Recommendation Week

So, were doing something a bit different this week. I am going to do a three part recommendation series on some of my favorites based on the genre of the book or a specific trope used, etc. I only chose books that I have read and rated at least a 4 star. If I recommend an entire series, then I have read the whole thing, but one or two books in the series may be rated as low as 3.5 stars (not lower than that though). I tried to make sure that I have a variety of authors represented. This is one area I am working on right now (reading books by authors I haven’t tried yet). The first list is made up of purely Christian Fiction. Wednesday I will post a list for Christian Non-fiction and Friday will be all my non-Christian recommendations. So here we go:

1.       Favorite middle grade fantasy:

The Narnia series by C S Lewis

This series is very well written with adventures, new worlds, lessons about God and us and extremely well done allegories about Christ and the end times.

2.       Favorite young adult fantasy:

The Hidden Arrow of Maether by Aiden Beaverson

This book takes place in another world caught in the same spiritual battle that we are and is about a young girl discovering God’s calling and the adventures that leads her into.

3.       Favorite adult science fiction:

Out of the Silent Planet by C S Lewis

This book is a wonderfully creative look at space travel and imagining what a world without sin (everyone in right relationship with God) might look like.

4.       Favorite thriller:

The Left Behind series by Tim LaHaye & Jen Jenkins

This series is full of action, danger, and fantastical events as an imagining of what the end times might look like.

5.       Favorite fairytale retelling:

Hagenheim series by Melanie Dickerson

Every book in this series is a retelling of a different fairytale. They are all so well done with fantastic characters and still ringing true to the original stories (minus any magic and including following God).

6.       Favorite Biblical retelling:

Lineage of Grace series by Francine Rivers

Each book in this series is telling the story of one of the five women mentioned in Christ’s genealogy. These stories are so beautifully written and well crafted (while staying true to scripture).

7.       Favorite historical fiction:

Mark of the Lion trilogy by Francine Rivers

This series is set in Biblical times (shortly after Christ’s ascension). The series follows Hadassah, a young Jewish believer, and how God uses her in the lives of those around her (except the third book which follows one of the male side characters from the first two books and his journey to God, and bringing Him to his people).

8.       Favorite contemporary fiction:

Sophie’s Heart by Lori Wick

This is such a sweet look at second love and the struggles of immigration (the language barrier and preconceived notions, etc.).

9.       Favorite allegory:

Hinds Feet on High Places by Hannah Hurnard

This is a wonderful book filled with relatable feelings and situations while walking the path of a believer. It is similar (in feel) to Pilgrim’s Progress, but easier to read and with a female main character.

10.   Favorite Amish fiction:

The Amish of Apple Grove trilogy by Lori Copland

The characters in this series are very well done and the stories are so unique to any others in this genre that I have read thus far (in a wonderful way).

11.   Favorite classic:

Stepping Heavenward by Elizabeth Prentice

This is such a beautiful look at what it is like to walk the life of a believer; our struggles, our growth, and the power of prayer in our lives.

12.   Favorite children’s book:

The Tallest of Smalls by Max Lucado

This is a cute story with an important lesson on our value being in God and not determined by others.

13.   Favorite middle grade:

Veritas Project duology by Frank Peretti

These books are suspenseful with mysteries to be solved and plots to be thwarted, all by the hands of two young siblings seeking truth and God (with a little help from their parents).

14.   Favorite bickering couple:

A Viscount’s Proposal by Melanie Dickerson

Talk about not seeing eye to eye; these two have such differing world views that they are often in discord until God works in both their hearts.

15.   Favorite enemies to lovers:

The Redeeming by Tamara Leigh

What a fantastic story of misunderstandings, errors and trials that the Lord ends up using to end strife and bring new beginnings. <I have a review of this>

16.   Favorite opposites attract:

Fire By Night by Lynn Austen

These two really don’t have anything in common, but the times and circumstances (along with truths revealed and God’s lessons along the way) draw them to each other in a wonderfully complementary way. <I have a review of this>

17.   A book with a plot &/or genre that is hard to explain:

Brides o’ the Emerald Isle by Pamela Griffin, Vickie McDonough, Tamela Hancock Murray, & Linda Windsor

A bit of the present time, three parts historical, all tied together by the place and a special stone dedicated to God (and four lovely romances).

18.   Best - friend group dynamic:

Glory by Lori Copeland

A group of girls in a covered wagon and on the trail to a far off destination as mail order brides (and one tag along picked up on the way). Each so different and yet working together to trust God and help each other.

19.   Book with ethnic diversity:

Bamboo and Lace by Lori Wick

A young woman who grew up and lives in a remote Asian village with her missionary father and a Hawaiian family she stays with when going for a long visit to her brother.

& Candle in the Darkness by Lynn Austen

Set in the south during the Civil War and deals with the issue of slavery and God’s will (how He sees the Blacks).

20.   Book with physical diversity:

Where the Wild Rose Blooms by Lori Wick

A teen girl who has an accident and goes blind, and then must learn how to live with it and how to trust God.

& The Merchant’s Daughter by Melanie Dickerson

A man who was maimed by a wolf with terrible scarring and little movement in his left hand and arm, who lets his scars and bitterness make him a harsh man until God sends a beautiful young woman into his service and shines His light back into his life.