Name of the Book: The Next Target
Author: Nikki Arana
Personal Quality Rating: 5
[The Personal Quality Rating is a score that I have given to the book on a scale of 0 to 5 based on my personal liking / disliking of the book. 0 is bad and 5 is great!]
Summary:
A gripping Christian Novella, which kicks off with a brutal killing of a young converted Muslim girl. This was an honour killing. The murderous Islamic tradition of family members killing one of their own for bringing dishonour to the family name. Austia Donatelli recently widowed runs a Career Center to help Muslim people adjust to the American culture. She employees a guy with the name of Zaki ben Hassan. After she employed him she feels uncomfortable with his presence and tries to fire him. He stays and the plot thickens.
Austia is constantly on her guard and watchful off Zaki, she just cannot trust him. She is unaware of the dangerous people all around her and she makes the mistake of trusting a really deceptive and dangerous man. The plot thickens and she tries to help a lady escape from her brutal barbering husband. There are a number of characters in the story which makes this story exceptionally interesting. The culture of the Muslims and the way they behave is described exceptionally well.
I like Austia but thought she was a little naïve and did not go with her gut. This of course made the story actually seem real at times. The intrigue and cunningness of some of the characters made me sit up and pay attention to the next couple of events.
The story takes you on an adventure you would not usually experience in life. The best part is the ending and I really enjoyed it because you don’t see this coming. I would say this was so unforeseen.
Social / Historical Content
I guess the story is truly based on two different religions and how the two come into contact with each other. The most interesting part of the story is how the Christians work and help the Muslims and the conversions of Muslims into Christianity. I think that the writer could have been a Muslim because of her vast knowledge of their customs and rituals. Converting to Christianity which makes me envy her for her courage and writing style.
The story is well written and it is easy to fall in love with Austia. Her innocence and her loving-kindness and her trusting most people, and her constant struggle with her own gut feelings. Zaki is a surprise and you will see when you read this story, o my goodness. Excellent!
Writing Style
The writing style to my thinking is that the author has the ability to keep her readers engaged and interested in what the next move in the story would be. I found the book interesting and easy to read. My thinking is that the story depicts both common place and evocation.
The plot thickens each time a new character comes into play and it is clear the writer knows what she wants to tell her readers. I believe that she is a Christian and has a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus.
The knowledge and understanding of the Muslim community is revealed in this story telling and I learned so much of these people.
If you are a Christian and would like to know more about the Muslim Religion this story will reveal so much to you. I enjoyed the read tremendously and I have a new perspective concerning the Muslims and as a Christian see them in a different light.
My thoughts
When I stated to read the book I was thinking it would be based on a murder and then how the murder would be solved; involving the Muslim girl making it a hate crime. I didn’t anticipate the two major religions to come into play so seriously. As I continued my read I found that I learned so much about the Muslim community and the best part is how the writer gets the Word of God out to the Muslims.
As a Christian I would recommend the book and I believe you too will enjoy the story. I was surprised at the ending because I didn’t anticipate it. But then with God all things are possible.
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