Finding Humanity in Fictional Places
Introducing a newly-released YA Dystopian Novel
Recently, my reading journey has brought to my attention the theme of humanity and the wonder of finding compelling examples of empathy and compassion in vastly different, yet surprisingly similar places. I tend to listen to an audiobook at work and read a physical or ebook in the morning before my son gets up and after he goes to bed for the night. At the time of writing this post, my current audiobook was Christy by Cathrine Marshall and my ebook was Captive by Bradley Caffee.
Christy is a well-loved book published in 1967 and follows the journey of a young woman who feels called to leave her life in the city to teach the children in the underserved mountain community of Cutter Gap. Isolated in the Smoky Mountains, the mountain people navigated the daily struggles of poverty, lack of education, limited resources, and inaccessible roads. I was struck by the difficulties that Christy faced in earning the trust of her students and managing a class of over 60 pupils on her own at age 19.
Coming from a financially stable family, Christy was unaccustomed to the level of poverty evident in the community. A vivid example was the lack of running water and how Christy frequently struggled with the smell of the children in her early days of teaching. She started keeping a handkerchief dipped in perfume tucked in her sleeve to tuck her nose into to help fight her disgust at the lack of hygiene practiced by the mountain families, yet she knew this was not a permanent solution. As she asks God to change her nose so she can deal with the smell, she realizes that God has a better plan. Instead of a change in her nose, her eyes are opened to the humanity of these precious children as she discovers their need for love, affection, and human touch. Through this change of heart, Christy begins to see the children as people loved by God and she no longer notices the smell.
In his newly-released novel, Captive, Bradley Caffee also takes readers on a journey to seek humanity in a different, yet comparable world. His character, Ted, a young man surviving in a post-cataclysmic world where resources are scarce and war rages between humans and aliens, undergoes a transformative journey of his own. Ted, like many humans, blames the fish-like Skya’ja people for destroying the earth with their promises of clean energy and peace. But when Ted takes one of the aliens captive to integrate her for answers, his eyes open to an unexpected truth. Forced to navigate through several dangerous obstacles with his prisoner in tow, Ted leans more about the culture and motivation of the alien invaders, and his perspective begins to change.
In these two captivating novels, I reflected on how important it is to treat others with respect and integrity, especially since we may never know all the circumstances that have led a person to their current place and state of mind. The Bible tells us in Matthew 22 that the greatest commandment is to, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind’. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.” If anything, the world has taught us to love ourselves above everything else. In recent years, this has become clearer as people say and do whatever they please without considering the thoughts and feelings of others. However, through reading the Bible and exploring stories through a Christian worldview, we have the opportunity to reflect on our thoughts and actions and think before we act. We have the great opportunity to show the love of Christ to the world through treating others the way we want to be treated and becoming a light of hope to a suffering world. My prayer is that you and I take the time to open our eyes, humble our hearts, and look for small ways we can make a difference in the world every day. All it takes is a kind word or a gesture of kindness to spark hope in a hurting heart. We can plant seeds of God’s love through the way we live and we can look for humanity in the hurting people around us, no matter the differences, circumstances, or barriers that separate us. For God so loved the world, that He gave his only son for you, me, and that hard-to-love person. I think if God could love us so deeply, we can find it in us to take small steps to humble our hearts, look for the humanity in those around us, and show them the true love that comes to us through God our Almighty Father.
Captive Paperback Release
Captive by Bradley Caffee is available now in paperback at Amazon or Barnes and Noble! In this latest release from Mountain Brook Fire, readers will enjoy an action-packed story that explores the power of empathy and the strength of the human spirit. I had the honor of reading an advanced reader copy of the book and shared my thoughts about this captivating novel in my Goodreads Review.
Ted James hates the Skya’ja, the fishfaced aliens who destroyed the Earth. Promising humanity the clean, renewable energy that transformed them into a peaceful, spacefaring species, the invaders lured scientists like Ted’s father into their project. Instead, the explosion known as the Cataclysm wiped out electrical grids, governments, and militaries. Two years later, the Earth is a scrapheap where the remaining few humans and aliens war for the resources that are left.
Living among the ruins of Charlotte, Ted wants answers about his father’s fate and why the downtown area is covered in a shimmering Bubble that seems to kill all who try to enter. A lucky shot allows him to capture the Skya’ja known as Tash’jya for interrogation. The only problem is his hatred is hard to maintain the more he learns about his prisoner.
Running from Revon, a violent militia leader, Ted teams up with gutsy clinic nurse, Loren Westfield, to uncover Tash’jya’s mission to save the planet and the secret she carries about Ted’s father.
Until Next Time…
Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed this introduction to Captive by Bradley Caffee. Next time I look forward to sharing my thoughts about Game On by H.L. Burke, the first book in her latest Supervillain Rehabilitation Project spin-off series for young adult readers.