HOME by Marilynne Robinson

FIC
Robinson

HOME is set in the same location as Robinson’s Pulitzer-Prize winning novel GILEAD but in a different household. Thirty-eight year old Glory Boughton has returned to her hometown to care for her dying father, Reverend Robert Boughton, and nurse her wounds after a broken engagement. Shortly after her arrival, her long-estranged older brother, Jack, appears at the doorstep. No one had heard from him in twenty years, his life unraveling in a haze of alcoholism, unemployment and bad decisions. Glory provides a mediating guidance between bad boy Jack and his traditional father. HOME is a moving novel, spiritual and focused on the healing power of families and faith.

BEE SEASON by Myla Goldberg

FIC
GOLDBERG

Eliza Naumann, usually an indifferent student, wins the 5th grade spelling bee, surprising her somewhat dysfunctional family and herself.
There are many themes in this amazing book, including parents' expectations of their children, mental illness, and the search for God.

A surprising twist in the plot will have readers going back in the text to search for clues.

MR. IVES'S CHRISTMAS by Oscar Hijuelos

FIC

HIJUELOS,O.

This touching book details the life of Mr. Ives, a foundling in New York. From his modest beginnings he finds love and spiritual fulfillment.

One Christmas tragedy strikes: his son is senselessly murdered. Mr. Ives questions his faith in God and man. He contacts the family of the murderer and in time begins a correspondence with the man who killed his son. Eventually he reconnects with his life and his God but the Journey is not easy.

A very good read at any time of the year.