Book Review – Ten Girls Who Didn’t Give In by Irene Howat

Ten Girls Who Didn’t Give In

Ten Girls Who Didn’t Give In by Irene Howat

Synopsis:

These ten girls grew up to become women who didn’t give in. Living as a Christian was difficult. They chose to do the right thing instead of the easy thing. Would you give in or would you resist? In a world where we give in too easily – be inspired by those who didn’t! These women chose eternal life, love, and joy, through obedience, hardship, and life-threatening – and life-taking, danger. (Taken from Goodreads page)

Review

The second entry into the girls’ series is better than the first. For this “Give In” portion, the girls described are probably lesser-known and written a little less violent than the boy’s version. Yet the impact of the stories is still strong.

In this volume, ten boys which include Blandina, Perpetua, Lady Jane Grey, Anna Askew, Lysken Dirks, Marian Harvey, Margaret Wilson, Judith Werghburg, Betty Stam and Esther John follow a similar story pattern of about 15 pages each. The sections starts off with a childhood and family setting and move to either some early important events or through to teenage and college-age and then into adulthood of what they’re known for. The stories include mostly fictional conversations so as to give young readers more than just facts to remember. The conversation are in the spirit of learning about the person. Each person also has a focus on their Christian faith and it usually inspires the conclusion of the story as a way to glorify God. At the end there is a “FACT” of the story expanded upon, a “KEYNOTE” that focuses on the aspect of the story to think about God, a “THINK” area in which a challenge question is presented for discussion, and a “PRAYER” section.

Where I cautioned the probable need for parents to read alongside their children with these stories as they involved slightly graphic accountings (without details leading to grotesque details), these stories don’t have as much but parents should still take caution depending on the age and maturity of the child.

I’m still so impressed the author can boil down a lot of history into 15 pages while understanding there isn’t going to be full coverage of the topic. One of the best ones that had to be the hardest but were the most enjoyable to read was Lady Jane Grey. The focus on her story could easily be lost in providing the history or wanting to include more detail or greater impact. The older stories taken form earlier times of Church history may cause some to be wanting as details like coming to Christ or childhood specifics aren’t really known. The author also has a bigger slant towards English side martyrdom stories as some involve multiple tales from the Scottish Covenanters era. That’s neither a positive nor a negative. The balance and tie-ins from the other areas of the girls’ life for the stories is a lot better done here than in the Girls Who Used Their Talents book that I thought really missed the mark.

Another good installment in a total series I would recommend. A short snippet of Church history that gives you a quick read on many people that you could take and read more on.

Final Grade

A-