LitPick Review
The First Principle by Marissa Shrock is a dystopian, religious novel. It is about a 16 year old girl, Vivica Wilkens, who lives in a futuristic society, the United Regions of North America (URNA). URNA was created after the downfall of the American economy, and aims to prevent another downfall by controlling the population size. The law states that an abortion must be issued to any woman in poverty or underage that becomes pregnant. Vivica is the daughter of a Governor, so all her life she has been taught that the law is always right. But when Vivica becomes pregnant, it makes her question everything she has been taught. Although she knows she will have to abort, she can’t help but develop a connection with her child. Her life changes after being introduced to the Emancipation Warriors, a group of religious rebels who are fighting for human rights, but most importantly, are willing to protect Vivica and her baby. Read The First Principle to follow along as Vivica finds her true self and develops her religious beliefs.
Opinion:
I thought The First Principle by Marissa Shrock was an overall good book. I liked how the main character, Vivica, was a strong female protagonist, but I found her hard to relate to. I enjoyed reading about the futuristic world she lives in, because it was very well developed and makes you think about issues we face today in society. The writing wasn’t very descriptive but I found this moved the story along at a nice pace, and I never found myself getting bored. I felt some parts of the novel were unrealistic, and things moved at an impractical speed. I wouldn’t recommend this book to anybody who has strong opinions about Christianity, due to the highly religious themes expressed in this novel. I also wouldn’t recommend it to anybody against pro-choice because it contains strong pro-life opinions. Overall, I enjoyed the world and action in this novel, although it did contain strong themes and opinions.
