Review: Sanitised and superficial
Rating: 2 out of 5
Date: 05 30, 2013
Clearly written by a Christian for a Christian audience making the story a sanitised narrative about what is actually a serious social problem - child sex slavery. The author has an obvious concern for the children caught in this terrible situation but the novel lacks the complexity and depth of a modern novel. Religion is inserted into the story in a preachy, cumbersome way and completely ignores obvious questions arising from the story line. For example, God is called a rescuing God when one of the "good" characters is rescued but clearly doesn't do anything about preventing children from being pressed into sex slavery in the first place. This results in a cheesy veneer of religiosity. The ending is too neat and tidy and culminates in a situation that is not really developed during the preceding story. Child sex slavery is absolutely a pressing issue for which more needs to be done. And this book will raise some awareness within Christian readership. But as a piece of literature it needs more depth, better character development, and more sophisticated plot development. These are common features/flaws in much Christian literature. I understand this is the first novel by this author on a theme with which she is personally involved. She has to be commended for tackling a difficult and important subject. I hope her next book, if she writes one, will move towards a more realistic, authentic style.