Five Fall Favorites: Pro-Life

Welcome to Five Fall Favorites, a week-long book party hosted by Read Another Page with party “rooms” at various literary blogs! Each blog has a different theme for the day and each blog will be sharing five favorite books in a specific genre. There are also giveaways and free books, so don’t forget to check out the rest of the rooms for today’s freebie (link at the end of this post).

The US giveaway includes a fall reading basket with paperbacks of Gift from the Storm by Rebekah Morris, Kiera by Kate Willis, There Was Always Laughter in Our House by Sarah Holman, Love Needs No Words by Faith Potts, Bound by Victoria Lynn, and a Five Fall Favorites mug designed by Rebekah Morris, created and donated by Salsa and Tea. Enter here. The good news is if we get enough entries, we’re adding a special second prize and perhaps even a third, so go enter!

Today I’m hosting the Boats party room, and today I’ll be sharing five of my top pro-life books: stories about adoption, foster care, special needs, or caring for the elderly.

It’s a gorgeous fall day here by the lake, and we have a variety of rowboats for your use as we go through these books. So hop on board, grab an oar . . . and let’s push off from the shore. Ripples echo against the sides of the boats, tiny whirlpools swirl away in the deep blue as oars rise and fall, orange leaves hover on the surface, and sunbeams glitter in a thousand reflections off the water.

Once we reach the center of the lake, oars still and all eyes turn to the boat in the center to see what the first book of the day will be.

Bound by Victoria Lynn

This story is so simple and beautiful. Absolutely beautiful. Touching on orphans, foster care, and adoption, this book paints a picture of the heart-wrenching needs of children in abusive home situations. The author created realistic characters that my heart went out to, then tied it up with a satisfying conclusion. The story was just the right length, too. Despite ten-year-old Casey reading more like age seven, (she has had a bad childhood, but the responsibility and fear would probably make her sound older instead of younger), the book was well plotted and moved along excellently. This is a story worth reading! It really touched my heart regarding the plight of such children, and the message of Jesus Christ was beautifully and naturally woven through the story.

The Hammond Cousins series by Wanda M. Yoder

Markie and the Hammond Cousins and Ricky and the Hammond Cousins were a delight to read growing up. Both feature special needs children: Markie has Down’s Syndrome and Ricky has ADHD. This series does an excellent job of allowing young readers to begin to glimpse the world through their eyes as well as come along with their cousins as they learn to rightly relate to these children. All in all, the series portrays normal, relatable children who are growing in the Lord, making mistakes and learning from them, and enjoying normal life. There’s a third book in the series as well, In Memory of Michael, which deals with handling the anticipation of a coming baby and then loss (I’m assuming miscarriage/stillbirth). I have not yet read it but it’s definitely on my to-read list. I especially appreciate the solid Biblical values of this series.

A Home for Grandma by Joyce Miller

This delightful book, aimed at children but great for any age, deals in an excellent, godly manner with taking care of the elderly – in this story, Grandma. It also touches on a family opening their home to a lower-income child from New York City for two weeks. It’s such a delightful, cozy, homey book – though the Metzler children certainly have their share of unwelcome experiences! They’re a lively family, and real life on the farm is presented here. Check out the description:

If the Metzler five had known what unusual, unanticipated, and unwelcome events the summer held for them—but then, they do not know, so they proceed on their happy, busy way, a day at a time, until certain circumstances foretell the fact that this summer is not going to be an ordinary one. Of course, the ten-acre truck patch demands the usual, unrelenting toil of planting, weeding, and harvesting, but the truck patch does not prevent other things from happening.
Joseph, the fresh-air boy from New York City, arrives with a flourish, contributing more than his share of excitement for the two short weeks of his stay. Things continue to happen as a hike ends in disaster, a thunderstorm changes plans drastically for Merle, and William tries his hand at tractor driving with some exciting and unexpected results.
Then there is Grandma who quietly and cheerfully mingles with the Metzler family, showing love, unselfishness, helpfulness, peace, and a longing for heaven.

Hartly Manor by Amanda Tero

Another book that centers on orphans and adoption, this short children’s story is sweet and fun as well as meaningful.

There were six of them…

And these six children have an important lesson to learn when it comes to Mr. Hartly and his manor. Is he the scary man that Rees says he is? Or will the children discover something else as they get to know him?

Journey to Love by Amanda Tero

This story features an orphan train from 1901 and follows the journey of a confused and hurting young girl as she travels towards a new life. Exploring love, hate, fear, trust, and conflict, this story is realistic and gripping. Between well written emotions, highly spiritual content, and a good plot, this is a book I recommend.

BONUS!

Sustainer’s Smile by Erika Mathews
(not the final cover)

This book isn’t published yet, and it’s my own, so I’m not including it in my five favorites I’ve listed here. HOWEVER, I cannot leave the subject of “pro-life books” without a word on this one – which is very near and dear to me. This book is centered around the sensitive issues of abortion and infanticide, and I’ve never had a book that I’ve written touch me as much as this one does. It also includes themes of coming to the end of one’s self, handling depression, God as sustainer, the joys of small children, and joy in the midst of suffering. It’s book four in Truth from Taerna, and I can’t wait to publish books two and three simply so I can get this book out into the world and share it with you.

A helpless newborn…that’s exactly how twenty-four-year-old Liliora Ellith feels in her efforts to speak up on behalf of the youngest members of Taerna’s pleasure-driven society. Her tender heart for the defenseless and deep aversion to conflict throw Liliora’s soul into turmoil when tragedy opens her eyes to the quiet yet heartrending war on Taerna’s babies – both born and unborn. Adon Olam’s word coupled with a secret in her own past fuel her determination, but the challenges ahead of her threaten to send her spiraling into hopeless depression. At the very end of herself, can her own utter insufficiency be anything less than the catalyst for complete disaster?

~~~

The oars slap the water gently as the boats are propelled back to the shore . . . amid splashing, the riders debark.

Thank you all for joining me today as we launched the boats into the beautiful waters of Pro-life Lake! I hope the next launch we meet for is a book launch – and see you all tomorrow, when I have another special party room and five more fall favorites for you!

Find the rest of the party here

Have you read any of my top five pro-life books? What are some of your favorite pro-life books? I can’t wait to hear!

Purchase on Amazon

This post contains affiliate links.