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Unshakeable: A Story of Unwavering Faith and Conviction
by Elizabeth Wiens - My original review of this novel appears on The Old SchoolhouseⓇ website. This is a shorter version of that review.
This is a novel that explores what might happen if a government passed legislation that made homeschooling unlawful. The fictional story also serves as a challenge to Christian parents to live with God's Word as the authority and foundation. The novel opens in the gallery of the Alberta Legislature, where Garrett Radke and his family are stunned to hear the results of the vote on legislation that forces parents to enroll their children in public schools. The Radkes and two other homeschooling families eventually decide that they must obey God, and they accept the risk of not complying with the school enrollment law. They seek out some help and begin making plans for getting to safety if they are challenged or harassed.
Their elaborate plans are put to the test when two of the families face an unsympathetic child welfare caseworker and a police officer that was once a childhood friend of Garrett's but is now opposed to homeschooling. Garrett's family escapes to their safe house, and Garrett spends some time behind bars but thanks to the careful planning, he is able to avoid giving away the location. Another family is not so fortunate and their children are taken into custody. The homeschool community must stand together in support.
by Elizabeth Wiens - My original review of this novel appears on The Old SchoolhouseⓇ website. This is a shorter version of that review.This is a novel that explores what might happen if a government passed legislation that made homeschooling unlawful. The fictional story also serves as a challenge to Christian parents to live with God's Word as the authority and foundation. The novel opens in the gallery of the Alberta Legislature, where Garrett Radke and his family are stunned to hear the results of the vote on legislation that forces parents to enroll their children in public schools. The Radkes and two other homeschooling families eventually decide that they must obey God, and they accept the risk of not complying with the school enrollment law. They seek out some help and begin making plans for getting to safety if they are challenged or harassed.
Their elaborate plans are put to the test when two of the families face an unsympathetic child welfare caseworker and a police officer that was once a childhood friend of Garrett's but is now opposed to homeschooling. Garrett's family escapes to their safe house, and Garrett spends some time behind bars but thanks to the careful planning, he is able to avoid giving away the location. Another family is not so fortunate and their children are taken into custody. The homeschool community must stand together in support.
The conflict and tension of this story are very real and are a concern for most home educators. The dedication of the fathers in this story is inspirational, and the sense that the government has overstepped and caused great injustice kept me turning pages and rooting for the homeschool families.
Two of the three families featured are large, and with so many characters to manage, they tend to blend together and are not distinct. The only character that demonstrates obvious change and growth is the police officer. Even though there are references to the maturing faith of some other characters, the character arcs are not prominent at all, and the character do remain fairly static. The conflict that drives the story is in the tension between obeying laws and staying faithful to personal conviction of Biblical principles. The three families take significant risks to follow their convictions, and face hardships including jail time and being separated from their children.
The original version of this review first appeared on The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine website.
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