Book Review: Enticed: A Dangerous Connection by Melody Carlson

Enticed: A Dangerous Connection by Melody Carlson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I picked this book up this morning and finally set it down before heading to work tonight, having finished the whole thing in a matter of hours. It's one of those stories where you just can't stop reading because you're terrified of what might happen to the heroine, and you HAVE to know the conclusion before doing anything else!

When young Christian teen Simi dreams of becoming a model, she never imagines getting herself caught in such a vicious trap as human trafficking. But that's precisely what happens. She doesn't take the proper precautions to fulfill her dreams, moves too fast, and before she knows, it she's been kidnapped to be sold to the highest bidder. Simi pleads with God to spare her and rescue her, strengthening her faith throughout the difficult ordeal she experiences. Will God be faithful and send her an ever-present help in trouble?

I have only one complaint, that of an inconsistency where Simi's hands are tied and then in the same scene they're not tied anymore and she accepts a cup of water. That's it, my one complaint, and certainly not enough of a grip to warrant bringing the rating down from a 5. Melody Carlson is renowned for her books that instruct Christian teen girls to utilize wisdom when making their choices. I have always appreciated her for this tendency, but this is the very first book I've read in her Secrets series, and now I'm dying to read more. I love how she doesn't sugar-coat the nastiness of the world, but neither does she describe all of the nastiness with imagery. She goes just far enough to get the point across, and no farther.

Every Christian teen girl needs to read this book. I may not be a teenager anymore, but Enticed made even me more aware of the dangers that lurk in the online scene. The Lord calls His children to be wise as serpents and gentle as doves. We can't just leap into anything and everything because it sounds good. If Simi had done her due diligence and researched the so-called "modeling" company she signed up for then she wouldn't have ended up in such a deadly situation. It's a great message to teen girls everywhere to be wary.

But what I love most is Simi's unrelenting faith. She has moments of fear and doubt, but she immediately turns those feelings over to the Lord. And because of her trust in Him, she is strengthened and can stand against the fear she faces.

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