Captives

 “I understand why you ask me to donate. But not why I should help. You killed my father, all the elders of my village. You claim to value life, yet you willingly destroyed it. And to clean up the mess you've made of your city, you ask me to reproduce with my friends and family. It's completely unacceptable.”

Book: Captives (The Safe Lands) by Jill Williamson, Zondervan Publishers, 2013

 

Genre: Futuristic/Science Fiction

Target Audience: Girls and Boys 18+

Subject: Euthanasia, Sex, Jealousy, Selective Genetics, Freedom, Forgiveness

Summary: Jealousy between brothers caused the first murder in the Garden of Eden and now it has caused the murder of many in the village of Glenrock. The people of the Safe Lands have a genetic fatal disease – every single person in the entire land has it. So for the people to survive, they need people without the disease. A jealous brother betrays his entire village in hopes of gaining power and popularity. So the elders are killed and the young are taken from their home to the Safe Lands. The men are asked to donate sperm to artificial insemination. In the meantime they can live the easy life, getting anything they want. The women are to become pregnant and live as queens, baby making machines that will never get to see and raise their children, but queens nonetheless. So should these prisoners accept their lot and join the Safe Lands community or should they seek the impossible and attempt an escape?

Notes:  This is the first in the Safe Lands series, a futuristic series on the issue of freedom – whether or not a person should deny themselves any desire and whether or not anyone has the right to force someone to help them. There is spiritual content in it, the characters do have a recognition of God, but it is a theistic view – they acknowledge God's existence and have religious ceremonies and such but don't look to Him for how to make decisions or for help in day to day struggles. Their engagement ceremony towards the beginning of the book and the wedding at the end both model a more involved God, just not the day to day life. Warning: This book is not appropriate for teenagers who have been sheltered at all. It deals with some very adult issues. Also, due to the issues dealt with in this book, it is not written as an enjoyable, entertaining reading, but rather than an intense, graphic look at a serious issue. If you would like more on this topic, check out The Center For Bioethics And Human Dignity, a Christian organization that helps people figure out how to respond to these sorts of subjects. 

Spiritual Content Recommendation Scale: 2/5

Overall Quality Recommendation Scale: 4/5

Reviewer: J:-)mi

Galatians 5:13 - You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love.

Captives was given to me for free in exchange for my honest review as a part of the Team Novel Teen blog tour. Team Novel Teen is a group of bloggers dedicated to spreading the word about clean teen fiction. Check out other posts about Captives by Jill Williamson by clicking on the links above, and click here for more information about Team Novel Teen.

 
ADD Librarian • http://addlibrarian.wordpress.com/
Blooming with Books • http://www.bloomingwithbooks.webs.com/
Bookworm Reading • http://bookwormreading.blogspot.com/
Chris Kolmorgen • http://chriskolmorgen.blogspot.com/
Christian Book Review Blog • http://christianbookreviewblog.blogspot.com/
Christian Bookshelf Reviews • http://christianbookshelfreviews.blogspot.com/
CTF Devourer • http://www.ctfdevourer.com/
Emily Rachelle Writes • http://emilyrachellewrites.blogspot.com
Heavenward Reviews • http://heavenwardreviews.blogspot.com/
Jessica Laurie • http://www.jessicalaurie.com/
Labor Not in Vain • http://labornotinvain.blogspot.com/
The Life of a Teenage Writer • http://katelynthekreative.blogspot.com
The Maniacal Bookworm • http://themaniacalbookworm.blogspot.com/
Mrs. Southern Bride • http://www.mrssouthernbride.com
Oh, Restless Bird • http://www.ohrestlessbird.com/
Pages from My Journal • http://alysonschroll.blogspot.com
The Pen and Parchment • http://theravenquill.blogspot.com
Rachelle Rea • http://www.rachellerea.com/
The Ramblings of a Young Author • http://www.ramblingsbybethany.blogspot.com
Realm of Hearts • http://realmofhearts.blogspot.com/p/book-reviews.html
Shadow Writer World • http://shadowwriterworld.blogspot.com/
A Simple Life, Really?! • http://asimplelifereally.blogspot.com
Surrendering All of Me • http://surrenderingallofme.blogspot.com
Terri Harr • http://terriharr.blogspot.com/
Verbosity Book Reviews • http://verbositybookreviews.wordpress.com/
Who YA Reading? • http://christianteenbooksandreviews.blogspot.com/
Worthy2Read • http://worthy2read.wordpress.com/
The Writings of Rosie • http://writingsofrosie.blogspot.com

Storm

At this point, Connor thought, it might be appropriate to worry…

The sky is falling. The world as Connor knew it had left him behind.

Book: Storm (Swipe Series) by Evan Angler, Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2013

 

Genre: Futuristic

Target Audience: Boys 14+

Subjects: Loss, Relationship with family, friendship, fear, government conspiracy theories

Summary: A chemically manufactured plague that is killing Erin as well as many others, government controlled drought, and confusion about who to trust makes for continued adventures for the Markless. Meanwhile amongst the IMPS, Lily has some plans of her own. Loyalties are changing around left and right, but in the midst of everything Peck and Logan seek something they can rely on, something that’s for sure.

Notes: This is a government conspiracy theory story. The government forces everyone to take the mark in order to survive. In this, the third book in the series, much more of the government conspiracies is revealed and the bigger picture is seen a lot more. The spiritual elements in the story are hinted at even more in this one than in the second. Peck outright says that he found Jesus and became a Christian. And he is off searching for truth. But it still does not portray God or Scriptures as having the answer. The answer is just to be on the good guy’s side, defy the authorities and hope to be smart enough or fast enough to survive.

Spiritual Content Recommendation Scale: 1/5

Overall Quality of Book: 4/5

Reviewer: J:-)mi

1 Timothy 4:1 - The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits

Thank you to the publisher for providing me with a free review copy of the book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Here’s a link to the YouTube book trailer for Storm: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=78DHtGhR3Rw 

Here is a link to Evan Angler’s website: http://www.evanangler.com/

Here is a link to the Swipe Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/swipeseries

   Team Novel Teen is a group of bloggers dedicated to spreading the word about clean teen fiction. Check out other posts about Storm by Evan Angler by clicking on the links below, and click here for more information about Team Novel Teen.

ADD Librarian • http://addlibrarian.wordpress.com/
Blooming with Books • http://www.bloomingwithbooks.webs.com/
The Book Fae • http://www.thebookfae.wordpress.com/
Book Nook 4 You • http://booknook4you.blogspot.com/
Bookworm Reading • http://bookwormreading.blogspot.com/
Christian Book Review Blog • http://christianbookreviewblog.blogspot.com/
Christian Bookshelf Reviews • http://christianbookshelfreviews.blogspot.com/
CTF Devourer • http://www.ctfdevourer.com/
Jill Williamson • http://www.jillwilliamson.com/?p=8624
Labor Not in Vain • http://labornotinvain.blogspot.com/
The Life of a Teenage Writer • http://katelynthekreative.blogspot.com
The Maniacal Bookworm • http://themaniacalbookworm.blogspot.com/
Oh, Restless Bird • http://www.ohrestlessbird.com/
The Ramblings of a Young Author • http://www.ramblingsbybethany.blogspot.com
Realm of Hearts • http://realmofhearts.blogspot.com/p/book-reviews.html
Shadow Writer World • http://shadowwriterworld.blogspot.com
A Slightly Nerdy Bookworm • http://sierrasbooklist.blogspot.com
Who YA Reading? • http://christianteenbooksandreviews.blogspot.com/
Worthy2Read •  http://worthy2read.wordpress.com/