I read the following review: Equally thrilling and alarming, Rescued from ISIS is a true story that reads like Not Without My Daughter meets Taken. It is very accurate, I am blown away by what this man had to go through to reach his son. I have 2 boys and I’m sure this Mama bear would go ballistic if either of them were in danger. I can’t imagine what it would be like to go after something like ISIS and the evil they spew. I have nothing but pure respect for the author and what he has gone through

One of the first things I thought when I saw this book was how does a child from a good family end up being a part of the youth that have been radicalized by Islam. According to the book, it all starts with a simple invitation to visit their mosque and from there the new person is carefully drawn in—little bit by little bit. That is what happened to the author’s young son, Jay. His father, Dimitri, began to notice changes in his son—he wouldn’t shake hands with females; his style of clothing was different; he didn’t treat his family the same; he would only eat certain foods and his grades were going downhill, so he met with the Muslim leader who took Jay under his wing. In order to mislead the parents, this sect had a building where they invited the family members who want to know what was going on. The ideas they presented there weren’t as radical; they hid the extreme information in members homes. It’s a sneaky approach meant to keep parents clueless.

Like so many young people, it seems like Jay was searching for meaning in his life that goes beyond the trips to various locations and things his father was so happy that he could purchase for his family. Dimitri talks about religion throughout—but he does not appear to really be serious about any. He tells some of the Muslims he is an atheist, others that he is a Christian, when the circumstances would be more favorable if he considered becoming a Muslim—he’d tell them that he will think about it. Some of the Muslims are astonished that his son comes from a Christian family and would switch religions, and yet, I don’t honestly see a commitment to Christianity in his household. For so many of us meaning only comes with our faith. Jay’s searches led him to read about other religions, and when he struggled with the breakup of his three-year relationship with his girlfriend he went searching for something in life with more meaning then what money could buy. What he found was the Muslim faith.

I originally found it hard to believe that very many young adults fall into the radicalized groups when they come from Christian homes and have a solid upbringing and understanding of our Lord, Jesus. And yet, Dimitri tells us throughout the book that many of these young people come from Christian families. Again, there is no way to tell how committed the parents and children are to Christianity.

I picked up this book to learn more from someone who had a firsthand account to share. The author definitely does provide that. I appreciate that the author made good use of what he learned by going to schools and talking to the kids about what these radicalized groups are really like; hopefully his experiences and his son’s will keep some of these young children from falling into this trap. The majority of the ones who joined were very young adults: eighteen and up. He also tries to help other families get their kids back.

There are some curse words, (at times ones particularly offensive to Christians) and a mention of how the author likes sleeping with strange women along with a brief mention of sex with a female he met even though it really had no purpose for this book. I’ve come to the conclusion that just about every author feels they are obligated to throw some sex in there, and quite honestly, it often leaves me with a reaction of why?

Overall, the book is a good account of how ISIS recruits these young adults/children, and a fair warning for parents to have some honest conversations with your kids about things like this.

Here's a heart-breaking story of teenage rebellion and a father's love. Dimitri Bontinck writes in Rescued from ISIS: The Gripping True Story of How a Father Saved His Son about his relentless efforts to bring his son home from Syria. Without a lot of preamble, Bontinck's teenage son became a Muslim, embraced the tenets and lifestyle, and was recruited to join ISIS to fight in Syria.

Bontinck recounts the changes in his son's attitudes, personality, and demeanor. Yet he retained a belief in his son's goodness and held out hope that he could bring him home, withdrawing him from the toxic environment of radical Islam. It took several trips. He suffered capture and torture and risked his life by his presence and persistence. He did get his son home, and became known as the guy who could bring home kids who have fled with ISIS.

As I read Rescued from ISIS, I felt like it was a cautionary tale. On the level of parenthood, as Bontinck discovered, you have to be prepared for just about anything. As I write, my wife is gathering the last of my son's things for his dorm; he's off to college tomorrow. The reality is, kids grow up and start making their own decisions and choosing their own paths. I don't see my son choosing Islam and fighting in Syria, but neither did Bontinck. I appreciated his constant love for and dedication to his son, even when he rebelled against and rejected everything his family stood for.

On a broader scale, Rescued from ISIS is a cautionary tale for the West. The Bontincks live in Belgium, which has turned into a recruiting ground for ISIS. Cities across Europe, and, indeed, around the world, are experiencing the same thing. Teens are given an idealistic vision of Islam and ISIS and recruited to fight in the Middle East and, potentially, in their own countries. I would like to believe my Texas town is exempt from such a movement, but then I see the Islamic center down the street, the students at my kids' schools wearing hijabs, the families at the grocery store in full Middle Eastern garb. I realize we live in a melting pot, and I realize that the odds are overwhelming that these are peaceful families, good neighbors, and faithful American citizens. But it only takes a sliver of a population to be a radicalizing force. One small group can touch those vulnerable lives and disrupt families and communities. As Bontinck discovered, it's naive to ignore the connection between a growing Muslim presence in a community and the presence of ISIS recruiters.

Rescued from ISIS is exciting to read, but painful at the same time, as the author's son and other young people are damaged and taken from their families. Not all of them make it back. Rescued from ISIS is a challenge to parents to be aware of the religious and social foundation you provide in your home, and to Western culture to hold true to the democratic and religious foundations that have made us great. God forbid we lose a generation to Muslim extremism.



Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!

I cannot imagine how awful it would be to have one's child radicalized into a killer. When this happened to Dimitri Bontinck's son Jay, as the ultimate demonstration of parental love, Dimitri went to Syria to get Jay out. It was a dangerous and reckless thing to do, and some of his actions made it temporarily worse for his son, but he did succeed. Dimitri went back a few times more in an attempt to save others, and sometimes he was successful.

Bontinck's experiences provide insight into how a seemingly well-adjusted young person could be radicalized and how a parent might not know until it's too late. Dimitri never would have been able to rescue his son had he not been assisted by a large network of compassionate moderate Muslims who were also victims of ISIS. Dimitri has harsh words for his own Belgian government and the intolerance within his own society and the west. He has some good suggestions about how to set up deradicalization programs and also how radicalization of youth could be nipped in the bud.

The writing is less than polished but this guy is essentially a soldier and he writes like one. This is a harrowing story of a father's love. An unsettling account, but a good book for those who can stomach it.

In 2013 former soldier Dimitri Bontinck's 18-year-old son, Joe, fell under the sway of a radical Islamic mosque and traveled to Syria from Belgium to take part in that country's civil war. Rescued from ISIS (St. Martin's Press, digital galley) recounts his many harrowing trips into Syria to find and ultimately bring his son home.

Bontinck has become something of a minor celebrity in his own country and his story has even been retold in The New Yorker and on CNN. The relevance of Bontinck's story was reinforced last month when a 16-year-old German girl was found fighting alongside the Islamic State in Iraq. At least half of Rescued from ISIS is dedicated to similar stories where youth were recruited through social media and clever marketing, radicalized and sent to Syria or Iraq to fight.

Bontinck recounts his efforts to help many families trying to reclaim their own children, but his son was one of the few success stories. Not all of the radicalized young men and women were as willing to leave as was his own.

While Bontinck's story is compelling, the telling of it is not. The book too often lets loose platitudes such as "love wins over hate" and rushes through pivotal moments that should have been given more attention. For example, the escape of Bontinck's son from Syria while sitting on the back of a motorcycle should have been an adrenaline pumping play-by-play, but was covered in only one page. It was then followed by a rather prosaic telling of the father and son reunion. The book is surprisingly short on drama.

Rescued from Isis feels disjointed and seems to take on to much, leaving many rescue attempts thinly told, but going into detail on the trade in stolen antiquities and even recounting a sexual encounter that adds nothing to the story. It sounded like simple boasting.

Finally, the story is almost exclusively told from Bontinck's point of view and we learn very little of Joe's time with ISIS. There may be a reason for that, but as a reader we're left to wonder why.

This was a really harrowing book, especially for anyone that has a son and you could imagine them being lost to one of these terrorist training groups. Just as former soldier Dmitri Bontinck found himself, with his son a runaway to one of the camps in Syria and little information to go on. He bravely went to Syria to search for his son when he gave up on him being able to come back on his own. In fact, he had to make several trips in order to even locate his son because his location kept changing. These were not easy trips either, it was at high personal risk, as he'd already been tortured and threatened, and told not to return. But this was his son, what could he do? The book was very moving and frightening, showing the violence and danger that are common in areas of Syria. I had no doubt of the things Bontinck went through trying to get his son and the sons of others back. My thanks to NetGalley, St Martin's Press, and the author, for providing me with an ARC for my review for my review.