Book picks similar to
The Upside of Down by Rebecca Talley
fiction
lds
first-reads
lds-fiction
The Christmas Sweater
Glenn Beck - 2008
We never wanted for anything, except maybe more time together....When Eddie was twelve years old, all he wanted for Christmas was a bike. Although his life had gotten harder -- and money tighter -- since his father died and the family bakery closed...Eddie dreamed that somehow his mother would find a way to have his dream bike gleaming beside their modest Christmas tree that magical morning.What he got from her instead was a sweater. "A stupid, handmade, ugly sweater" that young Eddie left in a crumpled ball in the corner of his room.Scarred deeply by the realization that kids don't always get what they want, and too young to understand that he already owned life's most valuable treasures, that Christmas morning was the beginning of Eddie's dark and painful journey on the road to manhood. It will take wrestling with himself, his faith, and his family -- and the guidance of a mysterious neighbor named Russell -- to help Eddie find his path through the storm clouds of life and finally see the real significance of that simple gift his mother had crafted by hand with love in her heart.Based on a deeply personal true story, The Christmas Sweater is a warm and poignant tale of family, faith and forgiveness that offers us a glimpse of our own lives -- while also making us question if we really know what's most important in them.
Meg's Melody
Kaylee Baldwin - 2010
She gives birth to a little girl, Melody, and finds comfort in her music and in the friendship of a tender-hearted gynecologist.
The Counterfeit Convert
Linda Chadwick - 2010
With the recent death of their father, the girls must marry quickly in order to inherit their late father?s fortune.Even when Tristan finds out the three women are Mormons, a religious group he knows nothing about, he is positive he can lure Rachel into marriage?if he can convince her he?s a member of her church. Tristan soon finds himself fascinated by much more than just Rachel?s money. After a life of doing whatever?s necessary to close the deal, Tristan wonders if a fledgling testimony of the gospel can give him the strength to come clean to the woman he loves, even though it could mean losing her forever.This fresh, romantic tale is anything but your typical boy-meets-girl love story. Told with equal parts wit and heart, The Counterfeit Convert will keep you laughing while reminding you that facing consequences is the best way to conquer them.
Paradise Vue (Paradise Vue, #1)
Kathryn H. Kidd - 1989
So when the bishop calls her to be homemaking counselor, she knows that it's either a joke- or inspiration. Welcome to the Paradise Vue Ward, with stained glass windows so blindingly bright, the congregation has to wear shades. You'll laugh. You'll cry. You'll keep wondering how the author found out about all the wackiest people in your ward. Surely the funniest Mormon novel ever published. By the end you may discover it's also the best.
Table for Two
Sheryl C.S. Johnson - 2012
But when Jana determines that the move can help her get away from Brad—the overly adoring man in her life who she really doesn’t have any feelings for—she decides to go.When Jana arrives for her new adventure, both Alex and his young daughter, Elise, are easily enamored with her—as is Jeff, the ward member who becomes Jana’s first date in her new town. However, Jana is not so sure about her feelings for any of them. And as she works side by side with Alex to transform a shabby house into a charming boutique, it becomes clear to her that Alex wants more than a friendship. Though Jana resists, she knows she has to work out her confusion before she loses everything that is becoming so dear to her. Will she be able to come to terms with the fact that Alex’s deceased wife, Vanessa, will always be a big part of his life, as well as Alex’s and her differing religious convictions and so many other complications that might not fit at a table for two?
Redemption Road
Toni Sorenson Brown - 2006
The building is little more than a pile of rubble on a bald piece of land, but inside, children learn much more than just reading and writing from Mama Grace. They learn about love in a land where it is in short supply.It is here, in the outskirts of Nairobi, where Lana feels most at home -- as far away as she can get from her Utah Mormon roots. It is also here where her heart is captured by Jomo -- a seven-year-old street urchin who will lead her on a journey into the very heart of a land called both dark and dawn.In her stunning new novel, Toni Sorenson Brown weaves a deeply moving and authentic tale of heartbreak and healing, of romance and return. It will move you to know that one solitary soul, tattered and discarded, is still worth saving, and that the road to redemption winds even through a forgotten village in the darkest part of the darkest place on earth.
The Healing Place
Sharon Downing Jarvis - 1994
She leaves behind the woman her ex-husband wanted her to be and hopes to find herself in a new, foreign place, a place to heal. Determined to isolate herself from relationships and practically the rest of the world, Liz settles in a small farming community south of Salt Lake City. She is gradually drawn into the lives of her neighbors, most of whom are LDS. She discovers wounds heal better in warmth and acceptance of friends.
Finding Rose
Stephanie Humphreys - 2010
Then Rose is sent to live with an uncle in Spring Creek, Montana, far from her carefree life with her family in Utah. Miles is returning to his hometown of Spring Creek to set up a medical practice, so Rose is certain her being sent there is a setup. Yet Miles doesn't seem interested in her, and after Rose falls ill in Montana, he seems content to act as her physician and friend. When Rose captures the attention of Miles's younger, flamboyant brother as well as the town sheriff, Miles retreats even further from any attempt at courtship. How can Rose honor her father's last wish if Miles doesn't even try to court her? Will she have the courage to put her heart on the line and fight for the one she really loves?
The Christmas Box
Richard Paul Evans - 1993
So I record it now for all future generations to accept or dismiss as seems them good. As for me, I believe. And it is, after all, my story." So begins "The Christmas Box, " the touching story of a widow and the young family who moves in with her. Together they discover the first gift of Christmas and learn what Christmas is really all about. "The Christmas Box" is a Christmas story unlike any other.
Don't You Marry the Mormon Boys
Janet Kay Jensen - 2007
There was only one problem: polygamy - a lifestyle that Louisa could not escape and Andy would not embrace. As medical students at the University of Utah, Andy and Louisa fall in love - but can a mainstream Mormon and a Fundamental polygamist overcome the cultural barriers between them? Both realize that their choices will not only affect their own lives, but will also have an impact on their family, friends, and even their communities. Fearing that the sacrifices required of them would be too great, they go their separate ways. Yet for Andy in Kentucky and Louisa in Utah, life does not go as they'd planned. While Andy is serving as a country doctor and trying to bury his pain, Louisa is coming to terms with the fact that all is not as perfect in her tight-knit community as she'd believed. As doctors, each will have to choose between keeping the peace in their communities or doing what they know is right.
Delicious Conversation
Jennifer Stewart Griffith - 2007
In the midst of all this, social turmoil hits Susannah when she catches the interest of the city's most eligible bachelor just as her long-lost love returns to town--with intentions of marrying anyone but Susannah.
The Runaway Mother
Carol Lynn Pearson - 2006
Alison decides--after the final straw has fallen on the camel's back of her eternal maternal devotion--to run away from home for Mother's Day weekend. Her plan is perfect until disaster strikes, tables turn, and she becomes the only one who can save the day. If you--or anyone you know--has ever felt like a second-rate mother, Alison's story will let you breathe easier, laugh louder, and love a little longer.