Autumnal Christian fiction

Are you a seasonal reader? I've recently discovered that I'm really not, other than Christmas books at Christmas time, but I have been keeping seasonal lists lately anyway because I know some of you are! 

26 Below (suspense)... I'm a big baby about suspense these days so this was admittedly a bit much for me (it's time for me to join the Cozy Mystery Club when I'm feeling like a mystery!) but it was good and has gotten great reviews from tougher Christian book reviewers I like :)

All That We Carried (general fiction)... This is largely a sister story, full of relationship dynamics between the two. It's set during a backpacking trip so the autumn is very atmospheric at times.

Before We Were Us (romance)... This amnesia trope love story was pretty cute. It also finally got New Hampshire accounted for in my list of books by location. 

From the Start (romance)... This is the start of a family series. I decided to wait until I've finished the Christiansen family books to really dive into the Walkers but I do look forward to it.

Letters From My Sister (historical fiction)... Much of this historical Alabama story takes place in the fall.

The Perfect Rom-Com (romance)... This book really made me smile. I'm just a sucker for fun writer stories I suppose.

Pocketful of Pinecones (historical fiction, contemporary)... This diary-style novel is definitely not for everyone. This is basically a business parable kind of book, a fiction written to show homeschool moms how to execute a Charlotte Mason-style nature study. It takes place over all four seasons but it's really very atmospheric during each season since it's so nature-focused. 

Christian fiction about parenting teens

Lately I've been enjoying stories about the season I'm sliding into, parenting teenagers. Teenagers are often portrayed in a fairly negative light but my young teen is delightful to do life with and I hope to find many more stories with a joyful parent-child teen relationship.

All She Ever Wanted (historical fiction,  timeslip)... This book really touched my heart but will probably be too depressing for a lot of readers. This is about four generations of women in a family line and the pain and family dynamics that led to their paths. Our most midern-day character is raising a troubled teen, which is really what kicks off her examination of her own life and her family history.

Baxter Family books... These were very dramatic and had me very invested. The first of these books involve only the youngest Baxter child as an older teen. There's a few books only about young adults and then there are quite a few books about a family friend (Bailey Flanigan) as a teen before we start to see all the Baxter grandchildren as teenagers.

Christiansen Family books... I am still working my way through these ones and loving them. The youngest Christiansen, Amelia, is a teen at the start of the series. We don't see much of her in those books and really only see a lot of teen parenting in the Christmas novella Evergreen but I couldn't not include this series here.

Dark Justice (suspense)... in this high-speed suspense we have a woman on the Run from someone very sinister, while also trying to protect her 19-year-old daughter and her elderly mother with dementia. I read this book very quickly, sneaking in a chapter every chance I could get.

The Deep End of Love... This one is focused on a few different women but one is the mother of a pregnant teenager. This books was full of tough topics- infertility, grief, post-abortion hurt, and more- but so good. It made me tear up or cry multiple times.

Firstborn... In this one we have a woman who is raising a teenage son and then gets a shocking revelation- the young lady (whom I believe was also an older teen) she gave up for adoption as a teen would like to meet her biological mother. This is news to her husband and son so we see a lot of family dynamics worked through in this one.

Intervention (suspense)... This page-turner series was hard to put down but its focus on a teenage daughter with a drug addiction was also hard to read at times. The mother character also has a teenage son whom we see more of in the later books.

Ladies of the Lake (historical fiction, time slip)... This was such a delightful read for me! We essentially open with a teenage daughter begging her mother to come to her boarding school graduation, and mother refusing. Then, we examine her story and find out the why. I definitely see myself re-reading this one someday.

More Than We Remember... This is a story about three different women whose lives are tied together by one terrible accident. That is the primary focus here but one of them is also patenting a troubled teen while dealing with this other struggle, too. I got quite a lot out of this one.

One Perfect Day... I have to caution that few of you will be able to stomach this one. We're following two mothers- one whose teenage son just died, one whose teenage daughter was just saved by an organ transplant from that boy. I almost put this one down several times but was ultimately glad I'd finished it.

The Printed Letter Bookshop... This one, too, is from the perspective of multiple women, one of whom is the mother of a troubled teen. This one is focused on the employees of The Printed Letter Bookshop and I enjoyed it but still haven't read its sequel.

Though I Stumble... This one is about four different women at a Christian women's conference, all working through their own life circumstances and being moved by the speaking they hear at the conference. One of the women, Treva, is the mother of the 19-year-old character, Stephanie. They both have to work through Stephanie's story and this made for such a powerful read! I really loved this book but couldn't get my hands on the rest of the series at the time. Now I'm reminded that I really wanted to read the rest of it but it's been so long I'll probably need to start with this one again!

Twenty Something-Else... This story was about a woman who had a pretty negative view of her life and her children, then got a chance to re-do her twenties after a pickleball-related head injury. The mc made a lot of choices I disagreed with and I admittedly asked myself several times if I really wanted to this all play out. I again don't necessarily recommend this for everyone but I do think some of you will enjoy it. 

Six great books that talk about cancer

The Baxter Family books by Karen Kingsbury (Contemporary Christian fiction) ... I always try to warn that this series isn't for everyone even though its an absolute favorite of mine so far. It can be very intense and emotional at times, heartwarming and joyful at other times. 

Beyond by Amber Van Linge (contemporary Christian fiction) ... This is a miracle story about a young teenage girl with a brain tumor and I loved getting to know her. The paragraphs are not set up in a traditional format but I didn't feel that it detracted from the story. 

The Extraordinary Deaths of Mrs. Kip (Christian timeslip)* ... I just had the pleasure of reading this new release and I can't recommend it enough! Mrs. Kid's faith is such a beautiful thing to behold and the relationship she and Aidyn develop is so heartwarming. The bulk of the contemporary storyline takes place in Mrs. Kip's hospice home and the flashbacks show us the story of her life, mostly during the 1970s. 

The Hardest Peace (Christian nonfiction) ... This memoir was written by a wife and mother with terminal cancer. It was just as moving as it was painful. This is a HARD book to read but it was also a richly rewarding treasure trove for me. 

Strands of Truth (Christian suspense) ... This suspense/thriller was not focused on cancer- The main character finds her biological family through a DNA testing site and then finds many of the people in her life turning up dead, going missing, or dealing with mysterious circumstances that need to be uncovered- but you do see a supporting character going through cancer treatment. 

Undone by Michele Cushatt (Christian nonfiction) ... The author of this memoir shares a lot of her life but a big part is her tongue cancer story. I got so much out of this book! 

* I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review. 

7 Christian fiction novels with strong grief elements

The Baxter Family books (contemporary)... This is a series about a family and it's filled with all the real elements of life. Love, birth, death, joy, sorrow, pain, triumph. It's my favorite series right now and I always warn that it's full of edgy stuff (substance abuse, adultery, and more) but always with a faith element tied in. 

The Dead Don't Dance (contemporary)... This is a beautiful but emotional novel about a man whose wife slips into a coma after a tragic loss during childbirth. It's full of grief and reminiscence, but also beauty and grace. It'll be depressing if you don't naturally see more than one side of things but it'll deeply move you if you do.  

Life After (contemporary) ... Our main heroine is wracked with survivor's guilt after she's the only person who walks away from a train bombing. She's dealing with a kind of impersonal grief for those she never knew, and she's also working on a memorial project with a grieving family who lost their wife/mother in the bombing. 

The Lines Between Us (historical fiction)... This WWII story is about the mysterious death of a smoke jumper in Oregon and the secret investigation of it all by his sister and best friend. The grief in this one is not as raw as some of the others on this list but there are glimpses of it through the mystery.  

Rock Harbor series (suspense)... This series is about a search & rescue woman and her dog. The first book is full of her grief as she grapples with the loss of her husband and son after their plane goes missing. 

Stories That Bind Us (historical fiction)... This book surprised me in some ways. This is the story of a very recently widowed woman whose estranged sister shows up with a five-year-old son. The two form a beautiful bond through story and the focus of the story is on that relationship far more than her grief. This book almost doesn't belong on this list as a result but there is still an underlying grief so I added it. 

Whose Waves These Are (historical fiction, timeslip)... This timeslip takes place partially at the end of WWII, when a young man starts a project to deal with his grief over the recent loss of his soldier brother. This is a favorite of mine and I was not even a little surprised when it won a Christy award.