Chasing Liberty

The greatest strengths of this book are the characters and the plot. Linden has written some really engaging characters. You cannot help but find yourself in Liberty's corner. Both Dedrick and Liberty are very well written, and though I believe few will like him Dr. Supero is also well written. And with Dedrick and Liberty on one side and Supero and Chief Varden on the other this clash is going to be epic. The plot races along in this book. Warning do not start reading right before bed, your head might not see much of the pillow.

This book reminds me of the old TV series, Logan's Run, mixed with a little Handmaids Tale (but with very different religious angle), and as mentioned The Given and L'Engle's writings. This book was an amazing read. I could barely put it down and devoured it in three sittings. This should prove to be the beginning of an incredible series. I recommend this book to any fans of L'Engle, Lowry and anyone who just loves a great story. Linden hit it out of the park and I look forward to reading more in this series and her other works as well!

This dystopian Catholic YA novel by Theresa Linden is the first book in her Liberty series for older teens. This novel provides a fascinating look into a future world where religion has been eliminated. What I love about this book is the concept that God would still reach us and communicate with us even if we had never been told about Him.
The main character, Liberty, has grown up in a world void of families and faith. But she has been guided through her life by an inner voice she refers to as her “friend”. Until she is given an opportunity to live outside this controlled environment, she wonders if this inner voice is something she has made up.
Dystopian stories are always an interesting premise to think about. I love the Christian viewpoint that goodness, love, and faith will continue no matter what we might face. This is a wonderful read with plenty of discussion opportunities for older teens.

Under the rule of the Regimen in futuristic Aldonia, life and love are separated. God and family are eradicated. Freedom and privacy are non-existent. Or are they?

While the Regimen Custodia Terra has preserved Mother Earth, saving it from the pox of humanity, it has rationed life and personal freedom, creating a morally-bankrupt but compliant society. For Liberty, born of a breeder and raised in age-appropriate governmental facilities, even that cannot extinguish the spark of life within her. By preserving her innocence, privacy, and creativity to the extent allowed, she is able to hear the still, small voice in her heart—the voice she recognizes as her Friend.

The truths that are written on her heart lead her to trust a mysterious stranger who saves her from both physical danger and a life of utilitarian drudgery. For all the effort of the Unity Troops, the Regimen cannot completely quell love and the sacrifices it demands.

Liberty takes the reader on a wild ride through her escape, her first experiences of sacrificial love, God, and community, and her risky return to Aldonia, where recapture means re-education.

Theresa Linden delivers a strong, determined heroine guided by convictions and a virtuous hero, who can treat Liberty with gentleness and compassion in one moment and kick some Regimen butt in the next.

The author creates a realistic vision of a future in which politically-correct, secular, and environmental ideals are taken to the extreme. She paints a physical world so real the reader feels with Liberty her yearning to live free in the natural beauty that has always been kept out of reach.

The ending all but begs for a sequel - one I look forward to reading!