Simple Faith
Solid Friendships
Strong Families
Sign up for my newsletter
to receive a FREE novelette, as well as notifications about new releases, sales, and upcoming projects!
Not sure where to start? Try my short story picker!
My Favorite Books
My Favorite Books
Along with loving to write, I also love to read! Below, you will find some of my personal favorites--books that have entertained, inspired, or challenged me in a special way. This page will contain long-time loves and new-found friends, everything from classics to contemporary fiction, a heavy slant toward children's and young adult titles, and probably very few bestsellers. It's not a complete list by any means, and I'll continue to add to it as I have time.
If you have a recommendation you'd like to share, feel free to let me know. I love to swap favorites! Just be aware that your recommendation probably won't show up here unless it speaks to me in a special way. There are a lot of books out there that I enjoy, but this list is my personal best-of-the-best.
Please note that this list does not contain affiliate links, and I have received no compensation from the authors or publishers for my recommendations. All opinions expressed here are entirely my own.
The Rivers of Judah (series)Catherine Farnes
Even among the surprising number of new favorites I've discovered lately, this series continues to rise to the top. I borrowed the first book and, after reading it, bought the entire series sight-unseen. They did not disappoint!
Catherine Farnes manages to pack emotionally intense topics into true-to-life characters and situations and wrap them all in a thick layer of grace. Powerful. Real. Gentle. I come back to these words every time I try to describe them. Parts of the stories still take my breath away. Some of the characters always make me smile. The theme of God's grace even in the middle of tragedy begins in the first book and carries all the way through to the end.
Any of the books could be read as a stand-alone, but some themes and plotlines are carried over from book to book, so it's best to read them in order. The series order is 1) The Rivers of Judah, 2) Snow, 3) Out of Hiding, 4) The Way of Escape. I can't recommend these too highly!
The Quest for Truth (series)Brock Eastman
I admit I wasn't expecting much when I picked up this series, but am I ever glad that I gave it a try! For the first couple chapters, I had a little trouble getting into the author's style, and usually when that happens, it makes an impression that I can't get away from. This series absolutely decimated it--so much so that by the end of the first book, I didn't even remember that I'd ever had trouble--until the pattern repeated itself in the next book. (For the record, there's nothing wrong with the style; it just takes me a little while to get into the stride.) All that to say I've never had a book overcome an initial impression like that, so the fact that these did is an amazing testament to the power of the story and the characters.
Wow--the characters! I keep thinking that Brock Eastman must have been spying on my house growing up; that's how real the sibling relationships feel. Setting aside the fact that we were never on a life-or-death race through outer space to save our parents from their evil captors, I can't shake the feeling that parts of the dialogue, the relationship dynamics, and the character traits really are my siblings and me. The plot keeps me on the edge of my seat every moment without overwhelming me like some other books I've read. There's also plenty of humor sprinkled throughout.
One of my favorite aspects of this series is the way that it sticks to straight sci-fi without adding in fantasy elements. Even the strangest parts of this outer-space world (blue people???) are given a scientific or technological explanation (even if an imaginary one). I'm not a huge fan of most fantasy, and it's hard to find good science fiction that doesn't let some of those elements creep in. Not that this series wouldn't appeal to fans of fantasy as well--there's plenty of epic struggle, bizarre creatures, and evil overlords to go around! The story is also explicitly and unashamedly Christian, although it takes the characters a little while to realize the full meaning of the truth they're seeking.
I accidentally started with the second book in the series and was still able to follow the storyline, but I definitely recommend reading them in order. The series so far is 1) Taken, 2) Risk, 3) Unleash, 4) Tangle
(with a few additional short-story spin-offs). I'm holding my breath for the release of the conclusion--Hope!
HeidiJohanna Spyri
Heidi
was an early favorite that I remembered fondly but lost track of and rediscovered a few years back.
I remembered the beauty of the language and descriptions (my favorite is Helen B. Dole's translation), but I was surprised and delighted to find how explicitly Christian the story is--from the hymns Peter's grandmother loves, to the faith instilled in Heidi by Klara's grandmamma, to the reawakening of Heidi's grandfather on her return. The simplicity of Heidi's faith is an inspiration, and the hymns scattered throughout (which I admit I used to skim over) are full of profound truths.
For anyone who wants "the rest of the story," I also recommend Heidi Grows Up
and Heidi's Children, written by Charles Tritten, another of Johanna Spyri's translators. They're not quite as good as the original, but they retain the same lovable characters and faith-based focus. Charles Tritten not only brings Heidi and her friends into adulthood, he also fills in questions from the past that were left open at the end of Heidi. If you'd like to explore one possible ending for the story, give these books a try.