Fiction Review: Shattered

Shattered, by Kimberly Rae is Book Two in her "Broken Series." It’s helpful if you’ve read the first book, Shredded, before this one. (You can access my review, here.) The first book will give you the background stories before you begin, and you’ll be acquainted with most of the characters.

Note: I think Shattered is for adults only. The book is about human trafficking, prostitution, and a strip club. It’s a clean book. There are no suggestive scenes, but there is some violence, “ownership” of the girls, and these topics aren’t for young people to be exposed to on this level. I think most girls eighteen years old would be ready for this, though. If you’re a mother, you might want to read it first and make your own judgment. There is some premarital kissing.

The story begins with the prostitute “Champagne” being horribly beaten. Her friend Candy rescues her and takes Champagne to Jean’s home for recovery—and hiding. What Candy doesn’t know is that Slash (Champagne’s owner) has made a deal with Champagne: she furnishes him with details about all the Christians’ lives, and he will wreak revenge on them. Champagne is good with a computer, and in the weeks it takes her to heal, she has dug up all the “dirt” she can find on those who are helping her. She knows their backgrounds, their whereabouts, and their habits . . . even though she can’t at all understand their self-control.

Living with Jean is like living in a dreamworld for Champagne. She can hardly believe the purity of the relationship she watches day and night. It’s weird, but it’s wonderful, too. These people really practice what they preach!

Candy has organized the church ladies to minister to a strip club she knows. The owner of the strip club is antagonistic, but he lets them in to distribute flowers and chocolate to the girls. The church ladies have never been anywhere like this! They’re afraid. What in the world will they talk about? Soon, Florence is chatting to the girls as if they were her own. They think she’s a hoot, but they trust her—an old church lady coming to a place like this and giving us nice things. The pastor’s wife goes, too, but she has to exit and throw up—more than once.

Soon, Slash begins his revenge on the Christians who robbed him of Candy. He doesn’t do the dirty work himself. He hires killers.

You’ll have to read the book to find out what happens. This is a great book with a huge heart. It brings up the questions:

• Do we really care about prostitutes and trafficked people? Jesus does.
• Are we trying to reach the lost—even those who hate us? Jesus does.
• Are we willing to put aside our differences and build bridges to others so that we can share Christ?
• Can we trust God in the face of death?
• Is God still good when Christians suffer?

Find out what happens to the Christians in the story, to Candy, Champagne, and the church. You’ll be challenged. I promise.

There’s a thoughtful study guide at the end of the book, if you’d like to use it with a ladies’ group.