believe in abortion either.

Rating:
Summary: The Atonement Child
Review: This is an awesome book which shows the Power of God's forgiveness and love in the midst of pain. I could not put it down for three days. I laughed and cried. I think it could help a woman journey to her own place of understanding God's love and forgiveness no matter what has happend in her life and no matter what other people think.

Rating:
Summary: Disappointing
Review: I am a huge fan of Francine Rivers', and this book really disappointed me. It was totally predictable and unrealistic. It's a sensitive, emotional topic and deserved a more real-world telling. I do think Rivers did a good job of presenting the issue, but I often had to force myself to keep reading. Rivers did continue her tradition of excellent character development, but again, I wanted a surprise, or maybe just a hint of suspense, to keep me reading. A surprisingly unsatisfying book for Rivers.

Rating:
Summary: One of the most moving books I've ever read
Review: I found this to be a very emotional and spiritual book.A friend had read it and suggested that I should too.Once I started reading it i couldnt put it down.I think it's an excellent book for any person, Christian or not. I would hightly recommend any of Francine Rivers' books.