Book picks similar to
Isn't That Odd?: Strange and Unusual Pioneer Stories by Shirley Bahlmann
historical-fiction
lds-fiction
lr1
2-non-fiction
Soda Springs
Carolyn Steele - 2015
The family journeys along the Oregon Trail until tragedy strikes, leaving Tessa and her father to build a new life in Soda Springs, Idaho. This sweeping story illuminates an oft-forgotten era in LDS Church history. Filled with life and passion, it's a thrilling read for history buffs and romantics alike.
At the End of the Line
Kathryn Longino - 2014
Through fourteen years of trouble and heartache from a stagnant domestic life, the struggle for civil rights, and the stigma of interracial relationships, a bond forms between the two that changes both of their lives forever.It’s 1958, a time when women and Negroes are deemed second-class and are being second-guessed, from there arises the perfect storm for change, and the perfect time for an unlikely friendship.Beatrice “Beanie” Peterson, forced to marry at fifteen and live with two sister wives, six children, and an abusive husband twenty years her senior, is looking for a way out. Adeline “Liddie” Garrison, friend of Jack Kennedy, wife of a prominent Boston business man, and resident of Beacon Hill has already found her way in.
Through the Window of Life: A Vision of the Glorious Future Awaiting the Lord's Followers
Suzanne Freeman - 2005
In the Bible we find that the Savior himself foretold such events. But we are also told that the Lord's followers will find refuge from the storm. How will that occr, and where will that happen?
The Hangman's Daughter - chapters 1-3
Oliver Pötzsch - 2010
Exclusive to Kindle: a free sample of The Hangman's Daughter
The Final Salute
Kathleen M. Rodgers - 2008
In this business of flying fighter jets, the odds of staying alive are stacked against him. Haunted by the memories of dead friends killed in air mishaps, this Vietnam vet and father of three must deal with a devious commander, an animal-crazed neighbor, whose husband hates pilots, a beautiful, but suspicious wife and a rebellious teenage daughter. The last thing he needs is another war.But when Iraq invades Kuwait in the middle of a muggy Louisiana summer, duty calls. Tuck and the other pilots in his squadron head to the Middle East. Back in Louisiana, Gina Westerfield and other military wives learn that war is hell on the home front, too. Later, when tragedy strikes, everyone at Beauregard Air Force Base must pull together and live on or forever be consumed with grief. “The story pulls you in from the very beginning. The novel's climax and its aftermath are one of the most moving and satisfying I have ever read.”Dwight Jon Zimmerman, New York Times #1 bestselling author of Lincoln's Last Days “A realistic yet heartwarming and reaffirming assessment of life and love and dedication by the very people who guard our own lives.” Parris Afton Bonds, New York Times bestselling author & cofounder of Romance Writers of America.
The Killing Pool
Kevin Sampson - 2013
The slaying carries all the hallmarks of a gangland hit -- a message from the underworld to snitches, cops and rival gangs. One mile away, a Liverpool-Somali girl, Misha, staggers into a run-down bar, dazed and confused. The bar's owner, a career criminal called Shakespeare who dresses like an Edwardian dandy, cannot get a word out of her. Shakespeare, a chivalrous old Trinidadian who has called Liverpool his home since the 70s, is smitten. DCI McCartney is all too well aware that the clock is ticking. The butchered body was one Kalan Rozaki, youngest brother of a notorious Liverpool-Kurdish crime family -- except Kalan is no criminal. For almost a year his brothers have been under full-time Drug Squad surveillance as McCartney slowly closed the net on the Rozakis' intercontinental heroin trafficking organisation. McCartney's key witness and chief informant on the case is someone with intimate insider knowledge of the Rozaki clan's operation... their newly deceased baby brother, Kalan. McCartney's investigation into Kalan's murder peels back layer after layer of a decades-long dynasty of drug smuggling. Each revelation plunges Mac further back into the dark heart of an unsolved drug crime that weighs heavy on his soul. He wants to catch the Rozakis -- badly -- but he wants the shadowy men behind their drug empire even more. The closer McCartney gets to Kalan's killer, the closer he comes to facing down a lifetime's torment -- and facing up to the possibility, finally, of closure. There is one solid gold witness to the killing, Kalan's girlfriend, Misha -- but Misha has vanished. Meanwhile a shipload of unadulterated heroin is sailing ever closer to the Port of Liverpool and Mac's key informant is dead. As dawn breaks on his day of destiny, Mac's priorities have become fatally intertwined: find Kalan's killer, rescue Misha and swoop on the Rozakis -- hopefully elbows-deep in heroin. Then, and only then, can he unmask the demon who has haunted his adult life.
The Good Son
Craig Nova - 1983
After being shot down over the desert and imprisoned by the enemy, the world of privilege to which he belongs seems shallow. But in the shadow of his older brother’s death, the full weight of his father’s expectations falls on Chip. Pop Mackinnon—whose money is new but just as good as anyone else’s—has designs on the upper echelons of society. The polo ponies and expensive education he bought for his son weren’t gifts; they were an investment in the family’s future. Now it’s time for Chip to pay him back by marrying a girl who can finally bring the Mackinnons into society’s inner circle.A shrewd and cunning man, Pop is used to getting his way—until the arrival of Jean Cooper, that is. This Midwestern beauty awakens Chip’s passions, and the two embark on an affair that threatens to destroy Pop’s social-climbing plans. A battle of wills between father and son ensues, one that tests the boundaries of their relationship and strays into the place where love turns irrevocably to hate.Originally published in 1982 to wide acclaim, The Good Son remains Craig Nova’s undisputed masterpiece. This classic of contemporary American literature artfully explores the complicated web of emotions that exists between fathers and sons—ambition, jealousy, loyalty, love—in a tale that compels with its simple, searing honesty.Also Available as an eBook.
Messiah
Toni Sorenson - 2011
Wickedness abounds despite the humbling famine, and the Gadianton robbers are increasing in strength. While deserted by his rebellious father, Kiah is raised in righteousness by his mother and grandfather, and finds guidance in the teachings of Nephi, their prophet and friend. Growing into manhood, Kiah sees his family torn apart by dissention regarding the prophesied Savior, but as he remains courageous in the face of deceit and betrayal, his faith becomes firm. And while his desire to fight the infernal robbers remains, Kiah comes to know his true calling: to be a warrior of God.Concecrating his life as a missionary, Kiah labors among Nephites and Lamanites caught in destructive cycles of pride and sin. He testifies of Christ amidst fierce persecution, witnessing the miracle of redemption as well as the brutal murder of loved ones. And as the Missiah's advent draws near, Kiah must face the bitterness of unrestrained corruption before tasting the sweetness of a promise fulfilled.
An American Tune
Barbara Shoup - 2012
Not even her husband knows that back in the ‘60s she was Jane Barth, a student deeply involved in the antiwar movement. An American Tune moves back and forth in time, telling the story of Jane, a girl from a working-class family who fled town after she was complicit in a deadly bombing, and Nora, the woman she became, a wife and mother living a quiet life in northern Michigan. An achingly poignant account of a family crushed under the weight of suppressed truths, An American Tune illuminates the irrevocability of our choices and how those choices come to compose the tune of our lives.
Anita Diamant's The Red Tent: A Reader's Guide
Ann Finding - 2004
A team of contemporary fiction scholars from both sides of the Atlantic has been assembled to provide a through and readable analysis of each of the novels in question. The books in the series all follow the same structure: a biography of the novelist, including other works, influences, and, in some cases, an interview; a full-length study of the novel, drawing out the most important themes and ideas; a summary of how the novel was received upon publication; a summary of how the novel has performed since publication, including film or television adaptations, literary prizes, and so forth; a wide range of suggestions for further reading, including web sites and discussion forums; and a list of questions for reading groups to discuss.
The Demas Revelation: A Novel
Shane Johnson - 2007
Anna Meridian—an archaeologist and woman of faith—uncovers the find of a lifetime: ancient documents dating to the time of the apostles, confessions that the early Christians are perpetrating a falsehood. She decides she must keep the documents' existence a secret, but word eventually leaks out. Many turn from their faith as another earth shattering discovery sheds more light on the validity of the manuscripts. The archaeologist searches for meaning in it all—why did these manuscripts come to light and what is her part in God's plan?
To Hold the Throne: A Novel of the Last Maccabee Princess and King Herod the Great
Joni Okun - 2019
To Hold the Throne breathes life into the extraordinary story of King Herod the Great and Mariamne, the last Maccabee Princess, told in alternating points of view. Fueled by shifting political tides in Rome, the Triumvir Marc Antony disrupts the longstanding Maccabee Dynasty of Judea when he crowns Mariamne's new husband, Herod the Great, as King, setting off a firestorm of power-grabbing, betrayal, and tragedy in the quest for the ultimate prize: the throne. Mariamne never surrenders her belief that her brother Aris, scion of the royal line descending from King David, is the rightful King of Judea. She wrestles with her conscience and with family expectations about how far she is willing to go to oust her husband the king, who loves her with great passion even as he grows increasingly paranoid about her fidelity and suspicious of her disloyalty. When a Maccabee family member is found murdered, Mariamne is thrown into a whirlwind of accusations and terror.
Twilight
Katherine Mosby - 2005
Mosby, whose prose Time called "rich and accomplished," evokes in Twilight a complex moment in history seen through the prism of a poignant love story.By breaking off her engagement to an emotionally remote fiancé, Lavinia Gibbs avoids a stifling marriage -- but outrages her socially prominent family, who fear she has consigned herself to spinsterhood. Instead she sails for Europe to begin the process of rebuilding her life. Ever practical, Lavinia makes a new home in Paris, where she determines she needs more than beautiful architecture and entrée with the expats to make a full life. Lavinia wisely adds into the mix a pug and employment, but it is not until she meets the charming, enigmatic, and long-married Gaston Lesseur that she begins an extraordinary journey of self-discovery and sacrifice that will change her irrevocably.With luminous prose, Mosby examines the emotional landscape of adultery while creating a powerful yet poignant depiction of a woman's unlikely blossoming. Unlike Flaubert's Madame Bovary, for whom adultery provided escape from an unfulfilling marriage, Lavinia Gibbs longs for the domestic and the luxury of the quotidian in an increasingly precarious world. Mosby creates in Twilight a story that will resonate with readers long after they have finished this book.
Small Grain of Sand
Pamela Carrington Reid - 2013
Her female coworkers, however, are more focused on the allure of the children’s enigmatic single father, Phillippe Durand. When the handsome Frenchman is faced with a trip abroad with his children, he approaches Jennifer with an offer: a summer job as the twins’ nanny—on the idyllic island of Tahiti. Amid swaying palm trees and blazing sunsets, Jennifer forges a tentative friendship with her employer and begins to put together the pieces of this mysterious man. Phillippe, a former member of the Church, is haunted by a past fraught with death and heartbreak. Determined to help him rekindle the flame of his faith, Jennifer is caught off guard by the spark of romance that grows more undeniable by the day. But when Phillippe’s painful past threatens their blossoming relationship, will true love really have the power to conquer all?