Rachelle Dekker (the daughter of well-known fiction author Ted Dekker) kicks off her writing career with THE CHOOSING, a futuristic novel that reads similarly in style to The Hunger Games and Divergent. Readers who are fascinated with the future and all the technological possibilities, as well as the almost-too-true apocalyptic predictions, will thoroughly enjoy Dekker’s debut.

Set in the year 2257, THE CHOOSING opens with Carrington Hale pondering the dismal result of The Choosing, when every single young woman awaits to be chosen by a man --- or else. Hale, though prepped and primed for this auspicious event her entire life by her overly ambitious mother, feels her panic rise when she realizes she has not been selected by any of the men who had shown interest in her. Should she run? Impossible. The CityWatch guards are everywhere and ready to escort her and the other unfortunate unchosen young ladies across the river to serve as Authority workers called The Lints. Of course, this is considered a fate worse than death because being unchosen proves that one is undesirable, unworthy and unable to alter one’s life path.

"Readers will find Dekker’s storyline somewhat akin to her father’s works in terms of action, adventure and unpredictability. THE CHOOSING, though, explores more the inner workings of her characters and how they feel about their lot in life."

Carrington is scared to death as she numbly goes through the motions of getting settled into her grim new life. All the CityWatch guards are ruthless, save one named Remko Brant, who gently nudges her forward and displays a sense of humanity unlike the others. As Carrington is assigned her new job, she meets another Lint called Larkin, who she remembers as being rebellious while still in their former life when they were prepping to be chosen. It doesn’t take long for Larkin’s prophetic words to pierce through Carrington’s emotional barriers, and they become fast friends.

When an unlikely opportunity arises for Carrington to escape the prison of her new existence, she finds herself engaged to one of the Authority’s elite widowers, Isaac Knight, whose wife recently died. Carrington is wined and dined by Isaac and is similarly warned by those who know him that he is evil at heart. At first, Carrington cannot believe that her only escape from living as a Lint for the rest of her life lay connected to marrying Isaac. But soon she begins observing Isaac’s darker side and simultaneously starts having feelings for the CityWatch guard, Remko, who reciprocates her love.

Of course, Larkin continues to speak truth into Carrington’s life, and there comes a moment when she can no longer simply passively accept her fate as the future Mrs. Knight. Carrington eventually finds herself questioning everything she had been taught to believe about the rules their society created after The Ruining and about herself. In a tangle of web and deceit, she summons up the courage to do the previously unthinkable and actively protect her friends and stand up for her own freedom. But can she succeed?

Readers will find Dekker’s storyline somewhat akin to her father’s works in terms of action, adventure and unpredictability. THE CHOOSING, though, explores more the inner workings of her characters and how they feel about their lot in life. I look forward to more dystopian titles from Dekker in the near future.