1 out of 4 stars
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Tracy Wilson and Calista Dubois are opposites in every sense. The only things the two girls have in common are the facts that they are both teenage girls, who also attend the same high school, and just happen to be locker neighbors. While Calista is fashion-savvy with the getup she wears, Tracy would be happy if she could wear slippers and more ‘comfortable’ clothes to school. It isn’t long before challenging circumstances, such as teen pregnancy, abortion, loss, and grief force their worlds together. Will these difficulties they face be enough for them to put aside their differences? Will they absorb all the valuable lessons their difficult but different journeys bring forth?
Sacrificed to Vanity by Karen Lucille Gross is a work of fiction that takes readers through some of the trials and tribulations that come with teenage pregnancy. First published in March of 2015 by WestBowPress, it is the first book in the Legacy of Grace series.
The first quarter of Sacrificed to Vanity reminded me of Mean Girls; the social pressure, fashion-conscious cliques, and the condescending but hilarious remarks. Admittedly, that was the part of the book that I enjoyed. From there, it all became a little too repetitive. Anytime certain characters had a choice to make they resorted to prayer, I get that the author wanted to portray some characters as prayerful, but I thought it was a little overdone. Additionally, it was a little annoying the way the author used the word, ‘Neanderthal’ repetitively to describe how specific characters’ viewpoints are perceived.
The book would have been better if the viewpoints of teen pregnancy and abortion represented therein did not come off as incredibly biased and subjective. Pro-choice characters were all painted as evil and self-centered, thus the title of the book, Sacrificed to Vanity. The story made it seem as though not being pro-life translates to one being pro-abortion, which is false. I understand that this is a work of fiction, but most of the viewpoints shared in this book were misleading and one-sided. Most of what was communicated came off as preachy. I thought that is a missed opportunity of the author to communicate her pro-life message efficiently; perhaps it would have been better if the author, using the characters in her novel, made a moral argument for her stance, rather than a religious one. Also, she could have given an objective/multidimensional perspective on the issue which would have added to the richness of the story without taking away her message/stance.
I also had an issue with the boxing up of all the non-religious characters into the mean or evil or pro-abortion slot, while those that were Christian were kind, morally sound, and of course, pro-life; I found that all the supporting characters were, at best, cardboard characters. In addition, the plot was super predictable at times, as it was easy to tell who had done what, while the characters in the book took ages to figure it out. All these made Sacrificed to Vanity a lot less believable and dreary.
“She spouted the standard politically correct rhetoric that women have the right to wear whatever style of clothing they like.” (pg. 50). Another message that the author puts forth in the story (specifically chapter twenty) is that women have no right to wear specific clothing, i.e. skinny jeans as this may lead to the temptation of men, which then leads to unplanned pregnancies; thus it is the responsibility of the woman to dress ‘appropriately.’ I found that suggestion/message to be problematic mostly because people communicate with words, and it is more important to ask and listen to what people say than to assume what they want based on their clothes.
Considering everything I mentioned above, I rate this book 1 out of 4 stars. There was a part of the story that described how a late-term abortion is performed, but I could not find anything online to verify that what was described was accurate. This is not a book I would recommend unless you share the same opinions as the author, and won’t be bothered by the other flaws mentioned in this review.
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Sacrificed to Vanity
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