Forbidden Child by Gwen Newell
Thirteen-year-old Piper Pascal has only ever known a city-sized cruise ship called The Escape, and she’ll do anything to please The Godmother, who regulates everything, down to when people are allowed to have babies. But when Piper finds an illegally born baby on the ship, she must decide whether to report the Illegal Organism or save the life of the baby.
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What Every Parent Should Know About Forbidden Child
What is Forbidden Child about?
On a city-sized cruise ship where the population is strictly controlled, 13-year-old Piper Pascal, loyal to the Godmother and the rules of the ship, finds a baby who has been illegally born and wrestles with whether or not to turn in the “Illegal Organism.”
It gives off The Giver plus WW2-era Germany vibes.
Forbidden Child is a 378-page dystopian novel with powerful pro-life themes. It’s a great redemption story!
What age group is this book best suited for?
At least 13 years old
Is Forbidden Child worth reading?
The good far outweighs the bad in Forbidden Child. And by bad, I mostly mean the heavier, darker scenes in the book. This has become a favorite read, and I definitely recommend it for mature teens. My own daughter read the book at about 12 1/2 years old and loved it. We were able to engage in valuable discussions about the content. If not now, at some point. Between the strong themes, delightful storytelling, powerful characters, and fantastic pacing, Gwen Newell’s debut novel is well worth the read when your child is ready.
I wouldn’t do this review justice if I didn’t mention that I loved this book! It made me feel things: sorrow, courage, conviction, joy, and hope. I’ve read it twice myself, just for pure enjoyment, and found myself looking at it for some inspiration for my own middle-grade fantasy book (but that’s another post).
Overall Rating: 4.9 out of 5
Christian Morals/Values: 5 out of 5
Story: 5 out of 5
Read-Aloud Value: 4.5 out of 5
Discussion Value: 5 out of 5
Recommended Review: The Red Door by Rachel Lulich
Content Considerations for Forbidden Child
In our usual LJR fashion, we try to find anything that Christian families may want to know about ahead of time to address, skip, or dig deeper into. Take a look at what we found below. Our take on Discipleship Opportunities is at the bottom of the review.
- Positive Behavior: Strong themes of people who fight against the rules of The Escape and many examples of self-sacrifice for the greater good.
- Negative Behavior: Following rules without thinking about it
- Language: Some light insults
- Violence/Intense Scenes: Multiple mentions of people receiving harsh physical punishment and realization later in the book that certain groups of people are actually being euthanized for the sake of population control. Throughout the book, babies are known as “Illegal Organisms” and the reader knows pretty early that they are also taken care of as a matter of population control
- Religion/Spirituality: The Godmother is adored and worshipped as leader. Among the loyalists, noone is worshipped except The Godmother. There are some mentions by people fighting the establishment about God and eventually mention of Christmas and allusion to Jesus.
- Racism/Discrimination: A clear delineation between people who live on lower levels of the boat and those who live in the upper levels where The Godmother is. SPOILER: Illegal Organisms (babies) and elderly are eliminated as a form of population control on The Escape.
- Romance/Sexuality: We know about the relationship between the baby’s father and mother. There’s some mild discussion, but nothing sexual is described. It is obvious they had a romantic relationship because they had a baby together. The lottery in which people are permitted to have one baby, according to The Godmother’s ordination.
- Substance Usage: Some substance usage by one of the loyalist characters in the way of smoking and drinking. It is responsibly used.
Discipleship Opportunities
What scripture can parents use to discuss themes in the book?
- Perhaps the most prevalent theme of Forbidden Child is self-sacrifice for others. Verses like John 15:13 that talk about no greater love than laying down your life for a friend, and Philippians 2:6-8 which mentions Jesus’ own obedience to the point of death on the cross are great examples for where to discuss this idea of self-sacrifice and what/who we should be willing to be obedient too.
- The obvious mention of Illegal Organisms and elderly being eliminated is definitely worth discussing. This could lead to discussions about abortion and euthanasia. Teach first and foremost that God alone has authority over life and death (Deuteronomy 32:39; 1 Samuel 2:6). Because humans are made in God’s image (Genesis 1:27; Genesis 9:6), all human life is sacred. If you want to know how to engage in these kinds of discussions, I most definitely recommend Greg Koukl’s book Tactics and Street Smarts, which are among the best apologetics books to help train you to discuss these kinds of hot topics.
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