Book picks similar to
Learning to Fly by Roxanne Henke


fiction
book-club-picks
christianfiction
contemporary-fiction

The Secret's in the Sauce


Linda Evans Shepherd - 2008
    They're launching a catering business that's a lot like them: saucy, spicy, and well-seasoned. But will personal secrets cause the business to crumble before it gets off the ground?

Gone South


Meg Moseley - 2013
    But when the town’s old resentments turn the sweet tea bitter, can Tish find a welcome anywhere? Leaving frosty Michigan for the Deep South was never a blip in the simple plans Tish McComb imagined for her life, dreams of marriage and family that were dashed five years earlier in a tragic accident. Now an opportunity to buy her great-great-great-grandparents’ Civil War era home beckons Tish to Noble, Alabama, a Southern town in every sense of the word. She wonders if God has given her a new dream— the old house filled with friends, her vintage percolator bubbling on the sideboard. When Tish discovers that McCombs aren’t welcome in town, she feels like a Yankee behind enemy lines. Only local antiques dealer George Zorbas seems willing to give her a chance. What’s a lonely outcast to do but take in Noble’s resident prodigal, Melanie Hamilton, and hope that the two can find some much needed acceptance in each other. Problem is, old habits die hard, and Mel is quite set in her destructive ways. With Melanie blocked from going home, Tish must try to manage her incorrigible houseguest as she attempts to prove her own worth in a town that seems to have forgotten that every sinner needs God-given mercy, love and forgiveness.

Finding Father Christmas


Robin Jones Gunn - 2007
    Unexpectedly welcomed into a family that doesn't recognize her, and whom she's quickly coming to love, she faces a terrible decision. Should she reveal her true identity and destroy their idyllic image of her father? Or should she carry the truth home with her to San Francisco and remain alone in this world? Whatever choice she makes during this London Christmas will forever change the future for both herself and the family she can't bear to leave. Robin Jones Gunn brilliantly combines lyrical writing and unforgettable characters to craft a story of longing and belonging that will stay with readers long after they close the pages of this book.

The Last Ten Percent


Michelle McKinney Hammond - 2006
    From the author of Secrets of an Irresistible Woman comes a novel of five women who explore how intelligent women with impressive careers, coveted urban dwellings, and closets full of fashions can still worry so much about the shortage of men.

Making Waves


Lorna Seilstad - 2010
    It is the perfect way to escape her agonizingly boring suitor, Roger Gordon. It's also where she stumbles upon two new loves: sailing, and sailing instructor Trip Andrews. But this summer of fun turns to turmoil as her father's gambling problems threaten to ruin the family forever. Will free-spirited Marguerite marry Roger to save her father's name and fortune? Or will she follow her heart--even if it means abandoning the family she loves? Author Lorna Seilstad's fresh and entertaining voice will whisk readers away to a breezy lakeside summer holiday. Full of sharp wit and blossoming romance, "Making Waves" is the first book in the LAKE MANAWA SUMMERS series.

Farther Than I Meant to Go, Longer Than I Meant to Stay


Tiffany L. Warren - 2006
    Charmayne Ellis is an established, polished professional but although very successful her ridiculing mother and wise cracking younger sister won't let her forget that she is 36, fat and unmarried.

Sushi for One?


Camy Tang - 2007
    When her cousin Mariko gets married, Lex will become the oldest single cousin in the clan. Lex has used her Bible study class on Ephesians to compile a huge list of traits for the perfect man. But the one man she keeps running into doesn’t seem to have a single quality on her list. It’s only when the always-in-control Lex starts to let God take over that all the pieces of this hilarious romance finally fall into place.

The Stranger in the Lifeboat


Mitch Albom - 2021
    He claims to be “the Lord.” And he says he can only save them if they all believe in him.Adrift in a raft after a deadly ship explosion, nine people struggle for survival at sea. Three days pass. Short on water, food and hope, they spot a man floating in the waves. They pull him in.“Thank the Lord we found you,” a passenger says.“I am the Lord,” the man whispers.So begins Mitch Albom’s most beguiling and inspiring novel yet.Albom has written of heaven in the celebrated number one bestsellers The Five People You Meet in Heaven and The First Phone Call from Heaven. Now, for the first time in his fiction, he ponders what we would do if, after crying out for divine help, God actually appeared before us? What might the Lord look, sound and act like?In The Stranger in the Lifeboat, Albom keeps us guessing until the end: Is this strange and quiet man really who he claims to be? What actually happened to cause the explosion? Are the survivors already in heaven, or are they in hell?The story is narrated by Benji, one of the passengers, who recounts the events in a notebook that is later discovered—a year later—when the empty life raft washes up on the island of Montserrat.It falls to the island’s chief inspector, Jarty LeFleur, a man battling his own demons, to solve the mystery of what really happened. A fast-paced, compelling novel that makes you ponder your deepest beliefs, The Stranger in the Lifeboat suggests that answers to our prayers may be found where we least expect them.

Finding Jeena


Miralee Ferrell - 2010
    . . in short, a new life. But when rumors around town cast her boss in a shady light, Jeena starts questioning her employer's integrity. Still, the money is good and his ethics aren't her concern. Right? Wrong. The rumors are just the beginning. Jeena's boss disappears just when hush-hush phone calls, unpaid salaries, and piles of bills attract the attention of federal authorities. Then, Jeena's carefully crafted world begins to crumble and her struggle with alcohol rears its ugly head. Shaken to the core as she faces financial and emotional ruin, Jeena is confronted with her prejudices--and with a God she had long forgotten.

Cool Beans


Erynn Mangum - 2010
    That is until her best friend starts dating Maya's high school sweetheart. This funny, heartwarming fiction story by best-selling author Erynn Mangum uses the power of story to challenge teens to discover the relevance of faith in their relationships and their lives.

A Hope Undaunted


Julie Lessman - 2010
    Her boyfriend Jack fits all of her criteria for a husband—good-looking, well-connected, wealthy, and eating out of her hand. But when she is forced to spend the summer of 1929 with Luke McGee, the bane of her childhood existence, Katie comes face-to-face with a choice. Will she follow her well-laid plans to marry Jack? Or will she fall for the man she swore to despise forever?

In a Heartbeat


Sally John - 2004
    A Chicago firefighter was expected, an everyday city worker come to tell fourth graders all about his job in 30 minutes or less. But when Vic Koski lifts Rachel to demonstrate the firefighter's carry, she is-literally and figuratively-swept off her feet. Love leads to a happy marriage and home for just the two of them, but after a few years Rachel's inner clock begins to tick. As months go by, her longing for a child becomes a consuming passion. Though Rachel tries not to question God's plan for her life, the answer she receives from Him is one she could not have anticipated.

Fried Chicken and Gravy


Sherri Schoenborn Murray - 2014
    But, when he suggests to her father that she should take cooking lessons from the old ladies down at his church, she wants to crawl under a car and die. Missy is perfectly happy working in their auto repair shop and has no intention of spending more time in the kitchen. But if filling the hole in her father’s heart is as easy as filling his stomach with fried chicken and gravy, it might be worth the effort. When she dutifully accompanies her father to church, she finds that she has more to learn than a bunch of recipes.

It Happens Every Spring


Gary Chapman - 1996
    Best-selling authors Gary Chapman and Catherine Palmer team up to show how four married couples, all in different stages in life, experience the joys and hardships of marriage as examined in Gary Chapman's "The Four Seasons of Marriage." In book one, Steve and Brenda face a common problem among middle-age couples: empty nest syndrome. Steve works too much, and with their two children out of the house, Brenda feels lonely and unfulfilled. In order to save their marriage, the two must learn to reconnect. Readers are also introduced to many charming characters, like Cody, the mentally challenged homeless man that shows up on Steve and Brenda's porch; Pete, who owns the Rods 'N' Ends tackle shop; and Patsy Pringle, who owns the Just As I Am beauty parlor, where much of the action takes place.The series is based on the marriage principles found in Gary Chapman's non-fiction book "The Four Seasons of Marriage." Similar in tone and light-hearted, quirky humor as Jan Karon's Mitford series, Fannie Flagg's books or "Steel Magnolias." Each book has a study guide that talks about the four seasons of marriage and the healing strategies depicted in that volume's story.

Screen Play


Chris Coppernoll - 2010
    When she's handed an unexpected role on Broadway—understudy to New York’s biggest diva––everything changes. She longs for love in the City, but when it doesn't happen, she reluctantly signs up to an online matchmaking site. Frustration mounts when the only men Harper is interested in are on the West coast, thousands of miles away. Harper feels like an actress who doesn’t act, and a woman in love with someone she's never met, but God's about to change all that.