Book picks similar to
The Tree House by Douglas Thayer


fiction
lds-fiction
lds
historical-fiction

Lightning Tree


Sarah G. Dunster - 2012
    But after years of harsh treatment by her foster family and memories that seem to hint at an unthinkable crime, Maggie is forced to strike out on her own to separate the facts from the lies.

The Veil


Diane Noble - 1998
    But that veil is about to be drawn away. Amidst the majestic beauty of 1857 Utah, the members of one secluded religious group claim to want nothing more than to practice their beliefs without persecution. Yet among them are many who engage in secret vows and brutal acts of atonement…all in the name of God.But one young woman, Hannah McClary, dares to question the truth behind the shroud. Soon Hannah and the young man she loves–Lucas Knight, who has been trained from childhood to kill on behalf of the Church–find themselves fighting for their very lives.As a group of unwary pioneer families marches into Utah toward a tragic confrontation with the Saints at a place called Mountain Meadows, Hannah and Lucas are thrust into the most difficult conflict of all–a battle for truth and justice–even as they are learning for the first time about unconditional love, acceptance, and forgiveness.…

Eyes Like Mine


Julie Wright - 2009
    And even though the rest of the wagon company has decided they must continue on to Zion, Constance Brown refuses to go any further until she finds her husband. All she can think about is the last time she saw him#151;he lovingly touched her face and then sang their baby girl to sleep. Will that memory be all Constance has to hold on to? In a future time and place, Liz King is a teenager struggling with her identity in the modern world. The embarrassment she feels because of her parents' divorce and her family's newfound financial problems turns to bitterness. Through an inexplicable twist of fate, Constance and Liz are brought face to face. Liz recognizes Constance's name from her mother's endless lectures on their family history, and she also recognizes her eyes#151;they are exactly like her own. Were these distant relatives brought together in order to help each other? Will Constance be able to return to her own life and find William, and will Liz be able to keep from telling Constance how her story ends? In this irresistible novel filled with gripping adventure and heartfelt emotion, two young women from drastically different times and settings learn that the challenges life holds for them are not so different after all.

Hidden Wives


Claire Avery - 2010
    Having long since reached the age of preparedness, they will soon be married off to much older men chosen by the hidden sects revered Prophet. As Sara, chosen to become her uncle's fifth wife, grows more distraught over her impending incestuous marriage, she begins to scrutinize the faith she has followed blindly her entire life. But for Rachel, who will be married to one of the many powerful community leaders vying for her hand, disobeying the Prophet means eternal damnation. Her friendship with the newest member of the community, the young and handsome Luke, starts as an attempt to save his agnostic soul, but ends with the pair falling helplessly in love. When Rachel is forbidden to see him, her absolute faith in the Prophet is severely tested.  When Rachel's future husband is finally announced, violence erupts, and the girls must find the strength to escape the only life they have ever know before it's too late.  Claire Avery has woven a stunning tale that could be ripped from today's headlines. Shocking and empowering, Hidden Wives is a page-turning debut that will stay with the reader.

One More River to Cross


Margaret Blair Young - 2000
    Co-author is Darius Aidan Gray. Margaret Blair Young teaches creative writing at Brigham Young University. Darius Aidan Gray is a former journalist. His grandfather was born a slave; his great grandfather was a slave near Independence, Missouri, and appears in the book.

The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell


Robert Dugoni - 2018
    Born with red pupils, he was called “Devil Boy” or Sam “Hell” by his classmates; “God’s will” is what his mother called his ocular albinism. Her words were of little comfort, but Sam persevered, buoyed by his mother’s devout faith, his father’s practical wisdom, and his two other misfit friends.Sam believed it was God who sent Ernie Cantwell, the only African American kid in his class, to be the friend he so desperately needed. And that it was God’s idea for Mickie Kennedy to storm into Our Lady of Mercy like a tornado, uprooting every rule Sam had been taught about boys and girls.Forty years later, Sam, a small-town eye doctor, is no longer certain anything was by design—especially not the tragedy that caused him to turn his back on his friends, his hometown, and the life he’d always known. Running from the pain, eyes closed, served little purpose. Now, as he looks back on his life, Sam embarks on a journey that will take him halfway around the world. This time, his eyes are wide open—bringing into clear view what changed him, defined him, and made him so afraid, until he can finally see what truly matters.

Missing Pieces


Jeni Grossman - 2009
    Yet when terrorist attack her entourage, a perilous pollitican plot is revealed. Al Qaeda henchman Aboud is hunting the statue to fulfill an ancient prophecy that would grant the extremists ultimate power over Islam. The CIA has gone undercover in Zeugma to prevent this coup. The safety of the free now hinges on the cooperation of Americans and Turks. With the help of native guide Asena. Dulcey navigates the power struggles and cultural clashes that arise as the dig progresses. But as tensions mount outside and inside the excavation camp, she struggles to distinguish friends from enemies. In a pulse-pounding race to secure the goddess, Dulcey learns the value of honor, family, and heritage as she risk her life to preserve her most precious treasures.

The Dirty Parts of the Bible


Sam Torode - 2007
    Tobias is obsessed with two things: God and girls. Mostly girls, of course. But being a Baptist preacher's son, he can't escape God. When his father is blinded in a bizarre accident (involving hard cider and bird droppings), Tobias must ride the rails to Texas to recover a long-hidden stash of money. Along the way, he's initiated into the hobo brotherhood by Craw, a ribald vagabond-philosopher. Obstacles arise in the form of a saucy prostitute, a flaming boxcar, and a man-eating catfish. But when he meets Sarah, a tough farm girl under a dark curse, he finds out that the greatest challenge of all is love.

A Face in the Shadows


Susan Evans McCloud - 1994
    

Night on Lone Wolf Mountain and Other Short Stories


Jack Weyland - 1996
    What happens to them in their solitary camp is the subject of Night on Lone Wolf Mountain. That and seven other new stories by Jack Weyland are included in this volume. Jack Weyland knows what goes on in high school and how young people feel and act and speak. He knows how it feels when young parents misjudge your friends or act as though they don't trust you. He can describe what it is like to feel picked on or left out, and how it is when your leaders get on your case for not paying attention in church. But he also remembers how it feels to be young and full of energy, excited about being with friends, going to dances and activities, playing sports, and discovering you have a testimony. This book will take you to girls camp, the shopping mall, school and church- places you know all about. But what happens there will surprise and entertain you in these fun and thought provoking stories by a favorite LDS author.

Riders of the Purple Sage


Zane Grey - 1912
    It is the story of Lassiter, a gunslinging avenger in black, who shows up in a remote Utah town just in time to save the young and beautiful rancher Jane Withersteen from having to marry a Mormon elder against her will. Lassiter is on his own quest, one that ends when he discovers a secret grave on Jane’s grounds. “[Zane Grey’s] popularity was neither accidental nor undeserved,” wrote Nye. “Few popular novelists have possessed such a grasp of what the public wanted and few have developed Grey’s skill at supplying it.”

Ten O'Clock Horses


Laurie Graham - 2000
    The first avocado pears are appearing at the greengrocer's, people are thinking about carpeting their lavatories and boxing in their banisters, and Ronnie Glover, housepainter, husband and father, is feeling the first vague stirrings of discontent with his life. Then, out of the blue, the fabulous, sophisticated (and married) Jacqueline bursts into his life and teaches him to tango. She seems to offer everything he ever dreamt of. But is it all too good to he true?

Passage to Zarahemla


Chris Heimerdinger - 2003
    Embark on an adventure of breathtaking suspense and experience a love story that transcends time and space against a backdrop of mind-bending imagination!"

Bound on Earth


Angela Hallstrom - 2008
    --Kathryn Lynard Soper, editor of Segullah: Writings by Latter-Day Saint Women.

Ruth and Naomi


Toni Sorenson - 2014
    Ruth and Naomi: Whithersoever Thou Goest is the inspiring tale of two women’s matchless devotion, envisioned as never before. It is a time of famine and despair in the land: crops are failing, idol-worship is widely practiced, and those who follow the God of Israel are cruelly oppressed. Israel’s defeat at the hands of Moab has left a nation in despair, and among the struggling are Naomi and her blacksmith husband, Elimelech. Following a series of unspeakable tribulations, Elimelech is a harder man—and despite his family’s misgivings, he makes a decision that changes their lives forever. The King of Moab is in need of the kind of weaponry that Elimelech can produce, and Naomi feels she must support her husband in his desire to heed the call to serve. So, along with their two young sons, the family leaves their home in Bethlehem to begin a new life. As the family gains favor in the sight of the king, Naomi’s sons endear themselves to two of the king’s daughters, Orpah and Ruth, and marry into the royal family. But when tragedy claims the lives of their husbands, events are set in motion for Naomi and Ruth that will alter the course of history.