Missing Isaac by Valerie Fraser Luesse

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1960s – Alabama

There was another South in the 1960s, one far removed from the marches and bombings and turmoil in the streets that were broadcast on the evening news. It was a place of inner turmoil, where ordinary people struggled to right themselves on a social landscape that was dramatically shifting beneath their feet. This is the world of Valerie Fraser Luesse’s stunning debut, Missing Isaac.

It is 1965 when black field hand Isaac Reynolds goes missing from the tiny, unassuming town of Glory, Alabama. The townspeople’s reactions range from concern to indifference, but one boy will stop at nothing to find out what happened to his unlikely friend. White, wealthy, and fatherless, young Pete McLean has nothing to gain and everything to lose in his relentless search for Isaac. In the process, he will discover much more than he bargained for. Before it’s all over, Pete–and the people he loves most–will have to blur the hard lines of race, class, and religion. And what they discover about themselves may change some of them forever.

A Daring Escape by Tricia Goyer

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1938 – Czechoslovakia

When Danger Closes In, Who Will Save the Children?

At the height of World War II, American Amity Mitchell is living a comfortable life abroad as a tutor in England. But that changes when an urgent telegram arrives from her brother, Andrew, summoning her to Prague. Andrew’s efforts to help Jewish children escape Czechoslovakia have grown desperate as Nazi forces tighten their grip on the country. Amity knows she can’t ignore God’s call to join Andrew in coming to the children’s aid.

Amity’s boss, Clark, follows her to Prague to urge her to return but soon finds himself helping the Mitchell siblings prepare Kindertransports bound for the safety of England while threats of German occupation escalate. As Amity and Clark race to save innocent lives, God is drawing them closer to each other.

My Heart Belongs in Castle Gate, Utah: Leanna’s Choice by Angie Dicken

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1910 – Utah

Schoolteacher Leanna McKee plans on leaving the coal mining town of Castle Gate, Utah, and never looking back. Good riddance to coal dust, rugged men, and the fatal mine that took her husband’s life.

Until the widow meets a widower who awakens her heart…and she finds herself inexplicably falling for miner Alex Pappas which stirs up a whole heap of trouble.

Alex’s Greek parents have arranged a more traditional match for him. When the schoolteacher’s association with the Greek family begins to anger the American miners, they threaten Alex and his family. Leanna has received an offer to teach elsewhere and feels she has no choice but to leave Castle Rock. . .though she will be leaving her heart behind.

The Other Side of Freedom by Cythia Toney

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1925 – Louisiana

In a southern U.S. farming community in 1925, thirteen-year-old Salvatore and his Italian immigrant father become involved against their will in a crime that results in the murder of an innocent man and family friend. Will Sal keep the secrets about that night as his father asks, or risk everything he and his family cherish in their new homeland, including their lives?

Amidst bigotry, bootlegging, police corruption, and gangland threats, Sal must discover whom he can trust in order to protect himself and his family and win back his father’s freedom. Sal’s family, their African-American farmhand, and the girl who is Sal’s best friend find their lives forever changed as dreams are shattered and attitudes challenged in a small community called Freedom.

Out of the Ashes by A.M. Heath

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1865 – Tennessee

Sometimes peace is won through battle.

Haunted by the memories he can’t escape, Ralph Williams wants to be left alone to lick his wounds. He doesn’t understand why he’s forced into the company of the one woman he least desires. Can God bring him healing through such uncomfortable circumstances?

Frank Harper thought he had left the war and its turmoil behind, but the home to which he has returned is anything but peaceful. When racial tensions arise in Maple Grove, Frank finds himself on a battlefield once more. He’s desperate for peace, but at what cost?

When George Chandler heads off to wed his beloved bride, things don’t go as expected. Just as George starts to get comfortable with what he believes is God’s new plan for his life, history threatens to repeat itself. Will he fight for the woman he’s come to love, or will he let her go?

The War Between the States has destroyed more than just a nation. In four years, it has damaged bodies and wounded souls until the people think that nothing is left. Will they find the healing they so desperately need from the God that loves them?

*The Ancient Words Series is best read in order. Please look for Where Can I Flee.

Sutter’s Landing by Betty Thomason Owens

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1955 – Tennessee

Still reeling from tragic losses, Connie and Annabelle Cross face life with their signature humor and grace, until fresh hope arrives on their doorstep.

In early spring of 1955, Annabelle Cross and her daughter-in-law, Connie have nearly made it through the first winter on their own. Then the skies open up as West Tennessee and much of the south endures one of the worst floods in history. As many of their neighbors endure losses due to the flooding, Annabelle and Connie sit tight on dry ground.

As spring gives way to summer, Annabelle begins to dread Connie’s upcoming marriage and removal to Sutter’s Landing. Though she’s happy to note the growing affection between Alton Wade and her daughter-in-law, their marriage means Annabelle will be on her own for the first time in her life.

Connie’s doubts increase when Alton’s bigoted brother Jensen uses every opportunity to drive a wedge between them. Is she doing the right thing? Did she move too quickly? Unexpected summer visitors and anticipation of a new neighbor provide diversion and open possibilities for both Annabelle and Connie.

Child of the River by Irma Joubert

childoftheriver Child of the River

1938 – South Africa

Persomi is young, white, and poor, born the middle child of illiterate sharecroppers on the prosperous Fourie farm in the South African Bushveld. Persomi’s world is extraordinarily small. She has never been to the local village and spends her days absorbed in the rhythms of the natural world around her, escaping the brutality and squalor of her family home through the newspapers and books passed down to her from the main house and through her walks in the nearby mountains.

Persomi’s close relationship with her older brother Gerbrand and her fragile friendship with Boelie Fourie—heir to the Fourie farm and fortune—are her lifeline and her only connection to the outside world. When Gerbrand leaves the farm to fight on the side of the Anglos in WWII and Boelie joins an underground network of Boer nationalists, Persomi’s isolated world is blown wide open. But as her very small world falls apart, bigger dreams become open to her—dreams of an education, a profession, a native country that values justice and equality, and of love. As Persomi navigates the changing world around her—the tragedies of war and the devastating racial strife of her homeland—she finally discovers who she truly is, where she belongs, and why her life—and every life—matters.

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In the Land of White Nights by Bonnie Leon

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1869 – Alaska

Anna or rivers of gold–which will captivate his heart?

The lure of the nineteenth-century gold rush calls to Erik, a civil-war veteran. He and Anna, his Aleutian bride, set sail for a new life together in Sitka.

Anna stands strong against the adversities of the new land with its unfamiliar culture and fearsome challenges. She fights the prejudice of others, while growing her newfound faith in the white man’s God.

When forced to move farther north and begin again, Anna refuses to give up, allowing nothing to stand in the way of her family’s happiness. They discover joy as well as heartache in the Alaskan wilderness. But will Erik’s love of gold put all they’ve worked so hard for in jeopardy?

A Sparrow in Terezin by Kristy Cambron

asparrowinterezin A Sparrow in Terezin

1942/Present – California/England

Bound together across time, two women will discover a powerful connection through one survivor’s story of hope in the darkest days of a war-torn world.

Present Day–With the grand opening of her new art gallery and a fairy tale wedding just around the corner, Sera James feels she’s stumbled into a charmed life–until a brutal legal battle against fiancé William Hanover threatens to destroy the perfectly planned future she’s planned before it even begins. Now, after an eleventh-hour wedding ceremony and a callous arrest, William faces a decade in prison for a crime he never committed, and Sera must battle the scathing accusations that threaten her family and any hope for a future.

1942–Kája Makovsky narrowly escaped occupied Prague in 1939, and was forced to leave her half-Jewish family behind. Now a reporter for the Daily Telegraph in England, Kája discovers the terror has followed her across the Channel in the shadowy form of the London Blitz. When she learns Jews are being exterminated by the thousands on the continent, Kája has no choice but to return to her mother city, risking her life to smuggle her family to freedom and peace.

Connecting across a century through one little girl, a Holocaust survivor with a foot in each world, these two women will discover a kinship that springs even in the darkest of times. In this tale of hope and survival, Sera and Kája must cling to the faith that sustains and fight to protect all they hold dear–even if it means placing their own futures on the line.

Esther by Angela Hunt

BC – Middle East

When Xerxes, king of Persia, issues a call for beautiful young women, Hadassah, a Jewish orphan living in Susa, is forcibly taken to the palace of the pagan ruler. After months of preparation, the girl known to the Persians as Esther wins the king’s heart and a queen’s crown. But because her situation is uncertain, she keeps her ethnic identity a secret until she learns that an evil and ambitious man has won the king’s permission to exterminate all Jews–young and old, powerful and helpless. Purposely violating an ancient Persian law, she risks her life in order to save her people…and bind her husband’s heart.

The Whistle Walk by Stephenia McGee

whistlewalk The Whistle Walk

1862 – Mississippi

A Mississippi Plantation: Civil War pits countrymen against one another and tears a nation asunder. Life and death are held in the balance where everyone is a slave to something.

One is born free, yet lives as a soul in bondage…
Lydia Harper never intended to purchase a slave. But when she witnesses a woman being beaten in the street, all her pretenses begin to unravel. A bride to a man she barely knows and bound by her secrets, Lydia will risk everything to save a stranger. Amid the War Between the States, the mistress of Ironwood faces the battles in her own heart and discovers strength in a way she never imagined.

The other is born to serve, yet holds the spirit of freedom…
Ruth, standing on the threshold of desperation, has lost everything she holds dear. After being pulled from the dirt, she is no longer a field hand but the personal maid to the lady of Ironwood. Ruth soon realizes adversity pays no mind to the color of skin. When propriety slips, she discovers they have more in common than she dreamed possible. In a time when fear brings the South to its knees, two women will forge a friendship in the fires of redemption and thrust Ironwood into a new future – where the battle for freedom has merely begun.

Under the Silk Hibiscus by Alice Wisler

underthesilkhibiscus Under the Silk Hibiscus

WWII – Wyoming

During World War Two, Nathan and his family are sent to Heart Mountain, an internment camp in Wyoming for Japanese-Americans. Nathan’s one desire is to protect the family’s gold pocket watch, a family heirloom brought over from Japan. He fails; the watch is stolen. Struggling to make sense of his life in “the land of freedom,” Nathan discovers truths about his family, God, and the girl he loves.

Hope at Dawn by Stacy Henrie

hopeatdawn Hope at Dawn

1918 – Iowa

With her brothers away fighting the Great War overseas, Livy Campbell desperately wants to help her family. Her chance comes when she meets a handsome stranger who lands her a job as a teacher in a place far from her parents’ farm. But the war casts a long shadow over the German-American town that Livy now calls home-and the darkness will test everything she thought she knew about family and love . . .

More than anything, Friedrick Wagner wants to be part of his adopted country’s struggle for peace. But when the bitter animosity between Germans and Americans soon turns citizens against newcomers, friend against friend, he will do whatever it takes to protect Livy from the hysteria that grips their town. As tragedy-and dark secrets from the past-threaten their future, Friedrick and Livy have one chance to stand up for what’s right . . . and one chance to fight for their love.

Chateau of Secrets by Melanie Dobson

Chateau of Secrets

1940 – France

A courageous young noblewoman risks her life to hide French resistance fighters; seventy years later, her granddaughter visits the family’s abandoned chateau and uncovers shocking secrets from the past. Gisèle Duchant guards a secret that could cost her life. Tunnels snake through the hill under her family’s medieval chateau in Normandy. Now, with Hitler’s army bearing down, her brother and several friends are hiding in the tunnels, resisting the German occupation of France. But when German soldiers take over the family’s château, Gisèle is forced to host them as well—while harboring the resistance fighters right below their feet. Taking in a Jewish friend’s baby, she convinces the Nazis that it is her child, ultimately risking everything for the future of the child. When the German officers begin to suspect her deception, an unlikely hero rescues both her and the child. A present day story weaves through the past one as Chloe Sauver, Gisèle’s granddaughter, arrives in Normandy. After calling off her engagement with a political candidate, Chloe pays a visit to the chateau to escape publicity and work with a documentary filmmaker, Riley, who has uncovered a fascinating story about Jews serving in Hitler’s army. Riley wants to research Chloe’s family history and the lives that were saved in the tunnels under their house in Normandy. Chloe is floored—her family isn’t Jewish, for one thing, and she doesn’t know anything about tunnels or the history of the house. But as she begins to explore the dark and winding passageways beneath the chateau, nothing can prepare her for the shock of what she and Riley discover… With emotion and intrigue, Melanie Dobson brings World War II France to life in this beautiful novel about war, family, sacrifice, and the secrets of the past.

For Such a Time by Kate Breslin

forsuchatime For Such a Time

1944 – Poland (German Occupied)

In 1944, blond and blue-eyed Jewess Hadassah Benjamin feels abandoned by God when she is saved from a firing squad only to be handed over to a new enemy. Pressed into service by SS-Kommandant Colonel Aric von Schmidt at the transit camp of Theresienstadt in Czechoslovakia, she is able to hide behind the false identity of Stella Muller. However, in order to survive and maintain her cover as Aric’s secretary, she is forced to stand by as her own people are sent to Auschwitz.

Suspecting her employer is a man of hidden depths and sympathies, Stella cautiously appeals to him on behalf of those in the camp. Aric’s compassion gives her hope, and she finds herself battling a growing attraction for this man she knows she should despise as an enemy.

Stella pours herself into her efforts to keep even some of the camp’s prisoners safe, but she risks the revelation of her true identity with every attempt. When her bravery brings her to the point of the ultimate sacrifice, she has only her faith to lean upon. Perhaps God has placed her there for such a time as this, but how can she save her people when she is unable to save herself?

Shades of Mercy by Anita Lustrea and Caryn Rivadeneira

shadesofmercy Shades of Mercy

1954 – Maine

It’s 1954 and the world-even the far Northwoods of Maine-is about to change. But that change can’t happen soon enough for fourteen-year-old Mercy Millar. Long tired of being the “son” her father never had, Mercy’s ready for the world to embrace her as the young woman she is-as well as embrace the forbidden love she feels. When childhood playmates grow up and fall in love, the whole community celebrates. But in the case of Mercy and Mick, there would be no celebration. Instead their relationship must stay hidden. Good girls do not date young men from the Maliseet tribe. At least, not in Watsonville, Maine. When racial tensions escalate and Mick is thrown in jail under suspicion of murder, Mercy nearly loses all hope-in love, in her father, and in God himself.

Diamond in the Rough by Jennifer AlLee and Lisa Karon Richardson

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1861 – California

Grant Diamond is a professional gambler on the run from his past. When he comes across a wagon wreck, the chance to escape his pursuers is too good a gamble to pass up, and he assumes the identity of the dead wagon driver. His plan takes an unexpected turn when local heiress Lily Rose mistakes him for the missionary she had asked to come work with the Wiyot Indians. Seeing Eureka as a promising place to lay low, Grant plays along. Before he knows it, he’s bluffing his way through sermons and building an Indian school. But with a Pinkerton on his trail and a rancher rousing fresh hatred against the Indians, Grant fears the new life he’s built may soon crumple like a house of cards.

Gideon’s Call by Peter Leavell

Gideon’s Call

1860s – South Carolina

Author Peter Leavell forges an unprecedented tale of tragedy and triumph amid the backdrop of the Civil War through the story of Tad, a very clever slave boy who comes of age as America’s war reaches the sea islands of South Carolina. Tad’s desire to better himself is obstructed by the color of his skin, until Northern soldiers force the evacuation of white plantation owners, setting 10,000 slaves free in a single day. These circumstances seem like a dream, except that the newly freed slaves have no money, no education, and little hope for the future—unless someone rises up to lead them. Based on true events, Gideon’s Call is the dramatic tale of a young man who battles the shame of his past and faces the horrors of war and unimaginable prejudice to become the deliverer of thousands of freed slaves.

Greenwood and Archer by Marlene Banks

Greenwood and Archer: After The Riot

1921 – Oklahoma

Greenwood and Archer: After the Riot continues the stories of Billy Ray Matthias and Benny Freeman and the residents of the Greenwood District after the historical Tulsa Race Riots of 1921. Though a sequel to Son of a Preacherman, Greenwood and Archer can be read as a stand alone book.

The White Glove Society has all but destroyed the Greenwood District, home to the affluent blacks in Tulsa. Now those who have survived are trying to recover what is left including Billy Ray Matthias and Benny Freeman. Billy Ray and Benny are engaged but Benny is hesitant to set a date. Jordan Franks, Benny’s ex-fiancee shows up in Tulsa and Benny is confronted with the memories and emotions of the crippling break up she experienced with Jordan. She must decide whether she will stand and face her past or allow it to drive her back into the dark place she’d grown used to before meeting Billy Ray. Billy Ray’s attempts to keep Benny from running away are challenged by his own struggles as he wrestles with God’s call on his life to preach.

DP Dooley, plagued by a past that prompted him to turn from God and become a government agent, is in a turmoil as he wars against enemies seen and unseen. Internally, he fights against the darkness of his soul as the anger and resentment he has harbored against God for most of his life wears him down. Externally, he continues to fight against the threats of the bigoted White Gloves Society, which is growing and trying to increase its racist activities.

The once hard-edged racial views of Chief Tobias Parnell have noticeably dulled and he no longer enjoys the favor of the White Glove Society. Teaming up with Dooley, Chief Parnell fights against illegal racketeering, bootlegging and racial crimes.

A new brotherhood forms in Tulsa, the interdenominational Christian clergyman (ICCA). Braving the social struggles of Tulsa, five clergymen attempt to and bring together God’s people, regardless of race, economic status, gender, ethnicity and even doctrine. Their goal, along with the people of Greenwood is to see a new Tulsa rise from the ashes.

Son of a Preacherman by Marlene Banks

Son of a Preacherman

1920 – Oklahoma

A historical romance novel set in the 1920s in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Son of a Preacherman depicts the highly segregated life of African Americans in the Greenwood District, in Northern Tulsa and the tensions leading up to the Tulsa Race Riots. Billy Ray Matthias is the handsome younger son of the church’s new pastor. Benny is the daughter of an oil rich family.
Billy Ray is convinced that Benny is the woman God would have him settle down with. Benny, on the other hand, recently had her heart broken. She is not the least bit interested in getting involved anytime soon. As Billy’s pursuit of Benny intensifies, so does the political and social climate in the prosperous African American neighborhood known as the Greenwood District.
Racial tensions in Tulsa escalate when Dick Rowland, a black man, is accused by a local newspaper of raping Sarah Page, a white woman, on an elevator. Ethan Freeman (Benny’s brother) and Maynard Vaughn (a radical white attorney and Ethan’s mentor) despite continuous threats put their weight and energy behind helping Dick. While the White Glove Society, a racist group seeks to destroy not only Dick but all the African Americans in this successful black owned community. As tensions come to a head and violence breaks out, Billy and Benny are caught up in the heat of chaos. He vows to keep her safe but will Benny let him? Will faith in God be enough to sustain the people of the community as their lives are changed forever by deadly acts of hatred.

Her Healing Ways by Lyn Cote

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1868 – Idaho

A female physician with an adopted black daughter? The townsfolk of Idaho Bend will never accept Dr. Mercy Gabriel—even when faced with a deadly cholera epidemic. But all Mercy needs is one man willing to listen…and to trust.

Four years of war command turned Lon Mackey into a footloose gambler who can’t abide attachments. Yet he can’t help getting riled by the threats Mercy keeps receiving. Her trailblazing courage could reignite his faith and humanity. And his loyalty could make her dream—for the first time—of a family of her own….

Safe at Home by Richard Doster

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1953 – Small Southern Town

The spring of ’53 started out like any other for sports columnist Jack Hall, as he and the rest of his small southern town, Whitney, eagerly awaited the magical first pitch that would open the Bobcat’s season. But when ticket sales wane with the new distractions of air conditioning and I Love Lucy, the Bobcats face an early end not only to the season but to their careers as well. The team needs a white knight to save them and ironically, that white knight seems to be a 17 year old “colored kid”, Percy Jackson, who’s got a .364 batting average and has never seen a grounder he couldn’t chase down.

Not everyone—not even most people—though can wrap their heads around an integrated baseball field, even if they have seen them on TV. This is Whitney. Things don’t change and they don’t need to change. Do they?

Hearts, minds, faith and tradition will be tested as will friendships and marriages when this sleepy southern town comes to grips with itself amid the early years of the Civil Rights Movement.

Fireflies in December by Jennifer Valent

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1932 – Virginia

Jessilyn Lassiter never knew that hatred could lurk in the human heart until the summer of 1932 when she turned 13. When her best friend, Gemma, loses her parents in a tragic fire, Jessilyn’s father vows to care for her as one of his own, despite the fact that Gemma is black and prejudice is prevalent in their southern Virginia town. Violence springs up as a ragtag band of Ku Klux Klan members unite and decide to take matters into their own hands. As tensions mount in the small community, loyalties are tested and Jessilyn is forced to say good-bye to the carefree days of her youth.

Dream of Life by Michael Phillips

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1830s – Carolinas

With their beloved plantation, Greenwood, now a vital link in the Underground Railroad, Richmond and Carolyn Davidson must balance the need for safety with their commitment to helping the many runaways who appear at their door. Compounding their danger, the Davidson’s neighbors, the Beaumonts, do not approve of their decision—and view them with suspicion.

The danger intensifies when the Davidsons’ older son, Seth, becomes engaged to Veronica, the Beaumonts’ beautiful, scheming daughter—against her parents’ wishes. As the two families are swept up in events leading up to the Civil War, they must choose sides—in a conflict that will change their lives forever.

Dream of Freedom by Michael Phillips

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1855 – Carolinas

In the antebellum South, Richmond and Carolyn Davidson live lives of ease as wealthy plantation owners. But even though their prosperity and livelihood depend on slave ownership, their Christian consciences speak against the practice.

When the Davidsons decide to follow their own moral conviction and God’s will by freeing their slaves, they face consequences they never could have anticipated. Risking their lives as an important link in the Underground Railroad, helping runaway slaves escape to the northern states, the Davidsons must rely on their wits—and God’s protection—to stay alive.

Had to Be You by Lyn Cote

Had to Be You (Formerly titled Bette)

1930s/40s – Maryland

Coming of age in the deep Depression, Chloe’s daughter, Bette faces a troubled world. Her mother and father have taken in Gretel, a Jewish girl her same age sent by her family from Nazi Germany. In the KKK South this is met with animosity. As she finishes high school, Bette falls in love with a young man who applauds her family’s decision. The two become informally engaged and Bette dreams of a future as a wife and mother with him, clipping recipes and living the quiet life.

But Hitler and others who seek world domination interfere with her plans. As her fiance attends college in Georgetown, she works as a secretary in the War Department. And that job leads her into the murky world of espionage. The US, Canada and England have banded together to foil German spies working to gain American military secrets. Bette never considered being a spy even in her wildest dreams. But she will do anything to stop these enemies, those who are persecuting Gretel’s family. But after swearing an oath, she can tell no on–not even the man she loves.

The Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor. War crashes over them all and again Bette and her love are separated. Another man has entered her life, one who works with her to foil Hitler. A man she resists but who won’t take no for an answer. When the war ends, which will she choose–the young man she fell in love with as a girl or the man who taught her how to be a spy?
The Carlyle Women-four generations,
each facing the challenges of her time
and each harboring her own painful secret~

The Color of the Soul by Tracey Bateman

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1860s/1948 – Georgia

A Pandora’s box opens when reporter Andy Carmichael, too light skinned for acceptance by blacks and too dark skinned for acceptance by whites, is sent to Georgia to interview Miss Penbrook, an icon of Southern literature. From her deathbed, the mysterious Miss Penbrook gives Andy journals that reveal a surprising twist – her story and his own meld into one.

Shadow of His Hand by Wendy Lawton

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1938 – Germany

Young Anita Dittman’s world crumbles as Hitler begins his rise to power in Germany, but because she’s a Christian and only half-Jewish, Anita feels sure she and her family are safe from “the Final Solution”. She couldn’t have been more wrong. Shadow of His Hand is an inspirational young adult historical fiction book based on the real-life story of Anita Dittman, a Holocaust survivor. It follows her struggle against Nazi persecution and her growth in her relationship with God through the worst of times.

A Fragile Design by Tracie Peterson and Judith Miller

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1831 – Massachusetts

The mill town of Lowell, Massachusetts, beckons Arabella Newberry when she decides to flee the life of the Shakers. There she finds the independence she seeks and a greater purpose as she works for educational reform. But Lowell, plagued by ethnic strife, seems no longer a safe haven but rather a danger when several girls go missing. As rumors and conflict invade the industry of the mill, Arabella struggles with her own heart as two men vie for her love.

Passing by Samaria Sharon Ewell Foster

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1919 – Mississippi

The date is 1919—a time of unrest and drastic change. For Alena, though, life in Mississippi is perfect, and she prays she will never leave her home. That prayer is shattered when she makes a horrible discovery—a discovery that leads her to challenge all she believes. Against the backdrop of the Great Migration, from a quiet, country setting, Alena is catapulted to Chicago, the “city of broad shoulders.”

There, amidst riots, misplaced love, and post-war confusion, the outspoken young woman struggles to find herself and the one true thing that will save her.

Kingscote by Linda Chaikin

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1800 – India

A Web of Treacherous Deceit, and a Silk Heiress Determined to Find Love in the Land She Calls Home.

JACE BUCKLEY, the dashing British officer, has promised to report to Kingscote, bringing with him news of Coral Kendall’s missing adopted son. Coral is overjoyed, but her first priority is a mission school for the untouchables on the silk plantation—and the handsome Dr. Ethan Boswell has committed to fulfill Coral’s dream.

Coral has long delayed choosing between two very different men, but her impending decision is overshadowed by mysterious threats against her and the school Ethan has struggled to build. When the precious Hindi scripture portions given to her by William Carey are found in ashes on the floor of her room, Coral realizes that she must somehow bridge the cultural dissension—before it destroys Kingscote.

Danger follows Jace in his search for Coral’s abducted son, and the boy’s mysterious roots leave Jace entangled in a web of treacherous deceit. Will Jace return to Kingscote in time to claim the woman he loves? Or will the flames of hate destroy all in its path?

Under Eastern Skies by Linda Chaikin

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1799 – India

In the Exotic Setting of the Jungle Frontier,
Betrayal and Love Lie Just Beneath the Surface.

DISSENT AMONG the powerful Kendall Dynasty is threatening to erupt over Coral Kendall’s determination to begin a school for India’s forgotten children, the Untouchables. Lurking ominously in the background is Sir Hugo Roxbury, the influential and unrelenting ambassador of the East India Company, who is just as determined that Coral not succeed.

Two very different men wait in the shadows: the adventurous Major Jace Buckley, whose knowledge of India’s underworld could be the key to finding Coral’s adopted son; and the handsome Dr. Ethan Boswell, who has offered Coral a safe and secure escape from the turmoil of her heart.
Coral must choose whom to trust—and the decision will determine the course of her future.

Silk by Linka Chaikin

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1793 – India

Two Worlds Clash as a Young English Heiress and an Orphaned Boy, an “Untouchable,” Become Inextricably Entwined.

Coral Kendall is an heiress to the Kingscote Silk Plantation in northern India in the last decade of the 1700s. Breaching cultural boundaries and shunning the scorn of her wealthy English family, she adopts an young orphaned boy, an “Untouchable” from the bottom of the Hindu cast system, and brings him into her home. Despite their contrasting cultures and backgrounds, the bond of love that develops between them is that of a mother and son. But tragedy strikes when the boy is abducted.

Was there a reason to believe that Gem has not perished?
Was the boy’s true identity what she had been led to believe?
How could she discover the truth?

One man—the bold and handsome, British Major Jace Buckley, who desires freedom from the military to start his own tea plantation in Darjeeling—may hold the key to Gem’s disappearance. Can she gain the Major’s help in discovering the truth and win the struggle for the illusive adventurer’s heart?