Nonfiction
May 1
So the Next Generation Will Know: Training Young Christians in a Challenging World by Sean McDowell and J. Warner Wallace (David C. Cook, $16.99 paper, ISBN 978-1-4347-1228-8). Two professors of apologetics aim to equip parents, youth leaders, and Christian teachers with practical strategies to train students to understand and defend the Christian faith.
A Year with the Sages: Wisdom on the Weekly Torah Portion by Reuven Hammer (The Jewish Publication Society, $28.95 paper, ISBN 978-0-8276-1311-9). Rabbi Hammer endeavors to relate how each Torah portion applies to everyday life based on the writings of the sages (scholars who lived during the period from the fifth century BCE to the fifth century CE).
Black Samson: The Untold Story of an American Icon by Jeremy Schipper and Nyasha Junior (Oxford Univ., $29.95, ISBN 978-0-19-068978-0). Historians Schipper and Junior tell the story of how Samson became an icon of African-American literature.
May 7
Sacred Liberty: America’s Long, Bloody, and Ongoing Struggle for Religious Freedom by Steven Waldman (HarperOne, $28.99, ISBN 978-0-06-274314-5). Waldman, founder of Beliefnet, examines how the principles of religious liberty became America’s “greatest invention” and explains why he believes these principles are under threat today.
An Uncommon Guide to Retirement: Finding God’s Purpose for the Next Season of Life by Jeff Haanen (Moody, $14.99 paper, ISBN 978-0-8024-1892-0). Haanen, founder and executive director of educational nonprofit Denver Institute for Faith & Work, seeks to provide a new way of looking at retirement, targeting baby boomers who are considering retirement, planning for their retirement, or recently retired.
Ripple Effects: Discover the Miraculous Motivating Power of a Woman’s Influence by Pam Tebow (Tyndale Momentum, $25.99, ISBN 978-1-4964-3131-8). Tebow, missionary and mother of former quarterback Tim Tebow, encourages readers to maximize opportunities for influence.
I Ain’t Doin’ It by Heather Land (Howard Books, $26; ISBN 978-1-982104-09-2) features a collection of essays by comedian Land, whose “I Ain’t Doin It” video series on YouTube have over a million views. 100,000-copy announced first printing.
May 8
Llewellyn’s Little Book of Tarot by Barbara Moore (Llewellyn, $14.99, ISBN 978-0-7387-5997-5). Tarot expert Moore aims to provide a thorough interpretation of each tarot card, explaining the most important elements and providing sample cards from a variety of decks in an effort to help readers understand tarot symbols and imagery.
May 13
Church in the Wild: Evangelicals in Antebellum America by Brett Malcolm Grainger (Harvard Univ., $45, ISBN 978-0-674-91937-2). Grainger, professor of theology at Villanova University, argues that in antebellum America, Evangelicals, not Transcendentalists, connected ordinary Americans with their spiritual roots in the natural world.
May 14
Kabbalah: Secrecy, Scandal and the Soul by Harry Freedman (Bloomsbury Continuum, $28, ISBN 978-1-4729-5098-7) explores the mysterious Jewish mystical tradition of Kabbalah, going back to the Hebrew Bible and Ezekiel’s vision of the heavenly throne, perceived as a chariot.
Let Me Tell You a Story by Rob Parsons (Hodder & Stoughton, $15.99 paper, ISBN 978-1-4736-7096-9). Parsons, founder of Christian charity Care for the Family, shares stories from speaking around the world in this compendium of insights on faith, family, love, loss, money, and priorities.
Surprised by Paradox: The Promise of “And” in an Either-Or World by Jen Pollock Michel (IVP, $16 paper, ISBN 978-0-8308-4564-4). Michel, contributor to Christianity Today, aims to help readers imagine a Christian faith open to mystery. Though there are certainties in Christian faith, she argues that the heart of the Christian story is also paradox.
Cyber-Sufis by Robert Rozehnal (OneWorld, $30 paper, ISBN 978-1-78074-758-3). With a particular focus on the Inayati order in North America, a branch of the oldest and most prominent Sufi order in the West, Rozehnal, a professor of religion at Lehigh University, examines the wider trends emerging where digital and religious worlds meet.
15 Spirituals That Will Change Your Life by Henry L. Carrigan Jr. (Paraclete, $16.99 paper, ISBN 978-1-64060-086-7). Music critic Carrigan focuses on Gospel songs with an enduring power, including lyrics and personal stories about songs such as “Amazing Grace” and “Precious Lord.”
Finding the Bright Side by Shannon Bream (Convergent Books, $25; ISBN 978-1-5247-6347-3). Bream, host of Fox News @ Night, details her life story, including lessons from her faith. 60,000-copy announced initial printing.
Transformed: A Navy SEAL’s Unlikely Journey from the Throne of Africa, to the Streets of the Bronx, to Defying All Odds by Remi Adeleke (W Publishing, $26.99; ISBN 978-0-7852-1976-7). This memoir by Nigerian native Adeleke describes losing his father as a child and being raised by a single mother before narrowly avoiding a life of crime to become a Navy SEAL and artist.
Life to the Extreme: How a Chaotic Kid Became America’s Favorite Carpenter by Ty Pennington (Zondervan Books, $26.99; ISBN 978-0-310-35737-7). Pennington, who has starred on TLC’s Trading Spaces and ABC’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, explores how ADHD impacted his life and shaped his career as a builder and designer.
May 21
Liberty in the Things of God: The Christian Origins of Religious Freedom by Robert Louis Wilken (Yale Univ., $26, ISBN 978-0-300-22663-8). Historian Wilken argues that the origins of freedom and liberty of conscience are religious, not political, in origin, taking form long before the Enlightenment.
Heart of Perfection by Colleen Carroll Campbell (Howard Books, $25; ISBN 978-1-982106-16-4). Campbell, a former speechwriter for President George W. Bush, examines the dangers of perfectionism and looks to “recovering perfectionist” saints for answers, according to the publisher. 50,000-copy announced initial printing.
Fiction
May 2
Someone Like You by Victoria Bylin (Bethany, $13.99 paper, ISBN 978-0-7642-1737-1) follows Julia Dare, a single mother and an event planner who is hired to help a beleaguered resort alongside her former college sweetheart.
May 28
Daughter’s Truth by Laura Bradford (Kensington, $15.95 paper, ISBN 978-1-4967-1648-4). Emma Lapp, who was born on the day her aunt died, tries to be the perfect daughter, but she can’t win her mother’s smile—or her forgiveness for a transgression Emma can’t quite place.
