F/ABRAHAM
Abraham, PearlThe Romance Reader1995, 296 p.

Rachel, daughter of a Chassidic rabbi, rebels against her strict Orthodox upbringing. She reads romances, acquires a library card, and becomes a lifeguard. Getting caught only compels her to hide her actions. She finds, though, that she cannot escape her heritage as her parents arrange her marriage in a coming of age novel that immerses the reader in her life and culture.

F/ANAYA
Anaya, Rudolfo A.Bless Me, Ultima1972, 248 p.

An innocent young boy, Antonio, is guided by his curandera (healer), Ultima, as he struggles to understand the great questions of his life—religion, myth and healing, family, tradition, and the Chicano culture of his New Mexican homeland.

F/APPEL
Appel, AllanHigh Holiday Sutra1997, 240 p.

In a humorous and confessional Yom Kippur sermon, unconventional Rabbi Jonah Grief relates the story of his struggle for enlightenment. Beginning with his bar mitzvah, he chronicles his adolescence, his unconsummated first marriage to the dynamic but narcissistic Brandy, and his tortured search for meaning in and out of Judaism. Ultimately, a second marriage and his discovery of Buddhism allow him to begin to make sense of the universe.

F/BRADLEY
Bradley, DonAngels in a Harsh World1998, 302 p.

Haley Olsten, a proper Bostonian young woman whose birth was accompanied by the famous comet and whose future has been foretold and eagerly awaited by the spirits of good, finds herself on a journey of self discovery. Joining a friend on a trip to India, she discovers the love of her life and finds angels even in the depths of degradation. Her destiny ultimately leads her to prewar Berlin and the greatest challenge of all—pure evil.

F/BRADY
Brady, JoanGod on a Harley: A Spiritual Fable1995, 147 p.

Burned out in her career, disappointed in love and hoping for a new start, Christine moves back to her hometown in New Jersey. While walking on the beach one night, she meets a young man on a Harley. Joe is a mysterious fellow who appears at unexpected times, especially when Christine feels most dejected. During the course of their strange relationship, Joe manages to communicate a few spiritual principles that help Christine live a more satisfying life. A light romantic fantasy that leaves the reader with something to ponder.

F/CALDWELL
Caldwell, TaylorGreat Lion of God1970, 629 p.

This fictional biography of Saul (Paul) of Tarshish (Tarsus) makes use of biblical and historical material to provide Saul with a childhood and family. As he matures, Saul is a devout student of the Torah, eagerly awaiting the birth of the Messiah. Refusing to accept Jesus as the answer to his prayers, Saul persecutes those who believe in him. After an experience on the road to Damascus, Saul shows as much zealousness toward Christianity as he has earlier shown against it. Because of his change of heart, he is distrusted by both sides and becomes a very lonely man, exiled from his native land.

F/CALIA
Calia, Charles LairdThe Unspeakable1998, 214 p.

Is Father Jim Marbury a true healer or merely a priest who has descended into madness? Was Marbury’s voice really stolen by God during a life-changing experience, or is he just refusing to speak? Peter Whitmore, an old friend from the seminary and now with the Archdiocese of St. Paul, is sent to investigate the miraculous claims. A moving story that examines friendship and faith.

F/CARD
Card, Orson ScottLost Boys1992, 448 p.

Step Fletcher has moved his wife DeAnne and their three eldest children to Steuben, North Carolina. Where once he thought they’d had it made, now they’re scraping the bottom of their savings. Steuben seems quiet, with an established Mormon congregation that will help them get a foothold in their new surroundings. But things don’t seem right somehow, as their oldest son, eight-year-old Stevie, becomes more and more withdrawn. Their faith and family will need every ounce of strength to deal with the hidden horror that threatens not only Stevie, but all the little boys of Steuben. Deeply foreboding and suspenseful, Lost Boys is a chilling exploration of the evil without and the goodness within human lives.

SF/F/CARD
Card, Orson ScottSongmaster1978, 277 p.

This novel retells the Old Testament story of King David. Emperor Mikal has conquered most of the worlds in the Galaxy. When he arrives at the Songhouse of Tew requesting the services of one of the exceptionally gifted “Songbirds,” it takes almost a century to find one suited to him. The result is Ansset, a nine-year-old orphan. For the first time in his life, Mikal becomes vulnerable. Soon after, Mikal’s enemies kidnap Ansset and turn him into a living weapon of destruction. With gentle wisdom, the author illustrates how love can lead to hate and mistrust through misunderstanding.

J/DICKINSON
Dickinson, PeterTulku1979, 286 p.

The destruction of his father’s mission leaves young Theo dazed and questioning his faith. Fleeing the Boxer Rebellion, Theo joins Mrs. Jones, an Englishwoman “botanizing” in China, on a journey to Tibet. Their trek to a Buddhist monastery exposes Theo to hardship, narrow escapes, and the colorful Mrs. Jones. Although Theo is repelled by the trappings of Buddhism, he repeatedly experiences its power. When the Lama demands his help in discovering the newest incarnation of the monastery’s master, Theo begins to accept the power of the Buddhist’s faith while his own faith matures and grows strong.

F/DOUGLAS
Douglas, Lloyd C.Magnificent Obsession1929, 330 p.

When attractive, man-about-town Bobby Merrick is knocked off a sailboat while in a drunken stupor, his life is saved by a resuscitator owned by a much loved brain surgeon. Unfortunately, as a result of his machine being in use, Dr. Hudson himself is drowned. Recovering from his close call with death, Bobby begins to investigate Dr. Hudson’s background and finds a notebook written in code which seems to hold the key to a successful and good life. Can he change his ways and make up for the loss of the good doctor?

F/FILLERUP
Fillerup, MichaelBeyond the River1995, 252 p.

Track and football star Jon Reeves could be any young man from a comfortable background looking forward to a successful future. However, that he is Mormon, and thus has certain obligations and responsibilities, sets him apart. This first person account of a young man’s struggle with his faith takes him from his high school days in the late 1960’s to middle age, 30 years later, when, haunted by the memory of Nancy, the young woman who inspired him intellectually and was his first love, he returns to his hometown to exorcise the ghosts of his past. Details of his religious beliefs and responsibilities frame this novel of both coming of age and midlife crisis.

F/GILES
Giles, Janice HoltThe Believers1957, 214 p.

After childhood sweethearts Rebecca and Richard Cooper join a Kentucky Shaker community, their lives change as they learn that husbands, wives, and their children live apart and come together only for meals and that Utopia can be riddled with bigotry as well as saintliness.

F/GOLDEN
Golden, MaritaA Woman’s Place1986, 240 p.

Three young African-American women search to find their places in the world. Crystal bares her soul through her poetry and struggles with an interracial marriage, and Serena serves others through her work in Africa in the aftermath of war. However, Faith uses the Muslim faith, her home, and her family to fill the empty spaces within. Over the years, their friendship sustains and enriches them as three very different women seek happiness and fulfillment.

F/HESSE
Hesse, HermannSiddhartha1951, 152 p.

A young Brahmin’s son in ancient India believes that he too can find the harmony that Buddha preaches, but in his own way, and he embarks on a lengthy quest for inner peace and spiritual maturation.

M/HILLERMAN
Hillerman, TonyThe Ghostway1984, 213 p.

Sergeant Jim Chee loves Mary Landon, a teacher from Wisconsin, but can he give up his tribe and his future as a tribal singer to marry her and join the FBI, a path that will clearly take him from the reservation? Navajo religion and tradition run deep in Chee: his thought processes and actions all stem from his attempt to live the Navajo Way, which requires one to live in beauty and in harmony. In this episode, it is precisely Chee’s knowledge of Navajo ritual concerning the dead that leads to the solution of the multiple murders.

F/HOWATCH
Howatch, SusanGlittering Images1987, 399 p.

The charismatic Bishop of Starbridge is beloved by his congregation, but his outspoken criticism of the Church’s divorce policy pits him against his superiors. Looking for ways to suppress him, the Archbishop of Canterbury hires Charles Ashworth, a doctor of theology, to spy on the Bishop. Charles soon learns that the Bishop, his wife, and her attractive companion are involved in a ménage à trois. Devastated by this discovery, Charles is left in a quandary—should he make his findings public and bring down the Church? First of six novels on the Church of England, this series presents the pageantry and failings of this mighty religious institution.

F/KARON
Karon, JanAt Home in Mitford1994, 446 p.

A dog disciplined with biblical quotations, a new neighbor in pink curlers, and a stranger who descends from the church attic during a Sunday morning service are among the joys and trials of Father Tim, Rector of Lord’s Chapel, the Episcopal Church of Mitford, North Carolina. This is the first in a series of gentle but powerful novels with memorable characters and a Christian approach to small town values.

M/KRICH
Krich, Rochelle MajerSpeak No Evil1996, 402 p.

When two prominent women attorneys are found shot to death with their tongues cut out, Debra Laslow, a criminal defense attorney, is suspected of murdering them. One of the cases Debra is defending—a doctor accused of date rape by his receptionist—keeps intertwining itself with the cases of the two dead attorneys. Debra finds that her faith is becoming an issue in her case since the receptionist is part of her close-knit Orthodox community. Debra consults with her father, an Orthodox Jewish rabbi, about the case, and his Talmudic advice helps her understand the fine line between her devout religious beliefs and her job. When two more attorneys are killed, Debra finally makes the connection between her rape case and the murders. With her life in danger, she races to expose the murderer.

F/LAHAYE
LaHaye, Tim and Jerry B. JenkinsLeft Behind: A Novel of the Earth’s Last Days1995, 468 p.

Soon, in the twinkling of an eye, many people will disappear. Left Behind deals with the rapture of the church and the chaos that will erupt with many people disappearing at the same time. How do the people left behind deal with the loss of their loved ones? Was it a UFO abduction? Was it the rapture according to Revelations in the Bible? This book is followed by Tribulation Force, Nicolae, and Soul Harvest, with a total of seven books planned for the series.

F/MORGAN
Morgan, MarloMutant Message Down Under1991, 187 p.

During a four-month-long journey through the Australian outback with a tribe of nomadic Aborigines called the “Real People,” Marlo Morgan learns how humans can live and thrive in natural harmony with plants, animals, their environment, and each other.

M/NEWMAN
Newman, SharanDeath Comes as Epiphany1993, 319 p.

Catherine LeVendeur enters the Convent of the Paraclete to study and devote her life to God. But the Abbess Heloise has other ideas. She needs Catherine to find out who has altered a psalter, copied by Catherine, to make it appear that Father Abelard is a heretic. Catherine agrees to leave the Convent, apparently in disgrace, so she can conduct her search of the Abbey of Saint-Denis. Little does either woman realize the dangerous, tangled web into which Catherine is venturing. Set in 12th-century France, this story presents a vivid picture of the politics and passions of the Catholic Church during that time. This book is the first of a series.

M/PARKER
Parker, Gary E.Beyond a Reasonable Doubt1994, 253 p.

As Burke Anderson, a 29-year-old minister, prepares to eat a lonely birthday dinner, old college roommate Walt Litske knocks on the door. His gift is to leave Burke with an attractive call girl. Even though attracted to the woman, Carol Reese, Burke explains his occupation and that his congregation would fire him in a minute if they knew he was with her. When he leaves, he begins to sense the odor of onions, a symptom of an incipient epileptic seizure. Two days later he returns to Carol’s condominium and discovers her body. Knowing he was one of the last people to see her alive and fearing his epileptic attack may have caused her death, he flees, and with the help of a former addict friend, seeks the true solution to Carol’s murder.

F/PATON WALSH
Paton Walsh, JillKnowledge of Angels1994, 268 p.

How do we come to know of God? On a medieval Mediterranean island “somewhat like Mallorca, but not Mallorca,” a feral child is the center of a theological experiment to determine how one arrives at an understanding and belief in the existence of the Almighty. Thoughtful, suspenseful, and beautifully written, this is a luminous, mystical, and unforgettable story of the meaning of faith. It was recognized with a Booker Award nomination in 1994.

F/POTOK
Potok, ChaimThe Chosen1967, 284 p.

Danny Saunders and Reuven Malter live within five blocks of each other in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn during World War II, but live in entirely different worlds. Reuven comes from an Orthodox Jewish tradition, while Danny belongs to a very strict Russian Hasidic Jewish sect. As Reuven and Danny become friends, they begin to learn about each other’s worlds. Danny, who is supposed to follow his father as rabbi of the sect, wants to study psychology, and Reuven’s father guides him. Reuven furthers his Talmud studies from Danny’s father and leans toward becoming a rabbi, even though his father wants him to be a professor. As the boys go to college, their friendship helps them defy their fathers and find their own paths.

F/PROSE
Prose, FrancineHousehold Saints1981, 227 p.

Can miracles exist in today’s world? Will we recognize them as God’s work, or are we too jaded? When Joseph wins Catherine in a pinochle game, he cannot imagine all the miracles in store for him. A happy marriage, the birth of a daughter, and a successful business are all a part of his wondrous life. But when Jesus appears to his teenage daughter while she is ironing, Joseph’s religious background comes into direct conflict with his skeptical mind. This charming depiction of life in Little Italy raises real questions about Catholicism in daily life.

SF/F/RUSSELL
Russell, Mary DoriaThe Sparrow1996, 408 p.

In 2019, the world receives undeniable evidence of an extraterrestrial intelligence. In 2021, while politicians debate whether and when to attempt contact, the Society of Jesus privately sends its own mission to contact “God’s other children.” In 2059, Father Emilio Sandoz, sole survivor of the Jesuit mission, returns to earth, physically and spiritually destroyed. The Jesuits and the world must ask: Could a mission begun so joyfully and reverently go so disastrously wrong? Or, might the effects of the mission on Rakhat and on Emilio still be part of God’s plan?

F/SCHAAP
Schaap, James CalvinThe Secrets of Barneveld Calvary1997, 190 p.

Every Sunday morning the parishioners of Barneveld Calvary Church are asked to share their joys and concerns; but the minister of this small Iowa town knows that these brief petitions don’t begin to express the long held grudges, family secrets, and wild pasts of his parishioners. In these related stories, the minister reflects on where faith and love or their lack take us: a man at peace with his memories of liberating Dachau, a woman still unforgiving about the death of a brother 40 years ago, and the church organist who loves her son but can’t accept his lifestyle.

F/SHELDON
Sheldon, Charles M.In His Steps1897, 242 p.

A minister and his church members are transformed into true disciples of Christ as they choose His behavior as their reference point in their day-to-day decisions. Church members pledge for an entire year not to do anything without first asking “What would Jesus do?” In the light of Christ’s example, their choices become much more clear cut, and yet much more difficult and painful as lives are changed forever.

F/STRACHER
Stracher, CameronThe Laws of Return1996, 245 p.

Growing up in the wealthy suburbs of New York, blond-haired, blue-eyed Colin Stone can’t seem to find his place in the world. Not believing in the Judaism of his Yiddish speaking grandparents, he still feels the weight of Jewish history behind him. Colin’s search for meaning continues through his stoned high school years, college at an Ivy League school, and then Harvard Law School. Only after finding an eccentric new girlfriend and confronting the strong anti-Semitism of his new boss, does he discover some ultimate truths about himself and being a Jew.

F/TROBAUGH
Trobaugh, AugustaPraise Jerusalem!1997, 285 p.

Amelia, a genteel Georgia widow, finds herself in the embarrassing situation of being broke and house poor. She is the last survivor of her circle of friends, and, to top it all off, she finds herself saddled with a tacky roommate named Maybelline, after a tube of mascara. Rather than face financial embarrassment in her hometown, Amelia agrees to move to Maybelline’s Granddaddy’s place in Jerusalem, Georgia. On the road trip, Amelia’s mind wanders back to one particular summer of her childhood when she came under the care of elderly, black Aunt Valley. The lessons Aunt Valley taught on compassion and love were never needed more than in these trying times.

F/VAUGHN
Vaughn, EllenThe Strand1997, 323 p.

Anne Lorelli appears to have a most satisfying life, with a wealthy, handsome husband and a beautiful home. On the night of their twentieth anniversary, Paul and Anne stroll from the expensive restaurant and encounter a sneering gunman, who demands watch, wallet and Anne’s pearls. As the cord breaks and the pearls scatter, the mugger fires; and Anne watches disbelievingly as Paul bleeds to death in front of her. In the days that follow, Anne discovers that the life she believed in is as fragile as that strand of pearls, as the police gradually uncover the shocking truth about the attack - and its true target. Anne finds consolation and new depths in herself through volunteering at an inner-city church school, but confronts violence again in a shattering event that tests her new found faith.

F/WILLIAMSON
Williamson, PenelopeThe Outsider1996, 464 p.

Following the hanging death of her husband by a vigilante group, Amish Rachel Yoder struggles to make a life for herself and son Benjo on their sheep farm in Montana. When injured killer Johnny Cain stumbles onto her property, Rachel’s life as one of the Plain People changes. She nurses the handsome “outsider” back to health and convinces him to stay and help her with the farm. Rachel fights her attraction to the man who cannot adopt her simple, devout ways. After Rachel and Johnny give in to their passion, Rachel defies her family and friends to renounce her faith. This Western romance is the story of faith, trust, and redemption.

F/WOJTASIK
Wojtasik, TedNo Strange Fire1996, 400 p.

One night in December 1992, seven barns belonging to Amish families in the Big Valley area of Pennsylvania go up in flames. The story of the barn burnings, and subsequent search for the arsonist, becomes a vehicle for the author’s respectful description of the lifestyle of the Nebraska Amish in the 1900s. Details of farming, family life and dress, courtship rituals, church services, and the defection of one of their own young Amish men, all unfold through a series of flashbacks and the ongoing investigations of the local Sergeant Stuter and FBI Agent Tate. The novel is based on an actual incident.

Prepared by members of the Adult Reading Round Table, a group of librarians from various library systems in Illinois.