Grit and Grace: Heroic Women of the Bible

Rivadeneira lets 17 biblical women—Hagar, Leah, Mary Magdalene, and many others—tell their own stories in distinctive and engaging first-person narratives. In the opening entry, Eve expresses her guilt over disobeying God, but also recognition that she and Adam haven’t been entirely abandoned (“We felt God with us in the laughter of our first sons”). “I have a complicated family,” admits Leah, who shares a husband with her sister. “Want to know why? Because my dad tricked Jacob into marrying me first.” Even unnamed women, such as one whose 12 years of constant bleeding was healed by Jesus, get their moments. Sidebars connect the entries with their biblical antecedents, and closing questions and prayer prompts encourage further reflection. A provocative exploration that gives welcome voice, attention, and ink to women often relegated to the margins of biblical stories. Ages 9–12. (Aug.)