Carrington Hale had been preparing for the choosing ceremony, when she would be picked to be a man’s wife, and receive her identity. However, she wasn’t picked, and was instead relegated to being a Lint, a nobody. When a second chance comes up, she regains hope. While she looks forward to finally getting her identity, she is faced with a constant thought that there is a better way. What choice will she make, and will it be the right one?

The Choosing is set in a dystopian future where God’s Truth has been usurped by man-made truth. Rachelle Dekker has written a story that is both entertaining and inspirational. Though the setting is not something we face, being told by society that we are worthless unless we are part of a particular group is fairly common. We all experience that to some degree.

Carrington has to deal with disappointment, rejection, isolation, doubt, and seeking the truth. Through her journey, we can see for ourselves that we need to seek our identity in God, not in what labels have been applied to us.

I didn’t want to put the book down once I started on it. I kept wanting to read one more chapter to see what would happen next. I like that it is entertaining, but with its message of God’s love woven into the story, the story becomes a way to better understand that God wants a relationship with us. He wants to be our Father.

I received a copy of The Choosing from Tyndale House Publishers in exchange for this review.

 

Excerpt of Q & A with Rachelle Dekker

How did you come up with the story for The Choosing?
This is a hard question because it has many answers. I wanted to write a theme-based novel about identity. I wanted to write a dystopian novel. I wanted to write in a world that was familiar, but in a setting where I could change the way the world worked. It actually is several ideas I’d been toying with pulled into one story. Once I landed on Carrington’s core revelation and story arc, I simply fell in love with her as a character and drew the rest of the story around her. That’s usually how it works for me. I come up with a character, good or bad, and create the story from there.

Throughout the book, Carrington struggles with understanding her identity and worth and what is true. Why did you decide to write about the theme of identity?
Someone once asked me, If you could leave one message for your younger sisters, what would it be? The answer was always the same: I would pray they knew what they were worth. Identity is everything. There isn’t a theme that doesn’t start with identity, or circle back to identity. Knowing who you truly are is the greatest journey we face. Am I enough; am I worth it? I believe everyone faces these questions, and I sought out to explore them through this story.

What do you hope readers will take away from the story?
I hope readers are filled with joy and power as they either realize for the first time who their Father is and what they are really worth, or as they simply remember this truth.

What would you say to the person who is struggling, trying to find their identity in temporary, unsatisfying places?
I would say we have all been there, and that those places will only serve as a prison in the end. They may seem like happiness now, but eventually they will become suffering. But that’s just part of the journey of identity. Some people need to learn the hard way—I did for sure! I searched for significance in darkness and somehow the Father still led me to the light. So when I see people going through what I did, I empathize, but also know that in a single moment they can discover their true identity.