The Month in Reviews May 2025
Introduction
While spring time is the season of planting, this month of reading has been a veritable harvest of interesting books. One of these was Gabrielle Zevin’s, The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry, a sweet-sad love story set in a bookstore. It’s been a month of learning about the life of Jakob Hutter, an Anabaptist forebear, the art of Georges Roualt, the poetry of Luci Shaw, and the wonders of marine biology. Early in the month, I enjoyed a fine biography of theologian Markus Barth and a book on Christian discipleship by Luke Timothy Johnson. Finally, I finished the month with six reviews of children’s books, courtesy of IVP Kids. Believe me, these books are not just for kids, though I list them in a separate section below. With that, here are the reviews!
The Reviews
Tucker’s Last Stand (Blackford Oakes, 9), William F. Buckley, Jr. MysteriousPress.com/Open Road (ASIN: B0116EBXKY) 2015 (first published in 1990). Blackford Oakes teams up with mercenary Tucker Montana to block troops and arms flowing from North to South Vietnam. Review
An Incremental Life, Luci Shaw. Paraclete Press (ISBN: 9781640609792) 2025. Poems celebrating the daily moments offering glimpses of joy, growth, insight, and the quiet presence of God. Review
Imitating Christ: The Disputed Character of Christian Discipleship, Luke Timothy Johnson. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. (ISBN: 9780802883100) 2024. Contends our understanding of Christian discipleship has shifted in recent centuries from personal sanctification to social justice. Review
Markus Barth, Mark R. Lindsay. IVP Academic (ISBN: 9781514001622) 2024. The first biography of Markus Barth, drawn from access to his letters and papers, highlighting his theological legacy. Review
Judea under Greek and Roman Rule, David A deSilva. Oxford University Press (ISBN: 9780190263256) 2024. Covers the period from 334 BCE to 135 CE, Hellenizing reforms, revolts, Herods, and Roman domination. Review
The Body Keeps the Score, Bessel van der Kolk. Penguin Books (ISBN: 9780143127741) 2015. An account of the growing understanding of the effects of trauma on the brain and the body and promising treatments. Review
The Lawless Roads, Graham Greene. Open Road Media (ISBN: 9781504054263) 2018 (first published in 1939). Greene’s journey through Mexico to the states of Chiapas and Tabasco where Catholicism was most severely repressed. Review
Writing and Rewriting the Gospels, James W. Barker, foreword by Mark Goodacre. Wm B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. (ISBN: 9780802874528) 2025. Drawing on ancient compositional practice, argues for for a “snowballing” process of gospel writing. Review
Until the Last One’s Found, Curt Parton. Wipf & Stock (ISBN: 9798385225439) 2024. An evangelical pastor argues that God will ultimately reconcile and restore all to himself through Christ. Review
Northwest Angle (Cork O’Connor, 11), William Kent Krueger. Atria Books (ISBN: 9781439153963) 2012. A family vacation is disrupted by a derecho, casting Jenny onto a remote island where she rescues an infant sought by killers. Review
Jakob Hutter: His Life and Letters (Classics of the Radical Reformation, 14), edited by Emmy Barth Maendel and Jonathan Seiling. Plough Publishing (ISBN: 9781636080901) 2024. Biography, letters by Hutter, chronicles of Hutterites, testimony, and Hutterite and government letters. Review
A Prophet in the Darkness, Wesley Vander Lugt, editor. IVP Academic (ISBN: 9781514011058) 2024. An exploration of the work of Georges Roualt and his identification of human suffering with Christ’s sufferings. Review
Third Girl (Hercule Poirot, 40), Agatha Christie. HarperCollins (ISBN: 9780062073761) 2010 (first published in 1966). A young girl disturbs Poirot’s breakfast claiming she may have murdered someone, then leaves, telling Poirot “You’re too old.” Review
The Last Romantic (Hansen Lectureship Series), Jeffrey W. Barbeau with contributions from Sarah Borden, Matthew Lundin, and Keith L. Johnson. IVP Academic (ISBN: 9781514010518) 2025. The influence of Romanticism on C.S. Lewis in terms of imagination, subjectivity, memory and identity, and the sacraments. Review
Abundance, Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson. Avid Reader Press (ISBN: 9781668023488) 2025. A vision of an American future where we invent and build what’s needed and for government that enables rather than hobbles growth. Review
Reading the Margins, Michael J. Gilmour. Fortress Press (ISBN: 9781506469355) 2024. How reading literature may enhance empathy for those on the margins, illuminating the advocacy of scripture for them. Review
The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry, Gabrielle Zevin. Algonquin Books (ISBN: 9781616204518) 2014. A widowed bookseller’s life changes when a rare book disappears and an orphaned child is left in his care. Review
Knock at the Sky. Liz Charlotte Grant, foreword by Sarah Bessey. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. (ISBN: 9780802883759) 2025. After losing faith in biblical inerrancy, the author returns to Genesis with all her questions, seeking God in the story. Review
Gutta Percha Willie, George MacDonald. Rosetta Books (ASIN: B07KX64ZB3) 2018 (first published in 1873). The story of a young boy who gives himself to discover his own work within God’s work and how he finds his vocation. Review
Makers by Nature, Bruce Herman. IVP Academic (ISBN: 9781514009802) 2025. Letters to students, artists, and friends on calling, making, and process, with reproduced works by the author. Review
If the Ocean Has a Soul, Rachel G. Jordan. Tyndale Refresh (ISBN: 9798400505843) 2025. Meshes marine biology and biblical insights, exploring the integration of science and faith. Review
Reviews of Children’s Books
Jesus Loves the Little Children, All the Children of the World, Tara Hackney. IVP Kids (ISBN: 9781514010495) 2025. A board book with a fresh version of this song and images representing all the children of the world. Review
Kaylee Prays for the Children of the World, Helen Lee, illustrated by Shin Maeng. IVP Kid (ISBN: 9781514009161) 2025. Kaylee and her grandfather learn of needy children in the news and struggle for words to pray. Review
Not Finished Yet, Sharon Garlough Brown, illustrated by Jessica Linn Evans. IVP Kids (ISBN: 9781514007952) 2024. While “painting prayers” with Gran, Wren discovers she can honestly share all her feelings with God. Review
Zion Learns to See, Terence Lester and Zion Lester, illustrated by Subi Bosa. IVP Kids (ISBN: 781514006696) 2024. Zion goes to work with her father at the community center and learns how those experiencing homelessness matter to God. Review
Birth of the Chosen One, Terry Wildman, illustrated by Hannah and Holly Buchanan. IVP Kids (ISBN: 9781514007020) 2024. An account of the birth of Jesus based on the First Nations Version reflecting Native oral storytelling. Review
Penny Preaches, Amy Dixon and Rob Dixon, illustrated by Jennifer Davison. IVP Kids (ISBN: 9781514008584) 2024. A young girl loves the big ideas she hears in Sunday sermons, aspires to preach, but friends discourage her. Review
Best Book of the Month
Makers by Nature is a combination of a theology of artistic practice and the wisdom of a master artist on various challenges of artistic work. All of it is presented in the form of a series of warm letters to former students and friends. Each “chapter” is introduced with some of the artist’s work in full color reproductions. This book was a feast for my eyes and heart!
Quote of the Month
I deeply appreciated A Prophet in the Darkness on the work of Georges Roualt. Roualt’s deep empathy with human suffering intersected with his faith. This quote gives a flavor of that:
“Paul Klee says ‘Art does not reproduce the visible; rather it makes visible.’ This is what the art of Georges Roualt (1871-1958) has done; his images have penetrated deeply into the human dilemma to find meaning and offer hope, helping us to see light in the darkness, making visible the invisible.”
What I’m Reading
I’m just coming to the end of Richard Bauckham’s Jesus and the Eyewitnesses. Bauckham marshals extensive material to demonstrate that our four canonical gospels are based on eyewitness testimony rather than communal remembrances of the ministry of Jesus. Love’s Immensity by poet Scott Cairns translates the works of mystics throughout church history, a journey into loving contemplation of God. Skills for Safeguarding explores abuse within the church and other Christian contexts and the best practices to safeguard against abuse and to deal with it in a way that cares for survivors and properly deals with perpetrators. Every church and ministry needs to read and implement the practices in this book!
Justin Evans offers an entertaining and informative book on data and how the data revolution impacts us all in The Little Book of Data. It’s chilling how much data we give up about ourselves everyday, often without being aware of it. Finally, there never seems an end of Tolkien books! The Fall of Numenor covers the second age of Middle Earth, which preceded The Lord of the Rings.
If you’ve read this far, thanks! I hope your summer reading bears a rich harvest and hope these reviews help!
The Month in Reviews is my monthly review summary going back to 2014! It’s a great way to browse what I’ve reviewed. The search box on this blog also works well if you are looking for a review of a particular book.