The month of April will see the release of a memoir by the mother of Joel Osteen, a new title by the author of The Artist’s Way, and Sally Lloyd Jones’s latest children’s book— Baby Wren and the Great Gift.
Fiction
April 1
What Happened on Beale Street by Mary Ellis (Harvest House, $14.99; ISBN 978-0-7369-6171-4) features a private investigator’s faith in the midst of mystery, mayhem, and a possible murder.
April 5
Like Never Before by Melissa Tagg (Bethany, $13.99; ISBN 978-0-7642-1308-3) Tagg, the popular blogger and former reporter, writes charmingly on what she knows in this inspirational novel about a small-town newspaper in Maple Valley, Iowa. Amelia Bentley, a pithy editor, thinks she’s found a haven from her troubles until former editor Logan Walker returns.
Counted With the Stars by Connilyn Cossette (Bethany, $14.99; ISBN 978-0-7642-1437-0) follows Kiya, an Egyptian sold into slavery who flees with the Hebrews during the Great Exodus and learns about a fearsome God.
King's Folly by Jill Williamson (Bethany, $15.99; ISBN 978-0-7642-1424-0). When the king of Armania suspects the end of the world is near, it’s up to his son Prince Wilek to save his people.
April 26
Which Way Home? (Hester’s Hunt for Home #2) by Linda Byler (Goodbooks, $14.99, ISBN 978-1-680991-24-6). Born a Native American but brought up Amish, Hester Zug flees her home. Belonging in part to two worlds, but subtly rejected by both, Hester’s heart is torn. And can she ever be happily married? 50,000-copy announced first printing.
The Bachelor Girl’s Guide to Murder by Rachel McMillan (Harvest House, $9.99, ISBN 978-0-7369-6640-5). In 1910 Toronto, while other bachelor girls perfect their domestic skills and find husbands, two friends practice sleuthing and find a murderer. Inspired by their fascination with all things Sherlock Holmes, best friends and flatmates Merinda and Jem launch a detective business.
Devotion by Ros Barber (OneWorld, $15.99; ISBN 978-1-7807-4921-1). Set in the future, the book follows a criminal psychologist who must assess the sanity of a young woman who has committed a religion-inspired atrocity.
Nonfiction
April 1
Colors of Goodbye by September Vaudrey (Tyndale, $15.99, ISBN 978-1-4964-0817-4). Combining literary narrative and raw reflection, Vaudrey walks through one of life’s worst losses—the death of a child—and slowly becomes open to watching for the unexpected ways God carries her through hardship.
Honestly: Getting Real About Jesus and Our Messiah by Daniel Fusco (NavPress, $14.99, ISBN 978-1-6314-6386-0) makes a case that Jesus is a real person who experienced every aspect of being human by using the book of Ephesians.
Original Light by Snatnam Kaur (Sounds True, $26.95; ISBN 978-1-6220-3597-7) is a devotional featuring daily principles, morning practices, and sacred chanting experiences.
April 5
If My Heart Could Talk by Dodie Osteen (Faithwords, $25, ISBN 978-1-4555-4974-0). Osteen, mother of Joel Osteen, gives readers a personal account of her life and shares what she has learned about love, faith, and family. 70,000-copy announced first printing.
Becoming Wise: An Inquiry into the Mystery and Art of Living by Krista Tippett (Penguin Press, $28; ISBN 978-1-5942-0680-1) is a collection of excerpts from Tippet's interviews with various truth-seekers.
The Path: What Chinese Philosophers Can Teach Us About the Good Life by Michael Puett and Christine Gross-Loh (Simon & Schuster, $24.99, ISBN 978-1-476777-83-2) offers a radical interpretation of a philosophy that emerged 2,000 years ago through the work of a succession of Chinese scholars: there is no path to follow, just a journey we create anew at every moment by seeing and doing things differently.
Agnostic: A Spirited Manifesto by Lesley Hazleton (Riverhead, $26; ISBN 978-1-5946-3413-0) separates agnosticism from stereotypes such as watered-down atheism and amorphous “seeking,” recasting the question of belief not as a problem to be solved but as an invitation to an ongoing, open-ended adventure of the mind.
Baby Wren and the Great Gift by Sally Lloyd-Jones, illus. by Jen Corace (Zondervan/Zonderkidz, $16.99, ISBN 978-0-310-73389-8) prompts children to recognize the wonder of creation. Ages 4–8.
April 12
Feisty & Feminine by Penny Young Nance (Zondervan, $24.99, ISBN 978-0-310-34513-8). In her debut, CEO and president of Concerned Women for America Nance takes an honest look at what it means to be a thoughtful conservative woman in today’s world.
Holy Lands: Reviving Pluralism in the Middle East by Nicolas Pelham (Columbia Global Reports, $13.99, ISBN 978-0-990976-34-9). Economist correspondent Pelham looks at how and why the world’s most tolerant region degenerated into its least tolerant. In his search for hope in the region, he reports from cities throughout Kurdistan and elsewhere in Israel, Iraq, and Syria on how various factions treat their ethnic and sectarian minorities.
Half Truths: God Helps Those Who Help Themselves and Other Things the Bible Doesn’t Say by Adam Hamilton (Abingdon, $19.99, ISBN 978-1-501813-87-0). This five-week Bible study searches for the whole truth, comparing common Christian clichés with the wisdom found in Scripture.
The Sin of Certainty: Why God Desires Our Trust More Than Our “Correct” Beliefs by Peter Enns (HarperOne, $25.99; ISBN 978-0-0622-7208-9). Blending personal stories with Scripture, the book offers a new look at how Christian life truly works.
April 15
None like Him: 10 Ways God Is Different from Us (and Why That’s a Good Thing) by Jen Wilkin (Crossway, $12.99, ISBN 978-1-4335-4983-0). This book aims to remind readers why human limitations are a good thing in light of God’s limitlessness—helping us experience the freedom that comes from letting God be God.
The Founders and the Bible by Carl J. Richard (Rowman & Littlefield, $42, ISBN 978-1-4422-5464-0) carefully examines the framers’ relationship with the Bible, to assess the conflicting claims of those who argue that they were Christians founding a Christian nation against those who see them as deists or modern secularists.
April 19
Hunting Hope: Dig Through the Darkness to Find the Light by Nika Maples (Worthy Inspired, $15.99, ISBN 978-1-617956-65-2). Maples, who at age 20 suffered a devastating stroke that sent her into years of recovery, makes a case for how there is always hope and that signs of spring can be found in every dark winter in our lives through Christ.
It's Never Too Late to Begin Again: Discovering Creativity and Meaning at Midlife and Beyond by Julia Cameron and Emily Lively (TarcherPerigee, $17, ISBN 978-0-3991-7421-6) encourages retirees to embrace their newfound freedom with creative pursuits.
Spiritual Sobriety: Stumbling Back to Faith When Good Religion Goes Bad by Elizabeth Esther (Convergent, $14.99, ISBN 978-0-3077-3189-0) explores how religious fervor can become religious addiction.
April 26
The Story of Mu by James Cordova (Wisdom, $19.95, ISBN 978-1-61429-220-3) is an illustrated narrative that showcases one of the most famous and enigmatic koans of the Zen tradition.
