Author Julia Ubbenga was raised in a middle-class family with upper-class grandparents. Ubbenga’s grandmother showered her with gifts and often took her shopping, even from a very early age. Ubbenga writes that, though her grandmother exemplified many virtues, throughout the numerous shopping forays
I must admit I liked this film anyway. Despite its oddness and feeling of being overstuffed and underbaked, I fell for Ella McCay and her quirky sidekicks and offbeat villains. Call me sentimental—you wouldn’t be wrong. As the movie unspools, everything felt so familiar and comforting to me. Maybe i
In 1941, Peggy and her cousin Delia, farm girls in Iowa, often misunderstood each other because of their differing interests. Peggy, a math whiz, thinks every problem life throws at a person can be solved like a math equation. Delia is passionate about poetry and literature. She views the world meta
It’s a privilege to read a wide array of faith-based, nonfiction books for possible review in The Banner. I love sharing these books with readers! Here are a few of my favorites of 2025 that fit our Christian Reformed worldview.Journey With a GiantBy Lori MeltonFew Christian living books have a prem
Author Chi Thai was 3 years old when she and her family escaped Vietnam in a dilapidated boat. Forced to flee political oppression and to face a perilous future, they put their wellbeing into the hands of strangers who demanded payment but offered no guarantee of safe arrival.The Endless Sea is a fi
Melanie Penn spent a number of years on (and off) Broadway singing other people’s songs thinking she had no songs of her own to sing. But when she realized that she had songs in her head that were not written by others she connected with a few people in Nashville who helped start her journey as a si
Set in several North Carolina communities and in Berlin, Germany, in the 1930s, when the memory of the horrors of WWI continued to haunt people and the rising threat of Hitler and the Nazis loomed, this riveting novel based on several real events relates the fictional story of gifted pianist Hedda S
In this 15th novel of the Mitford series—the previous three are Somewhere Safe with Somebody Good, Come Rain or Come Shine, and To Be Where You Are—author Jan Karon offers readers an unforgettable Christmas experience. My Beloved is, by turns, delightfully hilarious or tear-inducing, comically muddl
In this engaging, unique children’s storybook Bible, renowned Christian theologian and author of children’s picture books and adult nonfiction Esau McCaulley helps children to understand God’s great redemptive story to develop his two-pronged theme of God’s intention to draw all the nations of the w
Novelist Jane Austen was born 250 years ago, on Dec. 16, 1775. Celebrate Austen’s incredible legacy of wit and wisdom with a new historical novel based on a real-life Austen book club, a 2025 miniseries about Austen’s sister Cassandra, and a 2014 miniseries that sets iconic characters Lizzie and Dar
In the second book in the God’s Big Picture Bible Stories—the first is God's Big Picture Bible Storybook: 140 Connecting Bible Stories of God's Faithful Promises—distinguished Bible scholar N.T. Wright relates the story of Jesus’ birth within the context of God’s promise to send a true king who woul
Renowned Ukrainian Canadian author Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch has added another historical fiction novel to her already impressive collection. Her other titles, including Winterkill, Stolen Girl, and Don’t Tell the Enemy, show Forchuk Skrypuch’s courageous conviction to narrate in a fictional format th
If you want to find a new “warm bath” type of show, and you’ve watched every episode available of Virgin River and Heartland, come stay awhile at Sullivan’s Crossing, a fictional campground in Nova Scotia.Adapted from the New York Times-bestselling novels by Robyn Carr (who wrote Virgin River), Sull
When young Kaylee and her dog Keedo wake up, they greet God with a morning prayer: “Good morning, God! Thank you for this brand-new day!”Downstairs, Kaylee opens the front door, and Keedo retrieves the morning newspaper. In the kitchen, Kaylee and Halbi—her Korean grandfather—eat their breakfast and
When Whitney Simpson had a life-changing stroke two decades ago at the age of 31, she considered the things that grounded her amid the swirling changes. The gift of facing death gave her a renewed appreciation for life, the world around her, and her relationship with God. Crisis connected her with s
In December 1862, Walt Whitman left his home in Brooklyn, N.Y., and went in search of his injured brother, a Union soldier fighting in the South in the Civil War. Nothing could have prepared Whitman for the devastation of human life and property he witnessed by the time he found his brother in a hos
In this second installment of the Treasures of Halstead Manor series—the first was The Rare Jewel of Everleigh Wheaton, and the third, The Hidden Key of Brooke Summer, is yet to be released—the strange adventures and budding friendships of Natalie, Everleigh, and Brooke continue to evolve, despite h
For eight years, the Porter’s Gate, a collection of artists writing worship songs for the church, has been creating themed albums with songs that feature thoughtful lyrics and singable melodies designed for use in churches. This music is unlike much of the very popular modern worship music, that oft
It’s 1858. In three years, America’s Civil War will begin. But now? Neighbor measures neighbor. And here in the Kansas Territory, passions are high. The Missouri Compromise has been repealed, allowing Kansas’s residents to decide the slave issue. So, for four years, violence has plagued the area, ea
Based on what authors Bruce Hindmarsh and Carolyn Hindmarsh learned and experienced as they led various prayer and discernment retreats through the years, this short book is suitable for large group retreats, small group study, or as a personal devotional study.Focusing primarily on the three Script