Captives

Captives - by Jill Williamson


Summary:

Loosely based on the story of Daniel and his friends, comes Jill Williamson's newest book, Captives. Set in a Dystopian world, the story is mainly about three brothers: Levi, Mason, and Omar. Intensely jealous of his oldest brother and anxious to get attention from his father, Omar betrays his small village of Glenrock to The Safe Lands in return for a position as an enforcer. Absent at the time of the ordeal, Levi is the only one not dead or captured. It's up to him to save his people. But will he be able to find a way to enter the city? Will his friends and family resist the urge to join in the sinful pleasures of the Safe Lands?

Pros:

This book had me hooked from the first chapter. My family can testify - I was dead to the world for the majority of one day. The main characters were deep and seemed real. Their struggles and feelings are very common things that teens battle today - jealousy, anger, peer pressure, feeling ugly or useless, sex, drugs, drinking - you name it, it's probably in there. The book also had wonderful themes. Forgiveness was one of the main ones, but it also touched on things such as self worth, revenge, standing up for what is right, and trusting in the Lord.

Cons:

Despite finding the book exciting and having an excellent point, I still have a few problems with it. I understand the importance of giving your characters flaws, but I thought in some places in the book, the flaws were lingered on a little too long. Mainly I'm talking about the drugs and sexual immorality. I don't mind brief scenes where the author suggests that something not-so-good happened. However, I get uncomfortable with the longer descriptions and repeated scenes of the drugs and suggestive dancing. These things are presented in a way it disgusts you, but I just wish the author would have clipped them shorter so that readers can keep their thoughts clean. I have one more caution for those interested in reading it. It is not really a con, but it affects the audience range. Just know that the people of the Safe Lands have a disease that doesn't allow the women to carry a child full term. They captured the people of Glenrock to reproduce for them, so the book does deal with surrogacy.

Four Stars, Caution, Ages 16 & up