Book Review: "Lullaby" by Jane Orcutt

By Amanda Linsmeier

Lullaby (Tyndale House Publishers, 2002) is a novella by Jane Orcutt. I had no idea when I picked it up that it was a Christian book. Not long into the first chapter I figured it out. This novella is liberally sprinkled with bible verses and remarks about God, faith and Christianity. Merilee, is a 15-year old pregnant girl from Texas. Her father abandoned her when she was little, she was raped and then abandoned by the father of her baby, whom she now heard might be dead and to top it all off her mother committed suicide just a month ago. Wanting to get away from the gossip and unkindness in her small town, Merilee decides to put the baby up for adoption and travel to Austin to meet the prospective adoptive parents. There she lives in a Christian adoption agency setting with other pregnant girls. Merilee chooses Steven and Nora Ray as the future parents of her baby. Having dealt with infertility for several years, this older, wealthy couple couldn’t be happier for Merlilee’s gift but as Nora grows to care for this young girl as a person, not just as the carrier of her soon-to-be-baby, she realizes she cannot turn her back on Meriliee. Lullaby is a sometimes interesting novella with I suppose, good Christian morals.

Here’s the thing: without spoiling it, I must say this book should come with a disclaimer: Do Not Read If You Are Pregnant. That being said, it was an alright book but I would not read it again. As a novella, it was obviously extremely short and I think somewhat unbelievable as well. I also didn’t care for the sometimes heavy religious content throughout. No matter what faith someone is, Christian included, I would think having to read about it over and over would just be annoying. Also, I know the author might not have been trying to do this, but I felt that one message was that mostly uneducated, poor teenage girls get knocked up and have to put their babies up for adoption, and only after being raped first. All in all, I didn’t much care for Merilee. I thought Steven was the best character, but after really thinking about it, I’d have to say I liked the family dog Lucky the most. Lullaby is probably a great book for a non-pregnant woman with strong religious values. It would probably appeal to people who have been part of the adoption process as well. As for me, I’m looking forward to returning this to the library and starting my next novel.