Book Review: “Colin’s Choice” by Dorene Meyer
Book Review: “Colin’s Choice” by Dorene Meyer
By Kevin E. Jesmer 11-21-15
This book is one in a series of books, set in the fictitious Rabbit Lake, NW Ontario Canada. This book is part of a six book series. The following is a description of the book from the back cover. It was published in 2005.
“Colin Hill is a young man with many choices. He is being pressured into a career choice that doesn’t feel right to him, and he is in love with someone who is not ready to fully return that love. Most difficult of all, Colin must choose to revisit his past-the painful past he has tried so hard to forget. But young Bobby Peters is missing. Evil from the past overshadows the old cabin, and Colin fears they may already be too late. “
I am reading these books in the reverse order. I knew what would become of Collin and who he was going to marry, before I read this. I knew who Russell was. And so I approached this book with a little foresight.
At the beginning we find 13 year old Joshua. He was obviously physically abused by his brothers, who where evidently terrorizing people in the community. The main protagonist is Russell, one of the brothers. We find Joshua keeping everything inside and not sharing what happened. He finds some comfort by staying with Colin’s grandfather in a an old cabin. It shows how the grandparents are an important part of the society, providing a place of safety, comfort and security in the the remote community. Joshua will be a main character in a future book as will be Russell.
This setting of the story is when Colin is a young man. He is living in a First Nation community and enjoying the carefree life of many a young man, being on the wrong side of the law more than once. He also is slowly falling in love with Sarah, whom he would later wed. He also is a man who was abused in the past a teenage Russell and his brothers. When I say abused, I mean, bound with duct tape in an abandoned old shed and raped as a boy. We learn of this later in the story. This is shocking. But I am happy that Doreen deals with such difficult issues.
The story also involves little Bobby, the adopted son of Tom, the camp owner. Bobby has Down’s Syndrome. He goes out blueberry picking and is taken by Russell and his two brothers and brought to the old shed, duct taped and we are left with the impression that he was raped.
This event causes Colin to confess the abuse he experienced in his past. Up to this point he had been hiding it. But now, God was drawing it out of him and he testified to what happen to a close friend. This is the first step in healing. All of this is in facilitated by godly counsel from wise Christians. The Gospel is found throughout the story.
This close friend, who was a police officer, had been urging Colin to be a police officer. Colin never wanted to a police officer. But now he realized that he could be a police officer because he could see how the police were not there to give young men, like himself a hard time. They were there to help the people. He also realized that he was not a hopeless case because of his past, but he was a prime candidate for the job.
As you read the story, you can also see how Sarah and Colin were growing closer together. They would eventually marry and adopt some kids and have a family. But that is part of another story.
When we hear about the stats about the abuse that happens in some communities,we are kind of left in the dark because nobody wants to talk about these things. I think this book is important to read because it shows how the abuse of young people can possibly occur. Dorene Meyer offers up a plausible scenario. There is also healing brought about the Gospel. Bobby receives counseling. Colin, opens up and shares about the events of the past. Colin, a past victim of the system, sees hope in himself to step up and adopt a role where he is part of the solution in the community. He was not destroyed by past abuse, but rather is standing up as a responsible leader in the community. There is love, release from past demons, healing and a new career for Colin. The reader can also see how an investigation into abuse can unfold. The community is not helpless to just let the abusers rule. They can work within the law to bring about justice. They can also move beyond the abuse and move ahead as a community. We see this when the people burn the old shed to the ground.
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