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Sunday, June 27, 2010

Now I'm giving away Priceless by Tom Davis! (comes with bonus review)

To enter for a chance to win a copy of this amazing book, please answer the following question... If you knew that a young teen was going to end up sold into prostitution when she left the Russian orphanage if someone didn't adopt her, would you step in and adopt the child even if you had to raise the funds to do it. Now the right (Christian) answer would be yes, of course. But what if that girl had had already been abused and was a sexualized young woman who didn't understand boundaries? How would you protect your husband and sons from a sexualized teenage girl and ultimately protect her from herself in order to help her feel safe in her new family? In short, how would you help her to heal?

It's a complicated question, but give it a shot anyway. I will select a winner using the Randomizer program next Sunday, July 4th!

Priceless: A Novel on the Edge of the World

About the book:

Photojournalist Stuart Daniels has found purpose in life. After suffering the fallout of a tragic assignment, Daniels rediscovered his faith while helping a young African orphan. Now his photo work carries a greater mission: To educate people about social injustice happening around the world.

Daniels next assignment carries him back overseas and into the heart of Russia. Once there, Daniels is persuaded by an old friend to help save two girls from a desperate situation. Soon he becomes a key player in a dangerous campaign to rescue helpless women trapped in the sex-slave trade. What Daniels encounters during his journey will shake his faith, test his courage, and even threaten his life. Yet as Daniels gets deeper and the stakes get higher, he will discover that hope can be found in the darkest of places.

My review:

I loved this book as much, if not more than Scared, Davis's first novel. Not trying to sound corny here, but I have to say that Davis's latest book is truly Priceless. The author's compassion for orphans resounds from every page. Anyone who reads Priceless will be stirred to hopefully rethink their priorities. It seems that the average person in a wealthy country such as the United States has no idea what really happens to many of the orphaned children in other countries, such as Russia. If understood, more people would be involved in eradicating the sex trade and pursuing the criminals who traffic children to provide a carnal service to the basest of people.

For me, Priceless was an eye opening story that rang true-to-life. While unsavory at times, I found the content to be absolutely necessary to show what really happens to these girls and to develop compassion in the reader. None of the details seemed over-the-top to me. The main character, Stuart, was understandably conflicted between his desire to help free these children, and what he might have to do to facilitate their rescue, because he found posing as a buyer revolting. I empathized with Stuart and wanted to cheer him on for trying to do the right thing.

Before reading Priceless I hadn't thought much about the horrors of sex trafficking and what it would be like to be raped multiple times a day every day of your life. It's frightening to think about. Because this novel is so full of rich details like culture and language, it's obvious that the author has an authentic understanding of Russian orphans and the devastating histories many of these children have. A reader would have to be heartless not to be moved to tears while reading this book. The Lord is going to use this novel to reach people in a profound and mighty way.

14 comments:

Casey said...

Sounds like a great book. And I really don't know if I have an answer for that question, except I would have to pray. And pray hard. And pray with my spouse. And my kids. And make sure this was really something God wanted us to do.

caseymh(@)gmail(.)com

Julia M. Reffner said...

This sounds fascinating. I'm honestly not sure what I would do. Having a son makes this question more complicated, I've heard it is quite difficult to adopt children older than your own. We would definitely have to pray about it.

fredamans said...

The Christian answer would be yes, but I don't think I could help her. Honestly I am already living beyond my means and couldn't fathom how I could take her in. If I could get support from the community, family, friends and out sources than I would, but with what I have now, I cannot. My own children would suffer. I hope that doesn't make me un-Christian. I feel awful for not saying yes, but realistic reasons say no.

authorkathyeberly said...

I think that I would want to help the young girl but like most others I would be concerned about the ramifications it would have on my own family. We would probably try to help as much as possible to model good healthy boundaries, but I'm unsure as to what we would do if she didn't listen.

authorkathyeberly said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Shawna K. Williams said...

Wow...sometimes it pretty darn scary to think of the cruelty that exists in the world. I'm grateful there are those that make us aware though.

Martha A. said...

That is a hard question, but I think just because you have been severely abused sex*ally, does not mean that with the right teaching that could change in a young girl. I personally know some young girls who have been abused and often the right love and boundaries is what they need, even though it would take alot of sacrifice. My husband is from Russia....so I would hope if I could not do it personally, I would find someone who could. martha(at)lclink(dot)com

Margie said...

This is really a difficult question. The "correct" answer would be yes, I suppose. But I think it would have a negative influence on my family, and I would have to think of my own family first.
mtakala1 AT yahoo DOT com

Steve Capell said...

Absolutely, I would do all I could to help this person even if it met getting the law involved to help protect her from the horror of sexual trafficking. I haven’t read any of this author’s books, but your review sounds like a book that I would take pleasure in reading. Thanks you so much for hosting this giveaway.

steven(dot)capell(at)gmail(dot)com

Jo said...

This question really made me think and think and think some more. I honestly don't know how I would answer this or handle it except to be in steady prayer. I know that our church is supporting a group about getting young children out of sex slave situations. It is a heartbreaking situation.

Deborah said...

My heart is deeply troubled by this subject of sex-trafficking. Our church watched a video and heard statics from a man who quit his job as a law officer to go into another country to do this type of work-rescue young girls from this type of crime. My heart was so moved an when the question was asked "are you just going to sit there? what will you do?" I cried, I wanted to do something.
So some friends and I set up a meeting in our community to form a group in our small area to reach our to young girls that may be runaways around here that may fall victim to such a crime. Even if we reach one person, it will be worth it. So when you ask would I do this, I would want to, I am a survivor of sexual abuse myself and I know I have the tools to help others, but something so intense and as deep as this would definitely would need prayer and support from others around me, but if the opportunity was presented to me, I don't know how I could turn the girl away, I just couldn't my heart breaks just thinking about it.
I really want to win a copy of this book, if I don't win, I will be purchasing it for sure! Thank you for the review it was great!
dleathers36(at)yahoo(dot)com

Brandi said...

Thanks for a powerful review that does more than interest people in the book - but in the issue at hand. That's the heart of what Tom is trying to convey.

I LOVE that HopeChest (Tom is the CEO) has programs for the girls and boys who graduate out of the orphanage! And, we are working with rescue homes in Moldova and now India. There are MANY ways for people to get involved!

In fact, we may do a whole month focused on how each one of us can get involved in really easy ways later this year. Want to be a part of our team?

Brandi@hopeChest.org

Janet Thompson said...

Honestly, I don't know if our family could handle that situation. Someone who has been sexually abused and exploited has a very hard road ahead of them. It would take a very special person, picked by God, to raise a child like this. Having a 13 year old daughter would also cause me to hesitate.
janet[at]janetstreasures[dot]com

Edgy Inspirational Author said...

and the winner is...

Margie!

mtakala1 AT yahoo DOT com

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