Repressive regimes always want their citizens to feel one thing: fear.It’s an emotion that’s present from the opening pages of Astronaut! All 8-year-old Lia wanted to do was buy a pretty yellow vase, and before she knows it the angry shopkeeper is marching her home, interrogating her parents about t
Theo who?Readers of this No. 1 New York Times-bestselling novel don’t find out his last name until the very end of the book, and for good reason. We just know this 86-year-old character as Theo of Golden, a fictional town in the South where he moves to quite mysteriously from his New York City home.
The Me That RemainsBy Amy GrantReviewed by Robert J. KeeleyIt has been 13 years since Amy Grant released new music—eventful years for the singer songwriter who became a household name when Age to Age released 44 years ago.But heart surgery and then a bicycle accident and head injury required her to
Singer, songwriter and American Idol alum (season 14) Clark Beckham puts his spin on six modern worship tunes with his project, “Acoustic Worship Sessions.” It’s Beckham’s first offering in about six years and features his dazzling piano and vocal abilities.“I think the elements of this record have
Epistolary novels rarely succeed—they’re notoriously difficult to write without feeling dry—but Virginia Evans’ The Correspondent is a striking exception. A novel written entirely in letters, it stands in the tradition of modern classics like Marilynne Robinson’s Gilead and popular bestsellers like
Author Ragan Sutterfield, a priest in the Episcopal Church who serves a parish in his native Arkansas, became a passionate birder in his preteens. Over time, he began to contemplate the connection between birding and spiritual practices that draw the observer into a closer relationship with God. He
My Wednesday evenings seem a dull affair indeed after the glimmers and laughter of watching 10 episodes of The Other Bennet Sister.Based on the book by Janice Hadlow, the series invites viewers to Jane Austen’s world of Pride and Prejudice and the Bennet sisters. Unlike most adaptations and spinoffs
In this first book of three in the Sensate Saga series written for children ages 10 to 14, readers encounter 13-year-old Oscar who lives with his white father, Mexican stepmother, and Abuela. A few years ago, Oscar was in a car crash that forever changed his life. One leg is now shorter than the oth
This new book, by Anne Graham Lotz and her daughter Rachel-Ruth Lotz Wright, reminds readers through the story of Joseph that God has much to teach people through their experiences of suffering and hardship.God does not want people to be “pulled toward” the things of this earth because the things of
Author Robert J. Morgan, well known for his Then Sings My Soul series, combines in The Origin of Hymns 50 hymn stories curated from that series; a short history of Western hymnody; a reflection on the little-known conclusion of the life of Horatio Spafford, author of “It is Well with My Soul”; and e
If it were just another thriller drama series about a hitman working for the mob, I would have given Memory of a Killer a pass.But a fascinating twist reeled me in: Patrick Dempsey’s Angelo Flannery is not only living a double life, as a slick, Armani-clad hitman for a crime boss and a cardigan-wear
In this first book in the Lightseekers series for children ages 8 to 12, readers are catapulted into the kingdom of Wildfel. Ever since the Great Betrayal 10 years ago, intrigue and suspicion plague the kingdom that is slowly losing its light.Twelve-year-old orphan Finn wants only to take care of hi
Traumatized Church is a book worthy of group study and discussion at church and Christian institutions. Why? Therapist Adrienne Gibson and the prolific New Testament scholar Scot McKnight explain and explore symptoms of trauma in the church and how to thrive through it.The book’s goal is to aid chur
Lakota, Wisc., a place where “the past doesn’t always stay buried,” is a refuge for people who are running from something, “because above all, the locals treasured anonymity, the rare luxury of being left alone. And because they’d been judged harshly all their lives, they made it their business to n
In making Young Washington, the filmmakers were tasked with telling an origin story, not just for the father of a nation, but for the nation itself. They also faced the challenge of portraying Washington with integrity, neither mythologizing him nor tearing him down.After a brief flash-forward, the
The Curious Life of Cecilia Payne is the third book in the Incredible Lives for Young Readers series published by Eerdmans Books for Young Readers. The others include Only Margaret: A Story about Margaret Wise Brown and Friend of Numbers: The Life of Mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan.Born on May 10,
In Feasting on Hope, author Hannah Miller King, a priest in the Anglican Church in North America, shares her story of childhood trauma within the framework of her experience of finding God’s gift of hope while participating in the Lord’s Supper, first as a young adult congregant receiving Communion,
The members of Big Big Train were inspired by seeing woodcuts on a visit to the Munch museum while on tour in Oslo. They developed a story of an artist who struggled with his life’s work only to find freedom in creativity. The resulting album, Woodcut, the band’s 18th, is among their best work. In t
Young Andrew loves flowers and growing things, but when he looks at the gardens in his neighborhood, he’s astounded at how big they are. At first, he’s overwhelmed, but then he makes a decision. He will make a garden in his own way.With a small shovel, Andrew digs up a tiny rectangle in his front la
What was the life story of the Samaritan woman Jesus met at the well, the first person to whom he declared that he was the Messiah? Jesus knew her story, but Scripture offers only sparse details.In this historical fiction novel based on the biblical narrative, author Jill Eileen Smith gives readers