"Before the King" by Heather Kaufman

Like in Heather Kaufman's previous book, Up from Dust, the main character of Before the King is a woman from the New Testament.  Joanna is only mentioned a couple of times in the Bible, so we don't know very much about her.  We know she was one of the women who discovered that Jesus's tomb was empty on the first Easter Sunday (Luke 24:10).  We know she was wealthy and helping to support Jesus's ministry, and that she was married to Chuza, "the manager of Herod's household" (Luke 8:3).  That's about it.

From those clues, Kaufman has built a fictional heroine of uncommon beauty and deep faith.  In this book, Joanna grows up the daughter of a prominent Sadducee, moving in important Judean circles.  She has a sister who suffers from seizures, and tragedy strikes them both more than once.  Eventually, Joanna enters into a marriage of convenience with Chuza, a proselyte (non-Jewish believer in the coming Messiah) who has a high position in King Herod's government.  

When Joanna meets Jesus of Nazareth, her life is transformed inside and out.  Repeatedly, she goes to listen to this new Rabbi, supporting His ministry with her own money and growing to believe He is the promised Savior.  Because her husband is an important part of Herod's government, we get to see some of the events of Holy Week up close, both before Christ's crucifixion and after His resurrection.  Which made this the perfect book to read around Easter!

Kaufman's writing continues to delight me.  Her characters are nuanced, complex, and believable.  Her meticulous research makes the place and time she writes about come to life in the most engrossing way!

Although I didn't love this book quite as much as Up from Dust, it's still going to end up one of my top new reads for the year, I'm sure.  And the only reason I didn't love it quite as much is that I didn't feel as much of a personal connection with Joanna as a did with Martha -- I promise that is a personal thing, not a reflection on this amazing book.

Particularly Good Bits:

I am an ordinary woman whom God chose to put in extraordinary places.  Any strength to be found in my story is His alone (p. 9).

"Remember this, Joanna.  What people think changes all the time.  What is true never changes" (p. 56).

If This was a Movie, I Would Rate It:  PG-16 for tasteful discussions of a woman desiring her husband.  Chuza proposes a celibate marriage to Joanna; she accepts, but later grows to love him and desires a consummated marriage.  Mentions of longing and desire are all tasteful, all within the context of a marriage, but may make younger readers confused or uncomfortable.

"Holy Hygge: Creating a Place for People to Gather and the Gospel to Grow" by Jamie Erickson

I read this book in little snacks and nibbles over the past month or so.  I liked it a lot, and am adopting a few ideas from it into my own home life and hospitality outlook.  

Every now and then, I read or flip through a book about hygge and discover I'm already filled with an innate desire for a hygge home.  But I still often find a new idea or way to finetune the cozy comfort of my house.  This book had more such new insights than most because it showcased how creating a comfortable home environment that fosters belonging is a way to share God's love with others, and I appreciated that new angle.

There were a few places I disagreed with Erickson's theology, but I expected there to be, and they weren't enough to detract from this book's usefulness.

Particularly Good Bits:

Reshaping an atmosphere can never permanently reshape a heart.  But it can help, especially when paired with the hope of Jesus (p. 17).

Hospitality, thriving relationships, well-being, a welcoming atmosphere, comfort, contentment, and rest--these are the markers of hygge.  But they're also qualities seen in the first Garden home and exhibited by Jesus (p. 17).

Dinner time has been a conduit for sharing celebrations, service, and sorrow.  None of the meals started as interventions or "sharing circles."  They were just meals.  But intentional hospitality around the table provided the pause necessary to allow others to share in ways they otherwise wouldn't have (p. 35).

Hyggelig hospitality doesn't preclude tidying up or putting your best foot forward.  It just means you don't have to feel the need to sterilize your life and wipe out every evidence of brokenness from your home.  It means you don't have to secret your real self and your real messes away.  It encourages you to share your whole self so your guests feel comfortable enough to do the same (p. 49).

We no longer begrudge the monotony of a routine life because hygge compels us to find the extra of each ordinary moment (p. 79).

...knowing and caring are two different things.  You can know about a lot of issues, but you cannot care about them all equally.  No one's shoulders are wide enough for that.  If you do attempt to carry it all, you'll end up physically, emotionally, and financially unable to carry any of it (p. 101).

For those who are in Christ, well-being will be fully restored.  Until that time, may you and I follow His example by caring for ourselves, not selfishly or indulgently, but in a way that enables us to care for others (p. 103).

Hygge is comfort in moderation.  It is a rational voice that declares, "If you choose not to find joy in the snow, you will have less joy in your life but still have the same amount of snow" (p. 132).

Through our Western eyes, we're quick to call the dirt of this life filthy or ruin, forgetting that it was by dirt that the Master Potter made us in the Garden all those years ago.  It is by dirt and snow that life continues to renew and grow.  In praying that God takes away the struggles of this world -- the dirt and snow--we're also unwittingly disregarding the comfort that lies on the other side of every discomfort we face (p. 133).

Hygge favors the ordinary and familiar.  It is unpretentious and imperfect and encourages satisfaction in everydayness (p. 154).

We are rest-avoidant because, at some point, some well-meaning someone had us all believing that the central aim of our lives is to be useful to God, but it's not.  We're meant to glorify God.  That's our purpose.  The end (p. 176).

Every time we invite others into our house, we have an opportunity to make them feel right at home.  We help heal those whose home lives are anything but homey and make room for those who don't know where they belong (p. 197).

If This was a Movie, I Would Rate It: G.  Totally appropriate for all ages.

"Crack the Stone" by Emily Golus

Prepare yourself for something very shocking.

I like this retelling of Les Miserables better than the original book by Victor Hugo.

Don't get me wrong -- I LOVE the story of Jean Valjean.  But, you may recall, Hugo's book wearied me when I reread it a couple years ago.  The endless digressions, specifically.  

So I loved how Emily Golus kept her book's focus on the main character in this retelling.  Valshara was a condemned goblin who makes a miraculous escape from her captors and ends up caring for a human child and learning what love, kindness, sacrifice, and truth mean during her ensuing adventures.  And we don't wander off to make sarcastic jokes about famous rich people no one knows about, or rhapsodize on the true meaning of loyalty, etc. 

And I loved the giant elephant.  Very much.

Particularly Good Bits:

For the first time since I could remember, I could rest.  But I didn't remember how (p. 14).

Such is the power of love.  It's that small, trivial thing that the powerful sneer at and the selfish keep at bay.  But allowed its course it will topple evil, transform cities, melt stone hearts, and bring the dead -- like me -- back to life.  No water can quench love, and no river can sweep it away.  For does not the universe itself run on Love? (p. 229).

If This was a Movie, I Would Rate It: PG-13 for violence, scenes of peril, and child abandonment.

A Realm Awards Finalist? Yes! It's True!

I'm not even joking.  My book A Noble Companion is a finalist for this year's Realm Awards!!!  

This little Ugly Duckling retelling was such a challenge to write.  For one thing, it was the first time I had been part of a multi-author project.  For another, I had never written fantasy before, so I struggled with that aspect of the book a lot.  And also, every book in this series focuses on a side character of the fairy tale being retold, not the usual main character, but... there aren't any other named characters in The Ugly Duckling.  In fact, even the main character is only referred to by that description.  That made figuring out who to focus on pretty tricky.

I freely admit that I'm not a fantasy writer, I'm a historical fiction writer.  I did a lot of praying that God would help my imagination and writing skills grow and change to suit this new project.  And I did find ways to make it truly a fantasy book, but the story rests solidly on a foundation of historical research for the setting. 

I never really expected that it could compete against more obvious fantasy books for the Realm Awards, which are for Christian fantasy and sci-fi.  The fact that it made the long list last month felt like a really amazing honor, and I really didn't even hope that it would go farther.  But it did!  It's a finalist now!  Wow.

If you want to see who all the finalists are, you can find the official list here.  If you want to know more about A Noble Companion, check out my page about it.

"A Rose in West Egg" by Storm Shultz

This book was such a fast, fun read!  I love stories where people get to go inside a book and experience it a little bit, whether it's the Thursday Next series by Jasper Fforde or even movies like Austenland where a person is only kind of pretending to mimic an experience from a book.  Or even the movie Inkheart, where things and people from books get out into the real world.

In A Rose in West Egg, a librarian named Rose has always wanted to go on some kind of big adventure.  Not that she doesn't love her life as a librarian, but she's shy and lonely and a bit bored.  Also, she has alopecia and often worries she will never find a guy who doesn't care that she wears wigs.  

During a big library party to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the publication of The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Rose ends up accidentally sliding inside the book itself.  She narrowly escapes getting murdered, meets a handsome but irritable detective who's hunting a serial killer, and finally finds her way back out of the book.

And if you're saying to yourself, "I've read The Great Gatsby... what serial killer?!?" then you are realizing what Rose realized, that there is something wrong going on inside the book, and she might be the only one who can fix things because she's from the real world.  And besides, if she goes back inside the book, she might meet up with that nice detective again...

This was a total treat for me as a lover of literature.  Rose has a fresh, upbeat, and softly quirky personality that made me like her so much.  And I really liked the message of needing to share the Good News of God's love and forgiveness to all people, including those who do not want to hear it at all.

I'll definitely be rereading this fun book!  I'll be adding the paperback to my shelves as soon as it releases.  Full disclosure: I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher.  I was not asked to provide a review, positive or otherwise.  All opinions here are my own, and freely given.

Particularly Good Bits: 

He smells like cedar soap and something comforting that I can't place yet.  I relax a little.  I mean, would a murderer smell like cedarwood?  Possibly, I suppose.  I don't think stores ban crazy people from buying nice soap.

"It's not failing to ask for help."

If This was a Movie, I Would Rate It: PG-10 for some mild violence, alcohol use and abuse in the Gatsby world, scenes where an old woman is injured and then taken to the hospital, discussions of murders, and mental illness that results in violence.  No smut or bad language.