Sacred Hearts, by Sarah Dunant

I’ve read Sarah Dunant’s two previous novels about women in the Italian Renaissance — The Birth of Venus and In the Company of the Courtesan.  Both are good novels, but I found Sacred Hearts brilliant, my favourite of the three by far.
This could be because it’s set in a world that’s always fascinated me: a [...]

The Winterhouse, by Robin McGrath

The Winterhouse is a jewel of a historical novel, focusing on two rarely-explored threads of Newfoundland heritage. One concerns the Jewish presence in Newfoundland, the other the tradition in some outport communities of spending the harsh winter months in a “tilt” or “winterhouse” in the woods, protected from the more severe weather by the ocean.
These [...]

A Few Kinds of Wrong, by Tina Chaulk

Before I even review this book, I want to tell you about a great contest with a chance to win the book. Go to author Tina Chaulk’s website to find out all about it and enter the contest!
I read this book back when it was a manuscript, and it’s been exciting to see it come [...]

Quaker Summer, by Lisa Samson

I’ve read and reviewed a couple of previous books by Lisa Samson and stand by my conviction that she is one of the best, freshest voices in Christian women’s fiction today.  Quaker Summer is probably my favourite of her books so far. It combines the strong characterization of a novel like The Passion of Mary-Margaret [...]

The Magicians, by Lev Grossman

It’s impossible to talk about Lev Grossman’s The Magicians without referencing both Harry Potter and the Chronicles of Narnia (seriously, go look for a review of the book that doesn’t mention either of those two fantasy classics).  But I doubt Grossman would mind, because the parallels are obviously intentional.  Grossman’s main character, Quentin Coldwater, is [...]

The Day the School Blew Up and Camporee of Doom, by Seth Pierce

When I was growing up, Seventh-day Adventist kids’ books were characterized by a kind of didactic earnestness.  Bad deeds were punished, good deeds were rewarded, and lessons were always learned.  Adults and other authority figures were always right and trustworthy.
Times have changed.  Seth Pierce’s new series, The Misadventures of Peter Paul Pappenfuss, features a ten-year-old [...]

It’s Really All About God: Reflections of a Muslim Atheist Jewish Christian, by Samir Selmanovic

First up: great title! Or rather, great subtitle. In a world where many people are exploring connections between different religions while others entrench themselves ever more firmly in their “unique” beliefs, many readers will be curious to know what a “Muslim Atheist Jewish Christian” might have to say about God.
Selmanovic comes by at least three of [...]