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Forbidden Child
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Product details
Gwen Newell was born in Germany, raised in Florida, and transplanted to the Pacific Northwest where she pretends she's still by the ocean as much as she can. She wrote her first story at age seven, and hasn't stopped writing since. She now lives with her husband, Ben, in a wee house on a hill where they await the birth of their first child.
GENRE: Middle Grade (Grades 4-9)
AUTHOR: Gwen Newell
PAGE COUNT: 378
SIZE: 5.5x8.5"
HARDBACK ISBN-10: 1-95-790585-9
HARDBACK ISBN-13: 978-1-957905-85-3
BINDING: Hardback
PUB. DATE: October 24, 2023
"I belong to the Godmother."
Piper Pascal has spent her life on the Escape, a city-sized cruise liner holding all that's left of America. She does not remember the world before the Flood. All she knows is that she'll do anything to please the Godmother, the head of the Escape, the only parent Piper has ever really had.
"I will report all crime, my own and my neighbor's."
Since age six, Piper has been a spy for the Godmother's cult of secret police. Food, friendships, sleep, population---the Godmother controls it all. If you disobey, Piper will catch you.
"No illegal organisms."
Until one day—Piper Pascal finds the one thing the Godmother hates most. A baby. A child born without permission.
If Piper cares for the child, she will be hunted. Arrested. Killed. But against everything the Godmother has told her, Piper begins to realize she cannot let the baby go.
Look Inside the Book
"In this debut novel, Newell offers an engaging dystopian read with a strong message of love leading the way out of darkness." ~WORLD Magazine
From the book:
"Piper looked down at the water lapping beneath the cabin, and for a full minute, she wondered what she was staring at.
Maria Carmel's spindle-thin body lay face down in a bright yellow life raft that was punctured with bullet holes and slowly sinking. That much was obvious. The rope of red bedsheets dangled down the ship's side and was tied to one of the raft handles, so the Escape had been towing the raft and the dead body for hours. But nestled under Maria's arm was a strange white bundle that could have been mattress stuffing, or a pillowcase filled with clothes, or a chunk of ice that had been swept into the raft. Piper could not think what on earth it really was.
With a jolt she realized the truth. She was looking at the most shocking, the most deadly the most illegal thing she had ever seen.
Piper was looking at a baby."
Canonball Books is the children's imprint of Canon Press. At Canonball, we believe stories are soul food, so you can expect excitement, danger, loyalty, virtue, and family in your Canonball books. Feed your kids the right books!
Customers praised this dystopian novel as "wholesome," "gripping," and "fast-paced" with well-developed characters and an "amazing" satisfying ending. Many said they "couldn't put it down," with comparisons to The Giver. Readers valued themes of courage and standing for truth. One customer noted implausibility concerns about child survival situations.
I’m convinced this will be a movie someday.
Fast-paced & dare I say stressful?
In a good way.
Every page had me saying, “oh, what the heck” out loud. Ask my husband.
I haven’t enjoyed a book this much since reading That Hideous Strength by CS. Lewis. This book is aimed towards older kids ~ I’m a baby book worm, so this book was perfect for me. Fastest book I’ve finished. In fact, I’m bummed that it’s over.
How I know it’s a great book… it’s written for older children but can be enjoyable AND RELATABLE to an older audience, because the dystopian theme fits the past AND the here & now.
-The Godmother is fascinating
-Eggnog is rich & sweet but quickly sours.
This book beautifully captures respect for life, especially that of something so innocent, BUT ALSO the stress, fear and inconvenience of bringing this life to the light. It is not an easy street to choose. This book shows all of the reasons A LIFE can be so difficult. But that LIFE is deserving alone of such sacrifice.
This is the most wholesome dystopian book I've ever read, and it has an amazing ending that is very satisfying. Most dystopian books focus on how horrible life is, how hopeless it is, and how it beats down the little guy or turns him into a depraved or broken person. Not this book. It seems much more realistic, actually theoretically possible, and better portrays how people might actually act in such poor situations. A very fun book. It's a fast paced, engaging read but you might not want to keep this book in your bathroom to be considerate to your family members!
When the government and culture is wrong, it is hard to do what's right, especially as a 13 year old girl, but that's what Piper teaches us to do.
Great read!
I am a big fan of The Giver by Lois Lowry. This was to me an improvement on that genre. It was a simple story but had its own twists and turns. I couldn’t “put it down” (I listened to the audio book) and purchased the physical book for my sister-in-law for Christmas.
I purchased this book for my daughter. She said, “Mom, it was like I was living in the book myself and part of the story. The way the author wrote brought me right in. I couldn’t put it down.” I look forward to reading it myself!
I enjoyed this book. I thought the characters were well developed. When I got to the end of the story I wanted more. Will Gwen Newell continue the story? I will wait in hopeful anticipation :-) Thanks
Forbidden Child
This book was SOOOO good! Loved it and now my 13 year old son is reading it and enjoying it!
I thoroughly enjoyed this wonderful debut novel!
Enjoyed reading this and discussing with my pre-teen girls. They could hardly put it down. Lots of great themes and discussion starters here.
I listened to the audiobook on Canon+ and I'm keeping the physical book pages fresh for my daughter (it's a Christmas gift). This is an energetic, earnest, and deeply researched book set in a dystopian future that begs the reader to see the true value of human life. It was a page turner for sure, but it also wasn't without literary beauty or characterization. I was very impressed by Newell's first published book and hope to read more in the future.
Forbidden Child
If this is Gwen's first novel, then sign me up for all the ones to come after! Excellent. Gripping. Engaging. And full of truth.
My 13yo daughter and I have both already finished this book, and the 11yo is starting it tonight. Gripping, fast-paced story with an unpredictable ending! The author does a great job of helping you feel the stress that Piper feels!
I throughly enjoyed the book. It’s very well written and keeps the reader engaged and interested.
I devoured this book in one sitting, taking four hours! It was so great! It reminded me of The Giver, but it definitely has its own story, voice, and characters. I cannot stop recommending it everywhere I go. I laughed out loud, bit my fingernails to pieces, and almost cried (once). The ending left me stunned and so happy. I hope to find more books as wonderful as this one. Thank you, Gwen Newel and Canon Press!
Wow. This book was so good — I couldn’t put it down! It was a very inspiring book to stand for what God says is right, good, beautiful, and true, no matter the cost — even if it means death.
I gave it first to my fourteen year old granddaughter. She is very picky in her reading material. But she enjoyed the book and tried to see if she had written other books. I also enjoyed the book.
Great read, have recommended to many. Easy to read and an interesting story line
Couldn't put it down. :-). The plot twists keep the reader guessing and the ending is so good!
Forbidden Child
In less than a month, five of our nine family members have voraciously devoured this wonderful book. We have really enjoyed Piper's journey from confidence in her false gods of self and governor to self-doubt, and courage for the cause of life, truth, and justice.
The characters are well realized and developed, the story goes along at a good pace for younger readers, and the call for courageous young people is the great need of our hour!
Thank you, Gwen, for this excellent book.
The book was well written, but short. The vocabulary was fluid and it was not difficult to follow the character as the story evolved.
My 13 year old daughter absolutely loved this book. She read it in three days. She can’t wait for the sequel!
Both of my girls (one an avid reader, one decidedly not), couldn’t put the book down and suffered a few consequences along the way for sneaking off to read instead of doing chores! My non-reader asked if she could take a week off of school so she could finish the book sooner! Great story and good redemptive themes.
Excellent read, and a thought-provoking, captivating story. It hooked me from the beginning, kept the story moving, and had such a satisfying end!
The book was good in how it portrayed the beliefs of the people on the ship and how they respond to the truth.
However, I struggled to work through the survival of the child. The plausibility is hard to believe. If it was a bit more believable I would give it a higher rating. Having had 10 children I just couldn't reconcile how the child would have survived.
The writing kept me reading wanting to find out what happens. It was an interesting idea for a story. The ending was good.
I love the storyline and characters. It kept my attention and it was hard to put down. I'm hoping the author is considering a sequel if not, another novel.
It's dangerous reading a book your friend wrote. The virtue of honesty might war with your sensitivity for their feelings. So I was pleased to not need to choose. I truly enjoyed Gwen's novel, along with the companion social media annotation. Forbidden Child contains much discussion fodder; some suspension of disbelief (yes, I asked the author how part of it was possible, and the answer was: "miracle"); a satisfying ending, and a relatable protagonist, who is making challenging ethical decisions in real time with a budding conscience. I will probably be loaning out my copy soon. Would recommend.
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