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Christian Fiction May 2021
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The book of lost names
by Kristin Harmel
Eva Traube Abrams, a semi-retired librarian in Florida, is shelving books one morning when her eyes lock on a photograph in a magazine lying open nearby. She freezes; it's an image of a book she hasn't seen in sixty-five years--a book she recognizes as The Book of Lost Names .
The accompanying article discusses the looting of libraries by the Nazis across Europe during World War II--an experience Eva remembers well--and the search to reunite people with the texts taken from them so long ago. The book in the photograph, an eighteenth-century religious text thought to have been taken from France in the waning days of the war, is one of the most fascinating cases. Now housed in Berlin's Zentral- und Landesbibliothek library, it appears to contain some sort of code, but researchers don't know where it came from--or what the code means. Only Eva holds the answer--but will she have the strength to revisit old memories and help reunite those lost during the war?
As a graduate student in 1942, Eva was forced to flee Paris after the arrest of her father, a Polish Jew. Finding refuge in a small mountain town in the Free Zone, she begins forging identity documents for Jewish children fleeing to neutral Switzerland. But erasing people comes with a price, and along with a mysterious, handsome forger named Rémy, Eva decides she must find a way to preserve the real names of the children who are too young to remember who they really are. The records they keep in The Book of Lost Names will become even more vital when the resistance cell they work for is betrayed and Rémy disappears.
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The farmer's bride
by Kathleen Fuller
Martha Detweiler has a problem many Amish women her age would envy: she's the only single woman in a community of young men, and they're all competing for her favor. Overwhelmed by the unwanted attention, Martha finds herself constantly fleeing from her would-be suitors, dismayed at what her life has come to. Birch Creek's resident matchmaker, Cevilla Schlabach, suggests a solution: Martha and the bishop's son, Seth Yoder, should pretend they are dating. What better way to keep the other young men away? But Seth is the only man around not interested in Martha. He has a secret hobby that keeps him away from social gatherings: woodcarving. Having grown up in poverty, he's determined to keep his father's farm successful, even if it means he has no time for dating. Then Delilah Stoll, a new resident of Birch Creek, eyes Seth as the perfect man for her granddaughter. Suddenly Cevilla's proposition doesn't seem all that ludicrous. Can Seth and Martha convince their family and friends to leave them alone?
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Meant to be
by Jude Deveraux
In the small farming community of Mason, Kansas, Vera and Kelly Exton are known for their ambitions. Vera is an activist who wants to join her boyfriend in the Peace Corps. But she is doing her duty caring for her widowed mother and younger sister until Kelly is firmly established. Kelly works for the local veterinarian and plans to marry her childhood sweetheart...as soon as he gets around to proposing.
Neither sister is entirely happy with the path that's been laid out for her. But it's 1972 and times are changing. As each evaluates her options, everything shifts. Do you do what's right for yourself or what others want? By having the courage to follow their hearts these women will change lives for the better and the effects will be felt by the generations that follow. Meant to Be delivers an emotional, smart, funny and wise lesson about the importance of being true to yourself.
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The Orphan Thief
by Glynis Peters
As Hitler's bombs rain down on a battered and beleaguered Britain, Ruby Shadwell is dealt the most devastating blow -- her entire family lost during the Coventry Blitz. Alone and with the city in chaos, Ruby is determined to survive this war and rebuild her life. And a chance encounter with street urchin Tommy gives Ruby just the chance she needs. Because Tommy brings with him Canadian Sergeant Jean-Paul Clayton. Jean-Paul is drawn to Ruby and wants to help her, but Ruby cannot bear another loss. Can love bloom amidst the ruins? Or will the war take Ruby's last chance at happiness too?
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Focus on: Mothers and Fathers
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To have and to hold
by Tracie Peterson
When Audrey Cunningham's father proposes that they move to Bridal Veil Island, where he grew up, she agrees, thinking this will help keep him sober and close to God. But they arrive to find wealthy investors buying up land to build a grand resort on the secluded island--and they want the Cunninghams' acreage. Contractor Marshall Graham can't imagine why the former drinking buddy of his deceased father would beckon him to Bridal Veil Island. And when Boyd Cunningham asks him to watch over Audrey, Marshall is even more confused. He has no desire to be saddled with caring for this fiery young woman who is openly hostile toward him. But when Audrey seems to be falling for another man--one who has two little girls Audrey adores--Marshall realizes she holds more of his heart than he realized. Which man will Audrey choose? And can she hold on to her ancestral property in the face of overwhelming odds?
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The Daughter's Walk: A Novel
by Jane Kirkpatrick
Historical Fiction. Two women walk 3,500 miles alone across the United States, from Washington State to New York City -- and they do it in 1896 while wearing new clothing that doesn't require corsets and shows their ankles. Though this sounds almost unbelievable, it's a true story; Jane Kirkpatrick's atmospheric book novelizes what happened when Helga Estby and her 17-year-old daughter Clara attempted to finish the walk in seven months in order to win money from the fashion industry to save their family farm. Though the walk is difficult and the aftermath more so, this book is "beautiful and compelling" (Publishers Weekly). For a more lighthearted look at women's rights around this time, try Robin Lee Hatcher's Catching Katie.
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An Amish family : Building Trust / A Heart Full of Love / Surprised by Love / A Gift for Anne Marie
by Kathleen Fuller
In An Amish Family, beloved author of Amish romance, Kathleen Fuller, invites readers into the lives of four Amish families. "Building Trust" - Grace Miller and Joel King are in love. They've dated secretly for the past year and when he proposes marriage, Grace eagerly agrees. But when she tells her parents about the wedding, she's shocked when her father tells her she can't marry Joel. Can Grace get to the bottom of her father's animosity toward Joel so they can have the happily ever after she's always dreamed of? -- "A Heart Full of Love" - (also in An Amish Cradle) Ellie's mother hasn't stopped meddling in her personal life since Ellie lost her sight--and she's taken it up a notch now that Ellie's pregnant. When Ellie gives birth to twins, her mother insists on moving in to care for them. But when her mother's behavior becomes unbearable, Ellie is forced to take a stand. and finally find out why Mamm can't let go. -- "Surprised by Love" - In a desperate move to evade her match-making mother, Emily Shwartz announces that she's already seeing someone: Reuban Coblentz. The trouble is, Reuban is barely even a friend. Seeing how desperate she is, Reuban plays along. But when the past sneaks up on them, will this temporary arrangement turn into everlasting love? -- "A Gift for Anne Marie" - (also in An Amish Second Christmas) Anne Marie and Nathaniel have been best friends since they were kids. Now things are evolving. in ways everyone else predicted long ago. But when her mother suddenly decides to remarry in another state, Anne Marie's new chapter with Nathaniel looks doomed to end before it begins".
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| Someone Like You by Karen KingsburyWhat it's about: Dawson Gage is devastated when the best friend he's in love with dies. When he learns that she may have a sister thanks to a donated embryo, he searches out Maddie Baxter West. Stunned by Dawson's news and her parents' lack of honesty, Maddie meets her biological parents and grows ever closer to Dawson.
Series alert: This faith-filled 8th standalone book in the bestselling Baxter family series is followed by Truly, Madly, Deeply. (Those wanting Karen Kingsbury's latest novel should look for the just-released A Distant Shore, which is not part of the Baxter series.) |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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