The First Principle - by Marissa Shrock

I really enjoyed this fascinating story set in what, hopefully, won't be our future! North America is split into 
regions and the government controls what you say, do,
and even whether or not you can have a child.  Vivica is the daughter of a governor and has never really questioned why the laws are in place or if it's right.  She 
stands up for a pregnant teenage girl in her class when she's mistreated by Population Management and told she must terminate.  Soon after she sees a poor child she tries
to help and that makes her wonder about the reasons
the term law is in place.  Rumblings of uprisings happening in every region also open her eyes to the fact that not everyone is happy with the way things are.

When she discovers her own pregnancy, she's torn between what she's always believed and the uncertain feeling growing inside her that her belief is wrong. Added
to her confusion are the feelings she still carries for the baby's father and her surprise at discovering he's a secret Christian.  With her mother's sights set on the presidency and the boy she's interested in on the side of the rebels, she's going to have to make some hard decisions that will determine the rest of her life.

I really liked Vivica; she was spunky and tough and a little sarcastic.  I thought it was believable how she struggled to understand what Christianity was really about and didn't immediately make a decision about faith or her baby.  I thought it was surprising that she was even willing to think about giving up her cozy life to have a baby when she wasn't even sure she thought it was wrong to terminate.  I could see getting away from her mother, though, who only thought about herself and her career.  There was a lot of great action and some good discussion about faith as she tried to understand the lies she'd been told about God and what the truth really was.  I liked the clear gospel message.   There were some cool gadgets and other futuristic things that were interesting.  There were two guys in her life that it seemed she could be interested in and I wonder if there will be another book where that's explored a little more as she gets older.  I liked that it made me think about issues, like where our country's headed, our freedom and standing up for what's right.  It reminded me a bit of Hunger Games and I highly recommend it if you like dystopian fiction or if you're a teenager or young adult.

I received this book free from Kregel Publications in exchange for an honest review.



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