The Beloved Daughter, Alana Terry (4.5 stars)

About The Beloved Daughter

In a small North Korean village, a young girl struggles to survive. Catastrophic floods have ravaged her countryside. But it is her father’s faith, not the famine of North Hamyong Province, that most threatens Chung-Cha’s well-being.

Is Chung-Cha’s father right to be such a vocal believer? Or is he a fool to bring danger on the head of his only daughter?   

Chung-Cha is only a girl of twelve and is too young to answer such questions. Yet she is not too young to face a life of imprisonment and forced labor. Her crime? Being the daughter of a political dissident. 

“The Beloved Daughter” follows Chung-Cha into one of the most notorious prison camps of the contemporary free world. Will Chung-Cha survive the horrors of Camp 22? 

And if she does survive, will her faith remain intact? 

“The Beloved Daughter” won second place in the 2012 Women of Faith Writing Contest.

Review

Could you proclaim your faith in a country where such a proclamation meant death?

Chung-Cha's upbringing was steeped in Christian faith. Her father refused to deny his beliefs. As a result, Chung-Cha ended up alone in a prison camp and faced many forms of abuse, not the least of which was betrayal.

One day she ends up sharing a cell with an old woman of tremendous faith, one even the guards are afraid of. A woman who holds the keys to Chung-Cha's survival. That is, if she can survive the atrocities of prison life.

One of the hardest parts about writing reviews is trying to convey how touching and memorable a story is without giving away too much. There's so much I'd like to say about this novel, but I don't want to spoil it for the reader. What I can share... it is heartbreaking. Chung-Cha's journey will touch you in many ways. The story is told with an intense honesty, and the author never shies away from her character's faults and failings.

I highly recommend this novel to readers who appreciate a flawed, but strong, female character. Chung-Cha's journey is one you won't soon forget. 

Rating: 4.5 stars
Worthy of rounding up on GoodReads and Amazon

About Alana Terry

Alana Terry is a homeschooling mother of three. “The Beloved Daughter” is her debut Christian novel and won second place in the Women of Faith writing contest. Alana is also the author of "A Boy Named Silas," the story of her son's complicated medical history and "What, No Sushi?" a children's chapter book about the Japanese-American internment.

Visit her website at www.alanaterry.com or connect with her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/aboynamedsilas.   

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Thanks to Pump Up Your Book for including me on this blog tour.

Note: I received a complimentary copy from Pump Up Your Book for review purposes. No other compensation was received. A positive review was not guaranteed or requested; the views expressed are my own.