Inspirational Fiction

Okay, okay, I'm back. I have been reading, really I have. I just haven't blogged about it. All the books I read this month fall into the library's Inspiration Fiction genre. I have never really ventured into this genre. I did listen to the whole Left Behind series over the years. I thought I should, it was so big a number of years ago. But other than that, not much else.

So for this project, I wanted this month to try a broad range of titles. The world of inspirational fiction is changing, growing to demonstrate people living an inspirational life within the more gritty experience of the real world today. The titles I have read this month definitely represent this trend.

In The Shunning by Beverly Lewis, a young Amish girl struggles with the restrictions of her life while preparing for her marriage to the bishop. Interesting look at a part of society that I don't know too much about. The story was, however, a little forced and contrived for my taste. A little too obvious in parts and way too much reliance on miraculous coincidence.

At Home in Mitford, the first in Jan Karon's Mitford Series, introduces the reader's to Father Tim, the village rector, overwhelmed by the daily life and demands of the parishioners he loves so much. It is a quiet and quaint story of the goings on in a small town. An interesting glimpse for a city girl, like me.

The Negotiator by Dee Henderson is the first in the O'Malley Series. This series was first recommended to me a number of years ago by my mom. The O'Malley's are a group of 7 high achieving siblings. They were all orphans in the same orphanage who adopted each other, choosing a new surname in the process. Each book in the series centers on one sibling and their coming to faith in the midst of a very turbulent world. In this book, Kate, a hostage negotiator, finds her faith in the midst of a horrible airplane crash and the crushing health news of a loved one.

Thr3e by Ted Dekker was a typical thriller. It actually kept me guessing for the majority of the book. The ending, which I won't reveal, violated some of the tenants of psychiatric medicine as I understand it (but then maybe I just don't know). The main character is a seminary student, however, the faith in this book was more so an examination of the constant struggle between good and evil. This book is definitely a crossover between inspirational and mainstream thrillers.

I think that there's one more book on my list to read, but I haven't gotten to it yet. I'll comment on it later if I can work it in.