Title: The Girl Behind the Red Rope
Authors: Ted Dekker and Rachelle Dekker
Genre: Thriller
Plot: Thirteen years ago, Grace’s eyes were opened to the Fury, demons. Their community’s leader, Rose, was given instructions from Sylous, an angel, to take them to a secluded area and start a new community there, Haven Valley. There were to stay within the community until the Fury were driven from the world. Sylous will protect them in Haven Valley so long as they remain pure. There they remain living as pure as they can and in fear of the Fury. But Grace’s brother, Jamie, is curious and ventures beyond the rope boarder that keeps them save, breaking one of their many purity rules. During chapel, Jamie challenges Rose. Grace supports his claims that he’s been sneaking out. For that, they are punished. They are sent beyond the border in search of Furies. They find Grace and Jamie and attack Jamie, but Grace escapes. They make it back to town, but Jamie’s severely hurt. While Jamie is healing, their father shows up with his son, their half-brother Eli. Rose turns the community against them on Sylous’ orders. She calls them wolves in sheep’s clothing. But Grace is unsure about that. Despite warnings, Grace tries to help Eli. Is Eli really evil? Or is he here to save the community? Who will Grace choose?
Rating: 4.0 – an interesting book about choosing love over fear
Opinion: At first, I was a little unsettled about the book. It deals with a cult like community. It’s a super fanatical Christian cult that focuses on rules to stay pure and those who break the rules are severely punished. Sylous and Rose made me uneasy because their personalities were a little slimy and controlling and manipulating for me to trust them. I didn’t trust them and my gut was proven right. I enjoyed the ideas that Ted and Rachelle talked about throughout the book. Fear is very prevalent in today’s society. We fear many things and it takes many forms. We can create our own fear, as well. What can break fear is love. True love, loving without condition, drives out fear. It’s easy to get caught in the cycles of fear and forget this. This book was a good reminder to let go of fear, drive it out, and turn to love. In this day and age, we all need this reminder. I enjoyed this book for putting this theme in a positive way with a good twist and good explanation. I recommend this book for those who need the reminder and for those who love a good thriller.
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