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‘Journey to Bethlehem’ Gets Lost on Its Way

Given the film’s wildly altered and modernized storyline, I can’t bring myself to give Journey to Bethlehem the support I usually give biblical fiction and musicals. · Marian Jacobs

Fantastical books for middle grade readers!

Best for older children ages 8–12
A Ranger’s Guide to Glipwood Forest, Andrew Peterson
Secret of the Lost Dragons, Phyllis Wheeler
Hamelin Stoop: The Battle of Parthogen by Robert B. Sloan
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New books for teens + young adults

Best for readers ages 13–18—and beyond!
Ex Librum by Gayle and Stephen Porter
A Soul As Cold As Frost by Jennifer Kropf
Of Sea and Smoke, Gillian Bronte Adams
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New fiction for adults

Challenging novels for wise readers 18 and up.
Lumen, J. J. Fischer
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‘Journey to Bethlehem’ Gets Lost on Its Way

Given the film’s wildly altered and modernized storyline, I can’t bring myself to give Journey to Bethlehem the support I usually give biblical fiction and musicals. · Marian Jacobs
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Lorehaven helps fans of all ages explore fantastical stories for God’s glory. Find the newest fiction for young readers plus teens+YA and adults. Get articles and podcasts that engage the best Christian-made fantasy, sci-fi, and beyond. Subscribe free to join the Lorehaven Guild for monthly book quests!
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Lorehaven helps fans of all ages explore fantastical stories for God’s glory. Find the newest fiction for young readers plus teens+YA and adults. Get articles and podcasts that engage the best Christian-made fantasy, sci-fi, and beyond. Subscribe free to join the Lorehaven Guild for monthly book quests!
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/ Library
Author:
Carrie Anne Noble
Ages:
teens + young adults
Genres:
fantasy
BookTags:
coming of age fairies fairy tales futuristic
Publisher:
WordCrafts Press
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“Carrie Anne Noble’s delightful fantasy/sci-fi mashup Gretchen and the Bear defies every expectation.”
—Lorehaven review, winter 2020

Gretchen and the Bear

Sixteen-year-old Gretchen encounters three bear shape-shifters who believe she’s a legendary heroine, and learns the true meaning of sacrificial love.
Carrie Anne Noble · June 2020 · No comments · fantasy for teens + young adults

Sixteen-year-old Gretchen has been waiting forever to trade life on a dreary orbiting station for life on gloriously regenerated Earth. Still, visiting faerie-infested Britannia is not on her agenda-especially since no human who’s ventured there has ever returned. But when her stepsister sneaks off to the island to meet a faerie boyfriend, Gretchen’s stepmother forces her to choose: risk death to rescue the runaway, or forfeit her father’s life.

Lost in the faeries’ forest, Gretchen meets a family of Bearfolk-fae who can shift between human and bear forms. Kindhearted seventeen-year-old Arthur volunteers to help, while his mother, who believes Gretchen is the heroic Silverhair of faerie legend, schemes to use the girl for darker purposes.

When the quest to save the runaway proves costly, will Gretchen and Arthur find the courage to sacrifice what they hold dearest to save the ones they love most?

Review of Gretchen and the Bear

Carrie Anne Noble’s delightful fantasy/sci-fi mashup Gretchen and the Bear defies every expectation.
Lorehaven Review Team, winter 2020

What do you get when you retell the Goldilocks fable, blended with elements of Cinderella, and set the story in a distant future? Gretchen and the Bear by Carrie Anne Noble does this, exploring how humanity returns from orbital habitats. They find that not only has the post-apocalyptic earth regenerated—but so have the fey folk. This delightful fantasy/sci-fi mashup defies every expectation. Its “little bear” character is actually a dutiful were-bear son to religious bear-folk parents, and the hardworking heroine takes a dangerous mission into the forbidden Fey Land, motivated by love for her ailing father whose fate seems sealed by her greedy stepmother. Subtle linguistic allusions further elevate this novel within its unique subgenre. Twists, turns, and shockingly dramatic moments abound, and Gretchen and the Bear leaves the fairy tale flavor lingering in the palate.

Best for: Readers who love intelligent plotting, witty wordplay, and fairy tales.

Discern: Mild violence, references to poisoning, romantic innuendo, were-bear transformations.

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Lorehaven helps fans of all ages explore fantastical stories for God’s glory. Find the newest fiction for young readers plus teens+YA and adults. Get articles and podcasts that engage the best Christian-made fantasy, sci-fi, and beyond. Subscribe free to join the Lorehaven Guild for monthly book quests!
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