The Atonement Child

Title: The Atonement Child
Author: Francine Rivers
Major Themes: Pregnancy, Pro-Life
Synopsis: When Dynah Carey’s perfect life is shattered by rape and unwanted pregnancy, her faith in God—and pro-life views—are severely tested.

I’ve been wanting to read The Atonement Child since a friend gave it to me several years ago. I never sat down to read it, though, because I always have too big of a stack of other or higher-priority books to read. At the beginning of this year, though, I realized I was in a serious reading slump. I hardly read anything through December 2022, because both books I was reading at the time were slightly boring, and neither incited my interest enough to keep reading. It also didn’t help that I had a fairly full schedule at the time. Anyway, by the time January 2023 rolled around, I knew I had to change something in my reading life, or the slump I was in would continue. I decided to choose a book that I was almost guaranteed to enjoy, in the hope that after reading a book I truly enjoyed reading, it would be easier to read the books that weren’t quite so fun and engaging. Enter: The Atonement Child!

Dynah Carey’s life is perfect. She has the perfect boyfriend, and the perfect future planned, her college studies are going well, and she enjoys her job and friend group. Everything is going well—until one horrifying night when she is raped and her life shatters. Suddenly, she can no longer work at her old job, her grades are failing as she grapples with the grief, and her boyfriend doesn’t seem to understand or know how to support her. Then, she finds out she is pregnant. What should she do? Where can she turn? Many different people give her different advice, but what is right for her and this baby? When God seems so distant and silent, can she still trust Him? Or has he been a figment of her imagination? And when her loving family is torn apart by the news, what is she to do with the fallout?

The Atonement Child wasn’t an easy read, mostly because this is an extremely difficult subject. Many voices have been raised both on the pro-life and pro-choice sides of the spectrum about babies conceived by rape. What does God say about it? Is abortion allowable in such circumstances? I’ve always been a firm believer that choosing life is always right, no matter how that life came to be—and many of the characters in this book seemed to have that opinion, too, until they were faced with the stark reality of their beliefs being tested with someone they knew and loved. Not everyone in here agreed that keeping the baby was the right thing to do—actually, Dynah got a lot of advice for abortion, more than she was encouraged to keep her baby (and I really wanted to shake a few people up at times!). I loved, in all the back-and-forth and discussions, that God’s Word and ways were honored in the story.

For anyone who has been through similar circumstances, I would issue a strong trigger warning, because this does dive into the deep and dirty about abortion. This story shows what it is, and it also shows what it does to people—and that isn’t easy to see. This isn’t a light, easy read, but it’s probably one of the best I’ve read by Francine Rivers. Yes, it’s a difficult subject. Yes, it’s not the kind of thing any of us want to dwell on for long. But at the same time, this kind of story is one that we’ll all likely come across at some stage in our lives, and being able to read stories like this might help us grow in empathy and faith when we are called to help people who have been deeply hurt in this way.

There were some parts of the book I didn’t appreciate as much as others. One especially memorable part was when several characters were having a discussion, and it tended more toward the preachy side than I’m comfortable with. On the flip side, one thing that I thought I might struggle with was the graphic nature of rape, but thankfully, this story didn’t go there.

Overall, if you appreciate a good redemption story, this one is well worth the read. Once I got started reading it, I couldn’t stop, and in the end, I’m grateful Francine Rivers took the time to address this issue. The Atonement Child is moving, hope-filled, and points back to the ultimate redemption the Lord purchased for us on the cross.

WARNING: Tarnation is used in ch. 1; swear or swore is used, sometimes multiple times, in ch. 1, 2, and 5–9; “oh, God” is used in ch. 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, and 10; heck is used in ch. 2; cursing is used in ch. 4, and 8;  god-awful and “for God’s sake” are used in ch. 7; “for Lord’s sakes” is used in ch. 9, criminy is used in ch. 7; heavens or a variant is used in ch. 9 (three times); “good gracious” is used in ch. 9; “for goodness’ sake” and “for Pete’s sake” are used in ch. 10; “oh, Lord” and blast are used in ch. 10; and there is lying in ch. 1, 2, 3, 4, and 8.

The rape happens in ch. 1, and is referred to throughout the story. The most graphic part is probably a description of what the policeman saw when he first found her, on page 18. Women’s cycles are mentioned a time or two, and pregnancy and abortion are also frequent topics. Abortion procedures are described to some extent in ch. 4, 6 (this includes an abortion scene), 7 (mention of two past procedures and someone has a nightmare about a procedure), and 9 (several mentions of complications after abortions). Sex (both in unmarried and married situations) is mentioned, although usually not specifically by name, in ch. 2, 6, 7 (three places, including a pregnancy out of wedlock), 9 (a woman propositions a man), and the epilogue, which also describes an abortion. There is a mention of a girl who slept around with guys in ch. 6, and how her mother provided birth control for her and the guy. A woman is in labor, and that is described to some extent in ch. 10, and in ch. 11, she breastfeeds her baby. Occasionally, men say they’d like to kill the guy who raped the main character. Someone considers committing suicide with an overdose of pills in ch. 3 and thinks about suicide again in ch. 7. Suicides are mentioned in ch. 3, 6, and 8. There is a story of a girl who died following an abortion in ch. 7. A man tells how his wife was killed in a war in ch. 8. Eastern religions are mentioned in ch. 4 as something someone tried to escape from their past. A school-aged girl is found drunk in ch. 6. People drink wine and there’s a mention of a woman who drank and used drugs in ch. 7. A character says something somewhat prophetic to someone in ch. 8.

Unmarried people touch or kiss in ch. 1, 3, 7, and 10 (this has several kisses). A man suggests a woman move into his apartment so he can take care of her in ch. 8 (this doesn’t end up happening). Married people kiss or touch in ch. 4, 6, and 8. 

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