Book Reviews For Christian Parents Novels & Stories

I picked up groceries, stopped by the hardware store to get wall hooks for the baby monitor, and then—on a whim—walked into the local bookstore. I hadn’t been inside in over a year. The bell above the door chimed, and the scent of old paper hit me like a memory. The place hadn’t changed much. Still cramped, still charming. Floor-to-ceiling shelves, a mismatched armchair in the corner. I wandered until I reached the parenting section. There were too many titles. Too many opinions. I almost turned away. Then I saw one tucked on the end of a lower shelf: “Letters to My Child: A Father’s Journal.”

The bruises were worth the reward of entrance to the most magical place either of us had ever seen. Christian and I had very active imaginations as pups, I’m sure it must have driven our mother to distraction, not that she ever showed it. When we returned from traveling with her, we would race through the pack house to the original part of the building, full of expectation and excitement, loudly discussing what adventure father would take us on this time. It had quickly become our custom, whenever we returned home, and Father never disappointed. He would sit us on the giant, black bear skin in front of the fire, dozens of books and maps depicting far-away lands, were always strewn across the

Amelia tells me with a proud smile as she reclines back and opens the book. "You get me one?" I ask her with a grin, knowing her she's probably brought a book for me to read just in case I ask for one. She stares at me for a second before reaching forward, digging into her back and pulling out a hard cover book, handing it to me. 'The Expectant Father: The Ultimate Guide For Dads-To-Be' "It's either that or Ambrose Grisham" Amelia adds with a cheeky grin as she lies back in her chair. I adjust my chair to sit upright and shake my head.

"Sabrina was such a good kid. She was pretty, sweet, and everyone in the neighborhood liked her. How did she end up with parents like that?" "Exactly. This is murder, plain and simple. An eye for an eye wouldn't even be enough!" "The book should be thrown at them! If you don't want to raise a child right, don't have one. What century is this? Who still favors one child over another like that?" "They deserve to die!" Mom and Dad didn't argue. Instead, the corners of their mouths lifted slightly. "If only they'd let me pay for it with my life. Now that Sabrina's gone, I don't want to live either. Olivia shouldn't have murderers for parents." They both murmured approximations of this sentiment.

Sharing stories with Christian makes Baby's condition better. When someone finds a complicated situation in their life, friends sharing stories and being able to provide the best solution are things needed to strengthen themselves. Baby is fortunate to have Christian accompany him during difficult times like this. "I think I should break up with Dollan, if his parents still do not approve of our relationship because I do not want to have a relationship that does not have the blessing." Christian understands why Baby can say words like that because a relationship without parental blessing does not provide comfort even though it still has happiness.

He thanked her and focused on arranging the books properly; the last thing he wanted was for the father to tell his mother that the books were poorly organized, which would lead to sermons he couldn't bear. The books he was organizing had titles in Roman and Greek. They dated back to ancient centuries, their covers were faded and old, and so were their illustrations. Most of them were about Christianity, some about sects related to it or sects against it. He just wanted to finish quickly. He crouched down to pick up another pair of books when the cover of one of the books, which was in a large pile, caught his attention. He took it in his hands, removing the dust. Out of all the books he had

Charlie was extremely surprised and blurted out, “Uncle, what were the books my parents were reading? Do you remember?” Christian thought for a moment, saying, “If I remember correctly, it should be titled something like ‘Apocalyptic Book’, but I can't remember exactly.” Charlie widened his eyes and subconsciously asked, “Uncle, are you sure it was the Apocalyptic Book?!” Christian suddenly came to a realization and said, “Yes, yes, yes! It's called the Apocalyptic Book! The Preface to the Apocalyptic Book sounded strange to me at first. I thought it was a classic book, but your dad said it was the key to opening another world. I always thought he was a bit crazy…”

Christian cut her off. "Don't think about the what ifs and buts. I will be here by your side. No parents are perfect, but I know for a fact that we will give our children the best life possible. Parenting doesn't come with a handbook, it is solely off of instinct. Which you will do more than a great job at." Jessie wouldn't want to abandon her children, or love one any less than the other, or abuse them. She looked at Christian to ask him something, but his eyes were closed and he was already snoring. Leaving her with her thoughts, and made up scenarios in her head.

“I don’t think so. Why, are there some strange books in there?” He shrugged and pulled them out of the bag, flipping them over to read the titles to you. “Well, there’s this one, ‘A Guide to Parenthood: Everything you need to know about being a new parent’, and this one, ‘1001 Games to Play With Your Baby’.” He held them up for you to see, giving you a confused look. You smiled nervously, fidgeting lightly in your seat. “Um, nope, no, those are, uh, those are for you- for us actually I guess.”