Book Review: The Choosing by Rachelle Dekker

“Not to be Chosen would yield a cruel fate of my own making.”

Like all citizens since the Ruining, Carrington Hale knows the importance of this day. But she never expected the moment she’d spent a lifetime preparing for—her Choosing ceremony—would end in disaster. Ripped from her family, she’ll spend her days serving as a Lint, the lowest level of society. She knows it’s her duty to follow the true way of the Authority. 

But as Carrington begins this nightmare, rumors of rebellion rattle her beliefs. The whispers contradict everything she’s been told; yet they resonate deep within. 

Then Carrington is offered an unprecedented chance at the life she’s always dreamed of, but she can’t shake the feeling that it may be an illusion. With a killer targeting Lints and corruption threatening the highest levels of the Authority, Carrington must uncover the truth before it destroys her.

My Review

If you saw my Facebook post the other day, you saw that I got a new book on Saturday from Lifeway Christian Book Store.  Needless to say, I devoured it.  Oh my, was it good. :D

I have grown to love Christian dystopian books ever since I read A Time to Die by Nadine Brandes.  They always have such high stakes and messages of hope through utter darkness.  This book has a strong message of hope, worth, and beauty for girls.  In the futuristic society the main character, Carrington, lives in, they measure a woman's worth and beauty.  The women in the book judge themselves by their flaws and believes what society tells them about themselves.

Fear not, readers, for there is hope!

Even though society believes so many lies about well...just about everything, the real Truth prevails.  (I will not elaborate any more on this because there may be some spoilers.)

The Characters

Wow.  The characters.  They were real people with real flaws, real emotions, real problems.  Carrington is constantly told her worth is measurable, that she brought all this on herself.  She is so insecure.  Not only that, but she grows by the end of the book.

Let me talk about the antagonist of the story for a minute.  He is one of the most amazingly written antagonists I have ever read about.  I can't say any more about him in this review.  Go read the book.

The Setting

Typical dystopian book...walled city, controlling government, awesomely simple names of jobs... But there are some extremely unique things about this society.  One can see this when they see how they view women.  This alone leads to some intriguing setting...stuff.  I really don't want to say too much for fear of ruining it for you.

Other Stuff

I would recommend this book for older teens, maybe 15 and above.  The main focus of this story is marriage, but it just has to do with the setting where the goals of women are to get married and have children.  There is a little romance, but it is sweet and clean.  There is also a little violence and a ton of suspense.

Okay...enough with my rambling.  Go read the book.  :D

About the Author

The oldest daughter of "New York Times" bestselling author Ted Dekker, Rachelle Dekker was inspired early on to discover truth through storytelling. She graduated with a degree in communications and spent several years in marketing and corporate recruiting before making the transition to write full time. She lives in Nashville with her husband, Daniel, and their diva cat Blair. Visit her online at www.rachelledekker.com.