Publisher: WaterBrook Press
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 08/06/2013
ISBN-13: 9780307731470
ISBN-10: 0307731472

Historical Fiction. After being captured by Mohawk Indians 12 years earlier, Willa Obenchain (who has been called Burning Sky since she was 14) finally makes her way home...and finds Scotsman Neil MacGregor just after he's had a bad fall. Taking Neil to her family homestead, she finds it abandoned and some buildings burned. Were her parents victims of Revolutionary War violence? As she nurses the young botanist, she grows closer to him, faces challenges from locals (who claim her parents were Tories), and must make a tough decision when her clan-brother, Tames-His-Horse, arrives. Being "the place where two rivers meet" isn't easy, but Willa is a strong, appealing character who readers will enjoy spending time with. A lyrically written debut, Burning Sky integrates scripture seamlessly into the story.

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Publisher: Zondervan
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 09/24/2013
ISBN-13: 9780310330547
ISBN-10: 0310330548

General Fiction. Samford, Louisiana is brimming with small-town charm, but is the last place oil-and-gas negotiator Camille Gardner wants to be, having spent the worst weeks of her life there as a child. But her obligation to her uncle has her in town for one last job before she starts a new career as an art curator. All she has to do is convince a group of folk artists to sign over their mineral rights to her uncle's company; will she be able to or will her appreciation for art and the artists' handsome lawyer give her pause? If you're looking for a fun, sweet romantic story, try Sweet Olive, the 1st book in Judy Christie's Trumpet and Vine series.

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Publisher: HarperCollins
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 09/03/2013
ISBN-13: 9780062204448
ISBN-10: 0062204440

Amish Romance. Religion doesn't guarantee anyone a carefree life, even those who embrace simple living like the Amish. This is certainly true for 22-year-old Elsie Keim, who suffers from a disease that is slowly making her blind and which may end her chances for an independent life. Her brother is newly married and her twin sister is engaged to a missionary, but even though Elsie has feelings for her family's new neighbor, Landon, she is afraid her illness will ruin things between them. Meanwhile, Elsie's father has just returned home from rehab due to a drinking problem and her mother is in the hospital with pneumonia. This 3rd book in the Days of Redemption Series stands on its own as an inspiring, heartwarming story.

Publisher: Tyndale House
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 09/01/2013
ISBN-13: 9781414388250
ISBN-10: 141438825X

General Fiction. Fleeing from her past, troubled single mom Tandi Jo Reese finds refuge on Hatteras Island, North Carolina, the setting of one of her few happy childhood memories. When Iola Anne Poole, her elderly landlady, dies, Tandi agrees to clear out Iola's huge Victorian home; there, she discovers 81 prayer boxes filled with prayers and lyrically written letters to God (Iola made one box per year, from childhood until her death). As Tandi reads the letters, they change her relationships with God, herself, men, and her rebellious teenage daughter. This leisurely paced novel should please readers who enjoyed the epistolary style and redemption themes in Jason F. Wright's The Wednesday Letters and its sequel, The Wedding Letters. The Carolina beach setting and focus on women's lives will also please fans of secular author Mary Alice Monroe.

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Publisher: Good Books
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 09/01/2012
ISBN-13: 9781561487769
ISBN-10: 1561487767

Amish Fiction. Narrated by seventh grader Isaac Stolzfus, the youngest boy among ten children in a loving family, The Little Amish Matchmaker describes life in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. In the month before Christmas, Isaac realizes that his 21-year-old brother Simon likes the pretty new school teacher, blue-eyed Catherine Speicher. But with Simon too shy to do anything about his feelings, Isaac decides to play matchmaker. Kind-hearted Isaac also helps a school mate, Ruthie, deal with her stuttering and her nervousness about the upcoming Christmas program at school. If you're looking for a gentle book to get you in the Christmas spirit, try this sweet novella.

Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 10/30/2012
ISBN-13: 9781451628036
ISBN-10: 145162803X

General Fiction. The biblical story of Joseph and his brothers is freshly retold in this heartwarming 2012 novel by bestselling author Richard Paul Evans. In Evans' well-wrought version, the 11 brothers of Joseph Jacobson know he is their father's favorite (especially after dad gives J.J. his old Navy flight jacket that's covered in colorful patches). The siblings maneuver J.J. out of the family advertising agency, out of their father's life, and away from everyone he loves. Leaving Colorado for Chicago and eventually New York, J.J. makes a new life from scratch. Though things don't always go smoothly, with his faith in God, hard work, and paying attention to his dreams, the resilient J.J. finds success and love, and (as readers of Genesis know) eventually reunites with his family. Kirkus Reviews says reading this story is "a journey you should definitely take."

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Publisher: Atria Books
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 11/01/2011
ISBN-13: 9781439170465
ISBN-10: 1439170460

General Fiction. Quilter Lela Edwards finds herself alone in Chicago for the Christmas holidays -- she's recently widowed, her 92-year-old mother just died, her three daughters live far away, and her pregnant granddaughter, who's just filed for divorce, is going to see her mother in Texas to avoid Lela's disapproval. When her Baptist church's Bible study group focuses on the Virgin Mary, Lela is surprised at the choice, but the topic comes to have special significance for her as she considers her family and starts working on a new quilt. Author and evangelical preacher T.D. Jakes offers an inspiring Christmas story featuring a feisty lead character and both poignant and amusing moments.

Publisher: Zondervan
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 09/13/2010
ISBN-13: 9780310327363
ISBN-10: 0310327369

Amish Fiction. Shunned by her family when she married a non-Amish Christian three years ago and moved to Baltimore, Anna Mae McDonough longs to reconcile with them this Christmas. Not only does she miss them, but she's heavily pregnant and wants her child to know the people she loves and to enjoy large family gatherings (her husband's only relative is a sister who lives in California). With encouragement from her loving husband, Anna Mae writes to her sympathetic sister-in-law, who secretly helps her plan a visit back to Bird-in-Hand, Pennsylvania for the holidays. What will happen? Read this sweetly charming novella to find out!

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