Book report A Voice in the wind, by Francine Rivers

I started this book in August and it took me a long time to get into it but once I did i was really into it. The setting is around the Roman era, the time when they crucified Christians. There really wasn't one main character but 3 or 4; their names were Marcus, Atretes, Julia, and the main main character was Hadassah. Hadassah grew up in Israel and her father was a devoted Christian. He wasn't afraid to die and one day he was tested. He was teaching in Jerusalem when Romans came and raided the city. Instead of running away like the others he stood his ground and was killed. I think he was Hadassahs hero. 

   

The beginning of the book Hadassahs mother was really ill and died just before the Romans came and destroyed their country. Minutes after she died Romans came through their village and killed everyone. When they went to Hadassahs house they killed her brother but she saved her and her little sister by laying on top her sister and daring the soldier to kill her with her eyes. After staring at her for a while he decided to take her as a slave. When she got up she discovered her little sister wasn't breathing to well. Later that day her little sister died and she was sent to Rome where she was sold as a slave. For 5 years she served Julia as her personal maid. 

Atretes was a Germanian prince who was captured during battle against the Romans. He was sold as a slave to become a gladiator. In his 5 to 6 years of battling he killed more than 100 men in the arena. For a year he served Julia as her lover. There he met Hadassah and she told him of her god and all the stories she knew. Julia's friend Calabah fed her lies, lies that made her jealous, and made Julia do something that I, myself hated. The ending surprised me and made me realize something i never would have thought of. I love this book, even though it did get a little gory (not that much, but too much for me). 

~Maxine Frankson