Hello! Welcome back to Radiant Words! Today’s post is a really fun one. It includes many, many of my favorite books.
Basically I’ve created a flowchart that will give you a book to read based on your preferences! I used Zen Flowchart, and it was really fun to make. I hope you enjoy it.
All of the books I’ve included are books I consider “radiant”. Some are Christian, and some are not. However, I believe all of them promote goodness, truth, joy, or redemption. I have included books that have low-content ratings on them, but please look up a content rating for each book, since not everyone's standards are the same. That way you make sure you are reading a book you are comfortable with. There are some sites made for content ratings, and many Goodreads reviewers will include one in their review (search content warning, content rating, content, or cw in the Goodreads review for the book).
Here it is! (If you are having a hard time viewing the image, here is a link to a version you can zoom in on.)
Alrighty, did you figure out your perfect, personalized book? Here are a few words on each book I included (from left to right) along with what I believe makes them radiant:
Tiger Queen by Annie Sullivan: I absolutely loved this book. Great plot and well thought-out characters. The setting was also great. You really feel immersed in this book when you read it. I definitely recommend!
Radiance: compassion, truth
Fawkes by Nadine Brandes: This book was good, but not my personal favorite. There was nothing wrong with it, just didn’t appeal to me a ton, but I did love the characters! The magic system was so interesting!
Radiance: Discovering truth, seeing the beauty in others despite what society thinks of them.
Counted Worthy by Lead E. Good: This book was AMAZING! This was my first Christian dystopian novel and it got me hooked on the genre. Hurting characters and an action-packed plot star in this novel.
Radiance: hope amidst darkness, forgiving oneself, trusting God, living all-out for God
Out of Time series by Nadine Brandes: Another phenomenal Christian dystopian series. See my review for A Time to Die here. Loved the characters, setting, plot, principles, EVERYTHING!!
Radiance: this series is filled with so much Christian truth and principles and is about living out your faith with nothing holding you back, even in terrible times
The Silence Between Us by Alison Gervais: This book gives a really unique glimpse into the life of deaf individuals. When Maya must leave her deaf school and transition to a public school, she faces inevitable challenges, but perseveres no matter what life throws at her, finding friendship, happiness, and love along the way.
Radiance: overcoming challenges, having compassion, accepting others as they are, seeing things from another’s perspective
The Mother Daughter Book Club by Heather Vogel Fredrick: This is a long, lighthearted series that begins when five unlike sixth graders are forced into a mother-daughter book club together. The series grows with the characters, conceding the summer after they graduate high school. I haven’t finished this series, so I can’t speak for all of them, but the ones I've read were fun, funny, relatable, and sweet.
Radiance: friendship, overcoming whatever life throws your way
Within These Lines by Stephanie Morrill: I loved this book! It was sweet, resilient, and exciting. Set in California during WW2, Italian-American Evalina Cassano falls in love with Japanese-American, Taichi Hamasaki. The fact that interracial marriage is illegal in California is not their only obstacle- soon the Hamasaki family is sent to an internment camp with no idea when they will be able to leave. The letters sent between Evalina and Taichi provide a lifeline for them both as they fight for their love.
Radiance- speaking out against injustice, resilience
Resistance by Jennifer Nielson: This middle-grade novel did not feel childish to me, rather brave and exciting. After Jewish teen Chaya’s family is ripped away from her in Nazi Germany, she vows to use her German appearance to save her people. This book was amazing, combining excitement with a deep passion to free the suffering.
Radiance: living for others rather than oneself, hope
Cities of Refuge Series by Connilyn Cossette: This series follows a family of ancient Israelites during the time that the Promised Land is being claimed for Israel. Each story has a plot intertwined with a romance plot and is told in dual perspective by the male and female love interest. I loved how these books explored the cities of refuge God commanded the Israelites to establish. Great series!
Radiance: Each book deals with a different faith related topic such as forgiveness or returning to God.
There you have it! I hoped you found a book to read!
What are some of your favorite fiction reads? I am trying to read more non-fiction to hopefully I can make a blog post for that soon!