The Legacy of Mildred Taylor Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry is a “must read.” Truthfully, at Redeemed Reader, we resist telling you any book save for the Bible is a must read. But Roll of Thunder comes mighty close. Mildred Taylor earned a Newbery Medal for Roll of Thunder in 1976. The book instantly became a classroom standard and remains so to this day. It is a beautiful book about an ugly time: a Black family’s experience in 1930s Mississippi. Mildred Taylor went on to write more about the Logan family in a series of novels that spans several age ranges (list below). The stories are based on Taylor’s…

In the Hall With the Knife kicks off a mystery series for teens based on the venerable board game, Clue. In the Hall with the Knife: a Clue Mystery by Dana Peterfreund. Amuet, 2020, 298 pages. Reading Level: Teen, 12-15 Recommended for: ages 13-18 Blackbrook Academy, perched on the shores of Maine’s Rocky Point, has had a long and storied history that at various times has involved criminals and fallen women. Now it’s an exclusive prep school catering to science-minded students with their sights on MIT or Cal Tech. The handful of students who remained on campus, for various reasons, at the beginning of winter break may now regret that…

In Love And War by Liz Trenow is a powerful novel showing the futility of war. It was reminiscent of the film Oh What A Lovely War in that I was reminded of the utter waste of young lives on both sides. The novel is set six months after the end of the First World War during a Thomas Cook pilgrimage to the battlefields of Belgium. Everywhere there is desolation as communities try to rebuild their lives. At the centre is a core group… an English woman looking for her husband, an American lady looking for her brother and a German mother and son looking for her older son. They are…

Choose Me by Marion Ueckermann is the most delightful Christian romance that will warm your heart. It is the fourth book in the Chapel Cove series but can be read as a stand-alone. I however enjoyed my return visit to the cove. Marion Ueckermann writes novels that wrap around the reader like a cosy dressing gown. Choose Me has some wonderful wholesome characters with huge hearts bursting with love. The novel has weighty family issues, reminding the reader that every child is planned by God and come as no surprise to Him, no matter what their earthly parents think. Parenthood is so much more than just giving birth. Parenthood is loving and nurturing children to…

Call You Home by Jan Thompson is a most delightful Christian contemporary novel that will leave you feeling good. The novel reveals the heart of God as characters learn from the lessons of the past and   put their trust in Him. “Look at the past with fond memories but you have to live in the here and now.” We all have dreams but as a child of God we need to put our dreams into His hands and follow His direction. We need to be prepared to say not my will be done but Yours and hand the driving seat of our lives over to Him. Being a Christian does not…