The Hopefuls

Jennifer Close

This novel offers a slice-of-life view of ambitious young people who are first swept up in the excitement of the Obama campaign, and then jockey for power in the administration. Matt works on the campaign and gets a job in the Justice Department. Uninterested in politics, his wife Beth resents having to leave New York. Soon Matt is bored with his job and envious of those who landed better ones, including Jimmy, a Texas golden boy who seems destined for political greatness. It’s a story of idolatry and struggle to crack the inner ring, told with R-rated language.

My Name Is Leon

Kit de Waal

Leon, the 9-year-old, biracial son of a mentally unstable woman, and his baby brother Jake end up in foster care. Because Jake is white and an infant, social services finds an adoptive home for him—but not Leon. Leon becomes adept at eavesdropping and stealing money and other small items that he needs to carry out a half-baked plan to rescue his brother and reunite with his mother. Told from Leon’s perspective, the story gives the reader a child’s view of the world and shows his powerlessness, anger (expressed in R-rated language), and capacity for love.

The Singles Game

Lauren Weisberger

Lauren Weisberger (The Devil Wears Prada) is adept at creating a world—in this case, the women’s professional tennis circuit—and showing its flashy exterior and seamy underbelly. Will off-the-rails ambition and misguided romance cause nice girl Charlie Silver to lose her soul as she scrambles back from injury to compete for the top spot? This Hollywood-ready story has R-rated language, a gay romance between Charlie’s brother and a superstar quarterback, an emotionally abusive coach, international glamour, and lots of tennis.

The Little Old Lady Who Broke All The Rules

Catharina Ingelman-Sundberg

Five elderly friends, three female and two male, live in a retirement home run by a penny-pinching executive and his nurse mistress. To save money the home limits the amount of coffee the residents can drink, shuts down the kitchen so the residents can’t cook, and locks the doors so the residents can’t leave. The friends—The League of Pensioners—decide prisoners live better, so they plan and commit an art heist so they can go to prison. This comedic Swedish novel features unconventional protagonists and conventional bad guys—greedy capitalists and a stingy welfare state.

Afterword

Here are four good books for grandfathers to read to their grandchildren:

Mark Hamby’s The Three Weavers (Lamplighter, 2008), shows three weavers—one lazy, one careless, and one careful. Their daughters benefit or suffer from the character of their fathers.

Douglas Bond’s God’s Servant Job (P&R Publishing, 2015) tells of Job’s suffering in poetic form for younger readers. The story deals forthrightly with suffering and points to Christ the redeemer.

Cartoonist Gary Varvel uses his gift for illustration to tell the gospel story in The Good Shepherd (House of Grace Films, 2014).

PCA pastor Jason Dorsey recalls a childhood adventure with his father in I Remember Fishing With Dad (Just Dust Publishers, 2015). The main point: “There is hardly anything better than being with your dad.” His larger theme (from Malachi 4:6) encourages fathers and sons to turn their hearts to the Lord and to one another by enjoying God’s creation together. —Russ Pulliam