Faith 'n Fiction Saturday: What Would You Recommend?

Welcome to Faith 'n Fiction Saturday! If this is your first time participating, please read this post. It will tell you everything you need to know!!

First, though, an announcement! Author Jamie Carie is giving away a 150 dollar gift certificate to edressme.com! Please visit her blog to find out how you can enter.

Today's Question:
You have a good friend who is a devoted Christian and voracious reader. He or she, however, tried to read a Christian fiction book in the past and found it to be too preachy and unrealistic. Your friend wants to try it again and has asked you for a recommendation. Their favorite genre of book is what is considered literary fiction. What book would you recommend to them?

You also have a friend who is not a Christian but wants to read fiction that is considered clean without being too Christian. They have asked you if there are Christian fiction books that might meet their reading needs. They are interested in romance and novels. What book would you recommend to them?

My Answer:
To the first friend I would recommend anything by Lisa Samson. While her books are clearly Christian, I think she tackles many obstacles and issues that are very real and aren't easily answered. Her style is very unique and she is actually one of the few Christian writers I would classify as literary fiction.

To the second friend, I would recommend Julie Lessman's Daughters of Boston series. While these books contain an overt Christian message, they are so completely romantic that I have a hard time thinking anyone wouldn't like them. I would also recommend some of the Love Inspired books. I find that the Christian message in these books is often much lighter and a bit more organic to the story.

Your Turn
Just write a post on your blog answering these questions and include a link back to this post. Then enter your permalink in the Mister Linky below!