Review: The Beloved Daughter

Book: The Beloved Daughter

Author: Alana Terry

Publication Date: January 2013

Pages: 232

Summary (From GoodReads):

In a small North Korean village, a young girl struggles to survive. 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 labour. Her crime? Being the daughter of a political traitor. 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" is Alana Terry's debut Christian novel and was a winner in the Women of Faith writing contest.          

My Thoughts:

I read this book in one night. I started at around eleven o’clock at night and finished it before day light arrived. I don’t know if I managed to read this book so quickly because it was gripping or because it was quite short. I think it was due to the former. I am very interested in Korean culture, so I was eager to read a book about life in a North Korean prison camp.

This book was very realistic. Until I had read this book, I didn’t know that being a Christian in North Korea was a problem and had to be hidden. It certainly puts things in to perspective. The book is full of action, there is never a boring moment. Chung-Cha goes through some horrific events which affect her for the duration of the book. Even people you thought were nice show their true colours to be blacker than black. Some of the betrayal in this book against Chung-Cha was unbelievable.

(I really like the name Chung-Cha by the way).

Whether you are religious or not this book will make you question what you would do in certain circumstances, how far you would go (or wouldn't go) to protect your child. Chung-Cha’s struggle with her faith was very realistic and something I myself had gone through plenty of times. It is easy to doubt God’s faith when your life seems to be too unfair to deal with.

The book had some repetition of sentences and description that could have been changed. Apart from that I would definitely recommend this book for the thinking factor it will leave you with.

The ending is indeed bitter-sweet, and it becomes clear why Chung-Cha has had to write a journal to her beloved daughter.

Food Rating: 7/8

Page Rating: 4/5