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December's Child
Every secret has a key.
As a child worker of the December Mining Corporation, 18-year-old Jett’s plan has always been to earn a life outside the mines by selling her body—a plan she’s nearly fulfilled until she reluctantly takes on a new trainee from the outside world.
The daughter of a government historian, and bartered into the slave trade by her own mother, Fiona is an outsider with a strange wealth of knowledge, and a secret worth dying—and killing—for. While Fiona’s secret may unknowingly bring death and destruction to the December Mines, Jett finds herself letting go of her jaded persona to embrace a friendship that will change her life forever.
When she unintentionally becomes the new keeper of Fiona’s secret, Jett is thrust into a fight for survival and a quest for the freedom she’s longed for. Keeping the secret could cost her her life. Searching for answers all but ensures her death.
As a child worker of the December Mining Corporation, 18-year-old Jett’s plan has always been to earn a life outside the mines by selling her body—a plan she’s nearly fulfilled until she reluctantly takes on a new trainee from the outside world.
The daughter of a government historian, and bartered into the slave trade by her own mother, Fiona is an outsider with a strange wealth of knowledge, and a secret worth dying—and killing—for. While Fiona’s secret may unknowingly bring death and destruction to the December Mines, Jett finds herself letting go of her jaded persona to embrace a friendship that will change her life forever.
When she unintentionally becomes the new keeper of Fiona’s secret, Jett is thrust into a fight for survival and a quest for the freedom she’s longed for. Keeping the secret could cost her her life. Searching for answers all but ensures her death.
- GenresDystopia
246 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 22, 2016
9 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
December 18, 2016
This novel was not what I was expecting. Sometimes it pays not to listen to the reviews or even the description. I was under the impression that this novel was going to be dark and gritty all the way through. And yes, at first it was, with the vivid description of the conditions that Jett finds herself living and working in the December mine and being used and abused both here and as a prostitute as one of the conditions of this enslaved environment.
Williams described this well in all its grittiness and oppression and was effective in making me feel tense, frustrated and angry almost to the point where I could not continue. Just when I was about to abandon this novel, the whole atmosphere changed and this encouraged me to persist. Glad I did. From that point on, I grew to really enjoy this novel.
One thing that really struck me was that you would never know this is a debut novel from this author. She writes very well, and the topic/themes are very controversial, but Williams does not allow this to weigh the plot down with too much detail or information. She has a healthy balance of this being both plot and character driven if that is possible in the one novel. I am not sure if Williams loves Alice in Wonderland as a fairy tale (I hated it!) or whether elements of that story provided a unique platform for her to strengthen the plot and assist in delivering the novel's message, but either way, it becomes an integral part of Jett's understanding of the world outside of the December mine that she knows nothing about until she experiences it.
For a novel such as this with its controversial themes, Wiliams must have realised that to show it clearly, she would need to have depicted Jett as a well developed and relational character. She has definitely done so and this is another strength of this novel. Jett is not a two-dimensional character, she is someone who has guts, determination, conviction, a firm sense of justice and right and wrong, although she can be a bit impetuous sometimes. I am sure we can all relate to that at some points in our lives!
This is going to remain one controversial Christian novel. That will only change when the attitudes of the current "don't rock the boat, don't include topics that we don't want to confront/deal with" mentality that exists among some of the Christian church, Christians themselves and the mainstream Christian publishing world. For a debut author to include such controversial topics as child prostitution/exploitation, cannibalism, and violence is one very brave venture. Even experienced, seasoned authors would not be daring or willing to venture down such a path as this for the most part. It is actions and topics such as what Williams has done that make it all the more edgy and speculative and challenges in a positive way the above-mentioned attitudes that are harming Christian fiction, Christian authors and its readers, whether Christian or not and whether they know it or not.
I must say having read this novel now with its main theme of child prostitution/exploitation, Williams needs to be applauded for the way she has handled this. There is no glorification of prostitution. There is no graphic detail. What she has achieved (through Jett) is to show the degradation to the human spirit, the demeaning and destructive effects on women and also of men who perpetrate this act. That is what made me feel tense and frustrated, angry and almost to the point of not continuing. But this only succeeded in showing what exists in our real world. Even the other theme of cannibalism is not glorified but shown as part of a warped and distorted mentality and solution to the ills of the dystopian world that has lost its way and is not an answer at all to the failing and diminishing food supply.
I have stated that the novel becomes very enjoyable after this dark first section ends. Not only has Williams shown she has talent in creating one dark and gritty world, but she is just as talented in showing the opposite. Once the dark first part of this novel ends, the plot takes on a different pace and flavour. There is still tension and suspense but Jett comes into her own. It from this point on that Williams delivers her message concerning the ills that are consequential when a society surrenders their freedom for safety/happiness but is unaware of the enslavement and governmental control that ensues. It is from this platform that motivates Jett to lead her people to fight and restore the freedom that she most desperately longs for and to reveal the secret that Fiona entrusted to her.
I loved the spiritual themes that Jett was introduced to in order to achieve this. Although the relationship between Jett and the Maker was not developed or expounded upon as much as I would have liked, it stood out that Jett was to only continue in her quest by having faith in Him and letting Him be the source of her actions. On a few occasions, Jett identifies that the soft voice that instructs her with the words "Rise" and "Safe" are instructions from the Maker when she is perplexed about how to continue in her quest. On a very basic level, this shows that we need to be obedient to Him who knows the way we should go in any circumstance and that He is always there to guide and protect us.
I would have loved to have had her relationship with the Maker described more formally and the effects of oppression and sexual abuse and exploitation dealt with through the power of God as this could have shown readers who have suffered similarly in the real world that God can and does heal and restore on every level.
I also loved the romance between Jett and Xylon (Xy). To me, Williamson seemed to focus this from Xy's point of view, with the distinctive male flavour. That I loved and it reminded me of the way that male Christian authors who write romance develop it. This romance theme was another strength of this novel.
For those readers who are undecided about whether to read this novel or not, I have provided a resource to help them understand the controversial themes contained herein, an interviewer from The Crossover Alliance Publishing company that published the novel,
http://www.thecrossoveralliance.com/b...
It is worth reading.
All in all, a very enjoyable debut novel from Williams. If she continues to produce such challenging and thought provoking novels, the Christian publishing world would benefit from reviewing their guidelines from only publishing the clean and watered down fiction that they believe we want to read and Christians need to expand their horizons and see that Christian fiction can address controversial topics that can glorify God and point the reader towards Him.
Strongly Recommended. 4/5 Stars.
World Building 5/5
Characterisation 5/5
Story 5/5
Spiritual Level 3/5
Enemy Spiritual Level 2/5
Overall Rating 4/5
Williams described this well in all its grittiness and oppression and was effective in making me feel tense, frustrated and angry almost to the point where I could not continue. Just when I was about to abandon this novel, the whole atmosphere changed and this encouraged me to persist. Glad I did. From that point on, I grew to really enjoy this novel.
One thing that really struck me was that you would never know this is a debut novel from this author. She writes very well, and the topic/themes are very controversial, but Williams does not allow this to weigh the plot down with too much detail or information. She has a healthy balance of this being both plot and character driven if that is possible in the one novel. I am not sure if Williams loves Alice in Wonderland as a fairy tale (I hated it!) or whether elements of that story provided a unique platform for her to strengthen the plot and assist in delivering the novel's message, but either way, it becomes an integral part of Jett's understanding of the world outside of the December mine that she knows nothing about until she experiences it.
For a novel such as this with its controversial themes, Wiliams must have realised that to show it clearly, she would need to have depicted Jett as a well developed and relational character. She has definitely done so and this is another strength of this novel. Jett is not a two-dimensional character, she is someone who has guts, determination, conviction, a firm sense of justice and right and wrong, although she can be a bit impetuous sometimes. I am sure we can all relate to that at some points in our lives!
This is going to remain one controversial Christian novel. That will only change when the attitudes of the current "don't rock the boat, don't include topics that we don't want to confront/deal with" mentality that exists among some of the Christian church, Christians themselves and the mainstream Christian publishing world. For a debut author to include such controversial topics as child prostitution/exploitation, cannibalism, and violence is one very brave venture. Even experienced, seasoned authors would not be daring or willing to venture down such a path as this for the most part. It is actions and topics such as what Williams has done that make it all the more edgy and speculative and challenges in a positive way the above-mentioned attitudes that are harming Christian fiction, Christian authors and its readers, whether Christian or not and whether they know it or not.
I must say having read this novel now with its main theme of child prostitution/exploitation, Williams needs to be applauded for the way she has handled this. There is no glorification of prostitution. There is no graphic detail. What she has achieved (through Jett) is to show the degradation to the human spirit, the demeaning and destructive effects on women and also of men who perpetrate this act. That is what made me feel tense and frustrated, angry and almost to the point of not continuing. But this only succeeded in showing what exists in our real world. Even the other theme of cannibalism is not glorified but shown as part of a warped and distorted mentality and solution to the ills of the dystopian world that has lost its way and is not an answer at all to the failing and diminishing food supply.
I have stated that the novel becomes very enjoyable after this dark first section ends. Not only has Williams shown she has talent in creating one dark and gritty world, but she is just as talented in showing the opposite. Once the dark first part of this novel ends, the plot takes on a different pace and flavour. There is still tension and suspense but Jett comes into her own. It from this point on that Williams delivers her message concerning the ills that are consequential when a society surrenders their freedom for safety/happiness but is unaware of the enslavement and governmental control that ensues. It is from this platform that motivates Jett to lead her people to fight and restore the freedom that she most desperately longs for and to reveal the secret that Fiona entrusted to her.
I loved the spiritual themes that Jett was introduced to in order to achieve this. Although the relationship between Jett and the Maker was not developed or expounded upon as much as I would have liked, it stood out that Jett was to only continue in her quest by having faith in Him and letting Him be the source of her actions. On a few occasions, Jett identifies that the soft voice that instructs her with the words "Rise" and "Safe" are instructions from the Maker when she is perplexed about how to continue in her quest. On a very basic level, this shows that we need to be obedient to Him who knows the way we should go in any circumstance and that He is always there to guide and protect us.
I would have loved to have had her relationship with the Maker described more formally and the effects of oppression and sexual abuse and exploitation dealt with through the power of God as this could have shown readers who have suffered similarly in the real world that God can and does heal and restore on every level.
I also loved the romance between Jett and Xylon (Xy). To me, Williamson seemed to focus this from Xy's point of view, with the distinctive male flavour. That I loved and it reminded me of the way that male Christian authors who write romance develop it. This romance theme was another strength of this novel.
For those readers who are undecided about whether to read this novel or not, I have provided a resource to help them understand the controversial themes contained herein, an interviewer from The Crossover Alliance Publishing company that published the novel,
http://www.thecrossoveralliance.com/b...
It is worth reading.
All in all, a very enjoyable debut novel from Williams. If she continues to produce such challenging and thought provoking novels, the Christian publishing world would benefit from reviewing their guidelines from only publishing the clean and watered down fiction that they believe we want to read and Christians need to expand their horizons and see that Christian fiction can address controversial topics that can glorify God and point the reader towards Him.
Strongly Recommended. 4/5 Stars.
World Building 5/5
Characterisation 5/5
Story 5/5
Spiritual Level 3/5
Enemy Spiritual Level 2/5
Overall Rating 4/5
November 23, 2016
December's Child is not your typical dystopian tale. It is far more grim and violent than the usual mainstream fluff, and while there is action and romance in abundance, there is a sinister edge that hangs over the story like a knife suspended by a string, never letting the reader get comfortable and complacent. The story moves from subterranean mines to forests to aquatic stations, dragging the reader over coals of suspense in its quest to answer one question: What is the key?
March 15, 2026
December's Child was one of the grittiest novels I've read. Very suspenseful and so addictive. I couldn't put this book down. Jett is a wonderful main character and you fall in love quickly with her. It's like you're following her around her situations for freedom with her. Wonderful writing that keeps you on the edge of your seat.
April 6, 2018
Williams has created a very dark and disturbing society in this dystopian novel. While the themes presented are very heavy, the writing is so well done that it kept me reading at a fast pace. I really enjoyed discovering things about their world right along with Jett. Overall a very compelling read.
February 11, 2017
What a world Jett lives in! So far as dystopian societies go, this one is pretty dark. Much of what I enjoyed about this book was the unfolding of the society and how it was structured, so I don't want to give away too much. We start in the mines, where Jett works with other children to dig through rock. The brutality of this existence, where very young 4-6 year old children arrive and mostly die from hard work, lack of food/water and other harsh conditions, was stark.
This book doesn't look away from the terrible conditions of human slavery and child sex slaves. Later we run into other topics like government-run prostitution, breeding mandates, harsh control over resources and cannibalism. Where the author really shines is in the handling of these terrible topics without becoming too graphic in the depiction of it. We are put right into the middle of it, experience it through the eyes and body of Jett, a girl in her late teens who is hoping to finally earn her way out of the mines, so it's not like the topics are handled from a distance. And yet, it's not described in every detail. More details than some might want, I'm sure, but I thought it was brilliantly done.
I agree with other reviewers who mentioned the challenges of telling a story in the words of someone who grew up in that environment, and how parts of it weren't as believable because there was information and language used that didn't seem to fit the character. In that way, and in a few others, there were the rough edges I've come to expect of a book published by a small indie press. If that sort of thing bugs you, and you want pristine editing and a story with a high polish, you might look elsewhere.
As for me, I don't mind a few rough edges when the story itself is compelling. I'll never forget the December mining company, the heart-pounding desperation of Jett's escape with her friend's secret, that moment when a young miner boy kept his silence so she could get away. The interweaving of the Alice in Wonderland story lingers in my mind, a testament to the power of stories to break the chains of oppression and inspire hope for freedom. So many moments stand out, described vividly enough that they are clear in my mind. When the tree fell on Jett and she first met Xylon. When Yama's end prompted a terrible revenge. When Cassius got what he deserved. Finding the alphabet carved in the rock inside the train tunnel ("X marks the spot!" Ha!). The chilling way the President dismissed the value of human lives. (Yes, I could go on and on.)
This would make a great movie.
Bottom line for me:
- A vivid and brilliant story that I'll remember for a long time
- Lost a star for editing/quality issues
- Fantastic world-building that kept me intrigued with learning more
- A mystery ("What is the key for?") that kept me wondering through the whole story
I hope to see more from this author!
This book doesn't look away from the terrible conditions of human slavery and child sex slaves. Later we run into other topics like government-run prostitution, breeding mandates, harsh control over resources and cannibalism. Where the author really shines is in the handling of these terrible topics without becoming too graphic in the depiction of it. We are put right into the middle of it, experience it through the eyes and body of Jett, a girl in her late teens who is hoping to finally earn her way out of the mines, so it's not like the topics are handled from a distance. And yet, it's not described in every detail. More details than some might want, I'm sure, but I thought it was brilliantly done.
I agree with other reviewers who mentioned the challenges of telling a story in the words of someone who grew up in that environment, and how parts of it weren't as believable because there was information and language used that didn't seem to fit the character. In that way, and in a few others, there were the rough edges I've come to expect of a book published by a small indie press. If that sort of thing bugs you, and you want pristine editing and a story with a high polish, you might look elsewhere.
As for me, I don't mind a few rough edges when the story itself is compelling. I'll never forget the December mining company, the heart-pounding desperation of Jett's escape with her friend's secret, that moment when a young miner boy kept his silence so she could get away. The interweaving of the Alice in Wonderland story lingers in my mind, a testament to the power of stories to break the chains of oppression and inspire hope for freedom. So many moments stand out, described vividly enough that they are clear in my mind. When the tree fell on Jett and she first met Xylon. When Yama's end prompted a terrible revenge. When Cassius got what he deserved. Finding the alphabet carved in the rock inside the train tunnel ("X marks the spot!" Ha!). The chilling way the President dismissed the value of human lives. (Yes, I could go on and on.)
This would make a great movie.
Bottom line for me:
- A vivid and brilliant story that I'll remember for a long time
- Lost a star for editing/quality issues
- Fantastic world-building that kept me intrigued with learning more
- A mystery ("What is the key for?") that kept me wondering through the whole story
I hope to see more from this author!
January 7, 2017
This is a stand alone book and not a cliff hanger.
This story pulled me in and even though it is very dark and gritty in the beginning that subsides a bit. I was very impressed and felt a real connection to the characters...meaning I actually cared what might happen.
It is a story of fear, hope, a mission, curiosity, seeking, despair, learning, loving, sharing, losing, birth, death, listening and shutting out, giving and taking and learning to give and accept love. It is so much.
I could not help notice the current events happening in our own nation of the U.S. bear a strong parallel to what could easily lead to something similar to the terrifying future Ms. Williams made a gruesome reality in her story.
I felt so vested in these characters and she dealt with the subject of spirituality, forced prostitution, slavery, cannibalism, liberty and fighting for justice and freedom with grace and without giving gory details or making me squeamish.
I was in literal tears at two different points of the story.
I look forward to Ms. Williams' next offering...whatever it may be.
This story pulled me in and even though it is very dark and gritty in the beginning that subsides a bit. I was very impressed and felt a real connection to the characters...meaning I actually cared what might happen.
It is a story of fear, hope, a mission, curiosity, seeking, despair, learning, loving, sharing, losing, birth, death, listening and shutting out, giving and taking and learning to give and accept love. It is so much.
I could not help notice the current events happening in our own nation of the U.S. bear a strong parallel to what could easily lead to something similar to the terrifying future Ms. Williams made a gruesome reality in her story.
I felt so vested in these characters and she dealt with the subject of spirituality, forced prostitution, slavery, cannibalism, liberty and fighting for justice and freedom with grace and without giving gory details or making me squeamish.
I was in literal tears at two different points of the story.
I look forward to Ms. Williams' next offering...whatever it may be.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews