Lent started on Valentine’s Day this year and that means I switch to reading religious books. I finished the ones I was reading and then started some good books with faith themes. Here is what I read in February:
Made from Scratch is a memoir of Tembi’s Locke’s relationship with her husband and she and her daughter grieve after his death. He was Sicilian and she is an African-American actress. They met while she was studying abroad, but his family would not accept him marrying outside of their nationality. It was years after they were married when she finally met his family. His death finally brings Tembi close to her mother-in-law as they help each other grieve in Italy after his death. A heart-breaking love story that reminds readers to not sever ties with family. Life on Earth is short.
I’ve enjoyed several of Emily St. John Mandel’s books and was looking for a good fiction book to read so checked out Last Night in Montreal. The author comes up with the most unique plots and characters. Lillia was abducted by her father when she was seven and they spent her entire life on the run. The book explores that affect on her life and how it affects those who love her. While her father is running away from those who might find Lillia, she feels a pull back to find out why he took her in the first place.
A family of seven is not having their lease renewed for their brownstone apartment in NYC. The five children band together to try to find out why the landlord doesn’t want them around and desperately seek to find a way for him to change his mind. Their plans tend to backfire, but they are trying really hard to be nice to a man who seems very mean to them. The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street is a fun and sweet young reader book.
Liv Green cleans houses, but one of her customers is a world-famous author. One of Liv’s favorites, in fact. Her husband doesn’t seem to confide in her much anymore even though she can tell there are problems at the family printing press. Her sons will both finally be off to college soon and the empty nest feels daunting. However, when the author makes a request that will change Liv’s world, will she be able to step up to the plate – and keep it secret? The Messy Lives of Book People was a fun read, full of twists.
I realized there was a Mitch Albom book I hadn’t read yet, so I check it out from the library. Have a Little Faith is Mitch’s journey rekindling his relationship with his childhood rabbi. The rabbi has asked him to give his eulogy, but it’s a few years off. Mitch feels he must know the person well to give a eulogy, so he starts meeting with his rabbi much more frequently. It brings a revival of his faith in the process.
Operation Paperclip had me shaking my head a lot as I read it. How could so many Nazi scientists and engineers have been brought to America – some of which should have been tried for war crimes? This book explains it all by laying all the secrets bare that the author could find. Must-read for any historians.
We can and do hold conflicting things in our lives so often. The Hard Good explores how we can do that well in a place of faith. Lisa Whittle tells her own stories of hard times throughout the book and holds nothing back. She adored her father, who was also charged with financial scandals at his church. She found a way to hold both in her heart and mind. The book was challenging in a good way.
Set in Mexico when Catholicism is illegal, The Power and the Glory is a story I won’t quickly forget. It follows a priest who is not a very good priest as he hides, but also tries to do the right thing when it’s asked of him. His chances to escape are almost always thwarted by the call of someone needing a priest. His realization in the end that trying to become a saint is the main thing in life is profound. I highly recommend this book.
The Wings of Poppy Poppleton follows a young woman as she discovers the true past about the island she lives on. One day, Chloe finds a young girl waiting for her when she gets home from work – she travels across the river to get to her home on the island. The girl has a scrapbook that mentions a little girl that was lost in 1907 on the island. Chloe thought her grandfather knew nothing about the mystery of the little girl, but as she digs into the past with the help of a reporter, she finds out there is a lot her grandfather didn’t tell her before he died. The mystery of what happened to Poppy feels like it must be solved. It was a good read and has the main character talk about her faith. (The book touches on human trafficking.)
What great books have you read lately? Share in the comments!
