For All That Is In The World

by December Knight, Patrisha Colombo (Illustrator)

Pleasure City, a place where all your wildest and even some of your weirdest dreams can come true. All the entertainers are there to serve you, only not all of them are there willingly.
Gabriel Heart has been a Bound entertainer for Dragon Entertainment since he was eleven. Now, at the age of Seventeen, people come from all over the world, paying exorbitant fees to spend just a few seconds with the boy dubbed the Dragon’s Heart. He should be happy. People would die to be as popular, as successful, as desired as him. But in his eyes, life is a never-ending Hell. Forced to give himself to whoever is willing to pay, no matter what they ask of him, he finds his life nearly unbearable. He sees almost no point in continuing the torture.
The only thing that keeps him from ending everything is his love for his sister Priscilla. Hidden away from the rest of the world, Gabriel has managed to keep the ways of Pleasure City and Dragon Entertainment from tainting her life as it has his. But when someone meddles in their life, a powerful chain reaction causes their small world to begin to fall apart. Gabriel is forced to do something that will threaten their lives, destroying the world as they know it. Making him question if he even knew who he was at all.

Genres: Christian Fiction

ebook

Published December 22, 2020

About the author

December Knight strives to share her imagination and Christian faith through her creative writing from an honest, real-life perspective, developing relatable deep characters, and vivid, complex storylines with controversial themes.

She is an alumna of Liberty University graduating with a BS in Multidisciplinary Studies with an emphasis in Creative Writing, History, and Theology.

Reviews

[Sarah]

Thank you to the author and Goodreads for the free copy!

[Rae · Rating 5 out of 5]

After reading some of the reviews for this work I felt that it was important to add a written review to the 5 stars that I previously gave this story.

First, no work of literature fiction or otherwise is free of grammatical errors. People and machines are both fallible. Thus, mistakes will be made. To give a one star review for grammar or spelling would require that the work itself was atrocious and so full of mistakes that it makes it impossible for one to read it and ascertain any of the authors intended meaning from the work. One of the reviews that makes such a claim about this novel being riddled with mistakes gives a list that might, in fact, make the reader of said review believe this is true. However, upon considering the areas of complaint that do not just rise to a style preference one can see that the mistakes appear in chapters 1, 2, 16, and 19. Which does not rise to the level of a grammatically untenable novel. On this contrary this work was beautifully written, containing a unique style that one does not often get from the cut and paste mass market Christian fiction novels which often leave the protagonist questioning the existence of God/Christ.

Second, this novel may be classified as a YA (young adult) fiction. However, if you are looking for the standard sexual content that is prevalent and rampant throughout this genre you have chosen the wrong book. This story is not presented by the author as one meant to titillate the readers fantasies. This is a beautiful story of a boy’s distress and the journey that he takes to meet his salvation. This book does not go into explicit detail about the horrors that the Gabriel suffered. Nor do I think that it should have. If it is your desire to read that sort of story there are plenty other fictions on the market that could suit your taste. However, I would say that it is people that need that kind of stimulation that created the Pleasure Cities spoken about in this novel.
Third, from the perspective of one who is a firm believer in and follower of Jesus Christ I found this work a wonderful read. Chapter 20 made me cry and did when I read that portion of the novel a second time prior to writing this written review.

Please don’t let others steal this novel from you because of their close minded and hard heartedness. This novel deserves to be read and it needs to be shared.

[December Knight]

I wrote For All That Is In The World to show what I have seen within the world, the taste and hunger for sin at the expense of others. I want to pay honor to the victims of sexual, mental, and emotional abuse. To give a small voice to victims of child abuse and human trafficking, while preserving their dignity.

To let Gabriel Heart have a voice that shows that true freedom in its entirety comes from Christ. For no matter where you are, no matter what has happened, Christ can in fact set you free. And though I could say more I hope this is enough to get others to also support this story.

As for Gabriel's name, it was inspired by a baby who I'm not sure is even real, but if he is, I hope that he has gained all the love in the world and that one day I can meet him in the sky :)

[TC · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved Gabriel Heart as a protagonist, for being real and relatable. A nice addition to the story was Gabriel's internal dialog. For having themes of human trafficking and sexual abuse, The author presents these themes tastefully, not exploiting the character/characters needlessly for cheep reader thrills and superfluous sexual content. The modern alternate reality, dynamic story line is refreshing in the cookie cutter, copy cat world of Christian fiction.

I would read again, don't hesitate to try it yourself : )

[Kathy C · Rating 5 out of 5]

Riveting

I do not want to give any details away, but I can say this book had me captivated throughout. The characters were relatable and realistic. Thematically, it was timely and purposeful and included a strong redemptive message. I would highly recommend! One of the best books I have read in a long time.

[Momma Bear · Rating 5 out of 5]

One thing I found very intriguing about this book is that it draws the reader into the protagonist's world and allows the reader to actually feel his thoughts. I was very impressed and would highly recommend this book to others. Give it a read, you will not be disappointed.

[Kimmarie Pozar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Christian alt reality

Well written Christian YA alt reality story. This is a niche book for a more specific audience. It may not appeal to all.

[Deni · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good book, I'd read it again.

[Cheyenne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I won this book in a give a way a few years back. Honestly loved this book and showing how God's forgiveness will forgive everyone if given the option and how courageous a brothers love can be for his sister.

[Rachel · Rating 1 out of 5]

I wish I had paid more attention to the grammatical errors in the book summary because that's usually a sign of things to come. In this case, the errors in the book were glaring from the start and impossible to ignore. There were run-on sentences and improper punctuation throughout, making much of the book difficult to read and even more difficult to understand. And the ellipses ... they were everywhere! The story was told in third person point of view, but the main character had so much internal dialogue that it should have just been told in first person point of view.

But my biggest issue with the book was that the summary didn't really match the plot and therefore was nothing like what I expected. There was not enough world-building to really understand what was going on in Pleasure City (I think the summary gave me more details than the book actually did), although as it turned out that wasn't the focus of the book anyway. This was a very religious book, something that was not included in the summary at all. Had it been, I definitely would not have read it because that's not my cup of tea. Even if I did enjoy a good story about accepting Jesus, this wouldn't be it.

I won a copy of this book in a Goodreads Giveaway.

[Kay · Rating 5 out of 5]

For All That Is In The World is the kind of story that stays with you, flooding back into your mind long after you've finished reading it. The story of Gabriel Heart is touching and at times heartbreaking, though it's a genuine reminder of what life is like for those who suffer through these circumstances in real life. I appreciate the author for bringing more awareness to the horrors of human trafficking, without being overtly sexual. 10/10 would definitely read again and I highly recommend :)

Also, Nemo is on my list of favorite characters :D

[Sarah Morris · Rating 3 out of 5]

There were some hits and some misses with this book for me. On the positive side, the premise was interesting. I also like the characters, and I was invested in what happened to them. There were some grammatical errors that were a bit distracting. I was also left wanting some more description as far as the setting and the back stories go.