Here are 78 books that Messages fans have personally recommended if you like
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As we watch the news–the increasing number of earthquakes, volcanoes, wars, inflation, the rapid progress of AI, unelected elites deciding they know best for the world, and more–we don’t know how to process it all, and it leaves us feeling anxious. My passion for helping my readers not just escape but actually live better fuels me. I created this retelling of the Book of Revelations from the POV of celestial warriors and fallen angels in the unseen realms of our world to allow my readers to “make more sense” of the world and be at peace.
Talk about crazy experiments! Maze Runner is an epic quest combined with a nod to those who love solving puzzles on steroids. This is truly an end-of-the-world scenario, or I surely hope it is. While I can see some mad scientists excited about such an experiment today, it is still frowned upon. Thank goodness. But Maze Runner explores “science” gone rogue.
Indifference again plays a central role in the plot as those outside the experiment use a variety of psychological warfare techniques to keep the participants engaged in the game. The reader feels sorry for them having to overcome everything that’s thrown at them or die. I loved how the group of teens had to work together to figure out what was going on and then face the difficulty of extracting themselves from the maze. Ultimately, I loved that friendship and working together triumphed at the end of the day.
The first book in the New York Times bestselling Maze Runner series - now a series of major movies starring Dylan O'Brien!
SEE THE FILMS. READ THE BOOKS. ENTER THE MAZE ...
When the doors of the lift crank open, the only thing Thomas remembers is his first name. But he's not alone.
He's surrounded by boys who welcome him to the Glade - a walled encampment at the centre of a bizarre and terrible stone maze. Like Thomas, the Gladers don't know why or how they came to be there - or what's happened to the world outside.
The Victorian mansion, Evenmere, is the mechanism that runs the universe.
The lamps must be lit, or the stars die. The clocks must be wound, or Time ceases. The Balance between Order and Chaos must be preserved, or Existence crumbles.
Appointed the Steward of Evenmere, Carter Anderson must learn the…
I’m Lindsay, and I never stop falling in love with human creativity. From the moment I first cracked open a library-borrowed copy of The Wizard of Ozas a child, I’ve been asking “What if…?” and I’ve delighted in how other authors imaginatively tackle that question. My interests are eclectic, ranging from history and politics to baking and sparkly things. I read to be swept away and to take a peek inside the storyteller’s mind and heart.
The quintessential YA Christian fantasy story in my opinion! Jill hits every fantasy beat perfectly, and I particularly loved the obvious care she put into the details. The result is a world that feels ripped from the pages of history, yet it’s overlaid with spiritual themes, supernatural happenings (bloodvoicing, anyone?), and allusions to Christ that will resonate for followers of Jesus. When I want a story that has overt and uplifting Christian themes, I reach for this series.
Half of Er'Rets is locked beneath an impenetrable shroud. On the side that still sees the sun, two young people struggle to understand the mind-communication abilities thrust upon them.
It's called bloodvoicing. Some say it's a gift. One of the newly "gifted" wish it had never come.
Achan had been a slave all his life. Worse than a slave—a stray. He is consigned to the kitchens of a lord and forced to swallow a foul potion every day. When an enigmatic knight offers to train Achan for the Kingsguard, he readily accepts. But his new skills…
I’ve always been fascinated by science fiction and by Biblical Scripture. That may seem dichotomous to some, but not to me. I have a passion for science and for Scripture because both bring understanding about our world from the microcosm to the macrocosm. My writings are a mixture of science and mystery with a science fiction feel and a Christian perspective. I like stories that show how truth arises even from the dark, confusing, and ambiguity of life to help one discover something about God they may not have considered before, and at the same time enjoy a fun, fast-paced, and exciting journey as they read.
When I read this book, I felt our world was on the brink of such a scenario. The bravery and fortitude of the main character was inspiring, and I hoped I could be so brave in the moment when it really matters. Granted, if I had the money this character did, it may make some choices easier to pull off. But still, he had a lot at stake to consider when push came to shove. Hopefully, at such critical times I hope we all can have faith in what truly matters.
From Tim LaHaye, co-author of the renowned Left Behind series, and Craig Parshall comes an epic story ripped from the headlines of world events and filtered through Scriptural prophecy.
Joshua Jordan, former US spy-plane hero now turned weapons designer, has come up with a devastatingly effective new missile defense system-the Return to Sender laser weapon. But global forces are mounting against America, and corrupt White House and Capitol Hill leaders are willing to do anything to stop the nation's impending economic catastrophe-including selling-out Joshua and his weapon.
With help from a group of powerfully connected Christian leaders known as the…
The Guardian of the Palace is the first novel in a modern fantasy series set in a New York City where magic is real—but hidden, suppressed, and dangerous when exposed.
When an ancient magic begins to leak into the world, a small group of unlikely allies is forced to act…
I’ve always been fascinated by science fiction and by Biblical Scripture. That may seem dichotomous to some, but not to me. I have a passion for science and for Scripture because both bring understanding about our world from the microcosm to the macrocosm. My writings are a mixture of science and mystery with a science fiction feel and a Christian perspective. I like stories that show how truth arises even from the dark, confusing, and ambiguity of life to help one discover something about God they may not have considered before, and at the same time enjoy a fun, fast-paced, and exciting journey as they read.
I was intrigued by this storyline where the main character seems to live in the past and the present simultaneously. She loves ancient artifacts yet when she discovers them, she somehow seems to be tied to them supernaturally and finds herself living the historical moments of what she is investigating. A great storyline for sure! A book hard to put down.
Kallie Andreas is a mystery, even to herself. Seven years ago Kallie woke up in a New York City museum, injured and traumatized. Alone and unclaimed. Despite her shattered memories, she's worked her way into a position as assistant curator in that very museum, and now she wants nothing more than to pursue funding for her project--assembling pieces from the ancient Minoans. But then the blackouts start. Lost time, stranded in terrifying danger, frantic visions that can't be real. A threatening phone call may be nothing more than paranoia and madness. Or perhaps not. It's time to start seeing her…
I am a historian of education and twentieth-century U.S. history. Public schooling has been transformative for me, opening up a world of opportunities, but I know many others are not nearly so lucky. This has shaped my interest in the history of public schooling, including its promise of democracy and opportunity and the too-often reality of the way it replicates and deepens social and economic inequalities. I think history helps us understand our world, including to see the roots of inequality we live with today and to think about how we might build a more equitable system.
I love how this book asks big and fundamental questions about the relationship between work and education and grounds them in such careful and extensive historical research. It challenges some of the things we think we know about the relationship between the economy and education and makes a powerful case that we fall into a “trap” when we ask education to fix inequalities that are rooted in and best addressed in our economic system.
I love how this book looks broadly and deeply across sectors of the economy, public and private schools, higher education, and K-12 schools at a critical moment of transformation to ask important questions about the sources of inequality and the best ways to address it.
Why-contrary to much expert and popular opinion-more education may not be the answer to skyrocketing inequality.
For generations, Americans have looked to education as the solution to economic disadvantage. Yet, although more people are earning degrees, the gap between rich and poor is widening. Cristina Groeger delves into the history of this seeming contradiction, explaining how education came to be seen as a panacea even as it paved the way for deepening inequality.
The Education Trap returns to the first decades of the twentieth century, when Americans were grappling with the unprecedented inequities of the Gilded Age. Groeger's test case…
I’ve always been drawn to stories about outsiders and misfits. Who hasn’t, at some point, wondered if they fit in with their family, friends, or school? I love the moments in stories when characters find their voice and recognize that being different can be empowering. As an elementary teacher, it’s my hope that each student in my classroom can share their uniqueness and let their voice shine. I want them to know that it’s okay to feel different or to be weird. The lead characters in the middle grade books I’m recommending all have that sense of being an outsider in some way. I hope you enjoy them.
"How can I be me in a loud world?" Amelia is sound sensitive. Even the smallest sounds, like soft footsteps, and gum chewing feel amplified in her head. Imagine having to deal with that discomfort each minute of the day? Gennari’s beautiful, detailed writing helped me feel exactly what daily life was like for Amelia, including her struggles to fit in at school and home. Mostly it made me empathetic to my soft-spoken, introverted students who deal with their outgoing classmates every day.
A young girl learns how to cope with her noise sensitivity and step outside of her comfort zone in this "thoughtful" (Beth Turley, author of If This Were a Story and The Last Tree Town), heartwarming middle grade novel that's perfect for fans of Tune It Out by Jamie Sumner and El Deafo by Cece Bell.
Ten-year-old Amelia does not like noise. From subway brakes to squeaky sneakers, she is sensitive to sound, just like her dad. Amelia has always worn noise-canceling headphones, but now that she's going into fifth grade, her parents want her to stop wearing them. To…
Aury and Scott travel to the Finger Lakes in New York’s wine country to get to the bottom of the mysterious happenings at the Songscape Winery. Disturbed furniture and curious noises are one thing, but when a customer winds up dead, it’s time to dig into the details and see…
As an educator, I’ve experienced the power of true stories to engage readers, widen their world, spur thinking, and support content areas. I’ve learned plenty from these books, too! As an author, I’m fascinated with many aspects of the American Revolutionthat I never learned about as a student. Researching this time period has revealed much more than men at war. The revolution affected every aspect of life—a “world turned upside-down.” Today, we’re fortunate to have a range of stories that help kids understand that history is about people much like them facing the challenges of their time and place.
You may recognize the names of revolutionary era patriots Samuel Adams and John Hancock, an unlikely duo, who led the resistance against British rule in Massachusetts. The British, too, knew their names—but they called them troublemakers.
Here’s a peek behind the scenes of the battles of Lexington and Concord, when the two men barely escaped capture by the redcoats. I love these kinds of stories that make history come alive and allow us to see the real people in action facing challenges and decisions.
John Hancock and Samuel Adams were an unlikely pair of troublemakers. Hancock was young and dashing. Adams was old and stodgy. But working together, they rallied the people of Boston against the unfair policies of Great Britain and inspired American resistance. And to King George, they became a royal pain.
When the British army began marching toward Lexington and Concord, sending Hancock and Adams fleeing into the woods, the two men couldn't help but worry--this time, had they gone too far?
Rich with historical detail and primary sources, this spirited tale takes readers through ten years of taxes and tea-tossing,…
I grew up all around history—my childhood home was across the street from where one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence used to live—and have long been fascinated by the connections between American and other countries’ histories, especially in the old ports and harbors where sailing ships connected America to the world. I’ve lived and taught for the past two decades in Hong Kong, one of the world’s great ports and a place to think about the American Revolution not as “our” history but as part of how to explain Americans to the world.
What do we know about the Revolution, and why do we think we know it? Sometimes, even canonical events we think we know are not nearly as well-documented as we might think, like the Boston Tea Party.
This book is about history and memory, the gap between what happened when colonists threw the East India Company’s tea into Boston Harbor, and how that event was remembered decades later. Drawing on the as-told-to-reminiscences of Tea Party participant George Robert Twelve Hewes, which were written down over half a century after the Tea Party took place, Young plumbs the gap between the “destruction of the tea,” as the event was known at the time, and the “Boston Tea Party,” a name which only emerged in the 19th century as Americans reimagining that revolt into the story of how America was made.
Young shows us that accounts like Hewes’s had as much to…
George Robert Twelves Hewes, a Boston shoemaker who participated in such key events of the American Revolution as the Boston Massacre and the Tea Party, might have been lost to history if not for his longevity and the historical mood of the 1830's. When the Tea Party became a leading symbol of the Revolutionary ear fifty years after the actual event, this 'common man' in his nineties was 'discovered' and celebrated in Boston as a national hero. Young pieces together this extraordinary tale, adding new insights about the role that individual and collective memory play in shaping our understanding of…
I know a lot about “ripped from the headlines” news stories because I’ve been around a lot of news stories and headlines most of my life. I’m a longtime New York City journalist who has worked as a top editor at both the NY Post and the NY Daily News. Believe me, I’ve seen a lot of wild headlines in these places (e.g., Headless Body in Topless Bar!). So you can understand why I now like ripping from news headlines for fiction books as an author.
I love Hank Phillippi Ryan’s books, and I love big court trials, so it makes perfect sense that I loved this book.
Ryan–who is an award-winning TV journalist as well as a best-selling thriller author–started covering the murder trial of Casey Anthony, the mother who made headlines for allegedly killing her two-year-old daughter Caylee and hiding the body for months, with the idea of doing a non-fiction book about the case.
But, when Anthony was found not guilty by the jury, Ryan switched gears and came up with the idea of doing a mesmerizing fictional novel inspired by a case such as Casey Anthony. The result is a must-read!
Trust Me is the chilling novel of psychological suspense and manipulation that award-winning author and renowned investigative reporter Hank Phillippi Ryan was born to write. "Ryan dazzles―a must read."―Mary Kubica "Mesmerizing!" ―Lisa Gardner
**Now an AGATHA AWARD nominee** Best Contemporary Novel
"A knockout."―Booklist (starred review)Now a Criminal Element Best Book of 2018! Now an >>AMAZON Editors' Pick BEST MYSTERY/THRILLER OF THE MONTH!BOOKLIST Starred review! "A knockout." Now a Criminal Element Best of 2018! Now a REAL SIMPLE Magazine Top Thriller of 2018!Now a Book Bub Top Summer Thriller of 2018!Now a POPSUGAR Top Summer Thriller!Now a CrimeReads Most Anticipated Thriller…
Magical realism meets the magic of Christmas in this mix of Jewish, New Testament, and Santa stories–all reenacted in an urban psychiatric hospital!
On locked ward 5C4, Josh, a patient with many similarities to Jesus, is hospitalized concurrently with Nick, a patient with many similarities to Santa. The two argue…
I specialize in writing Young Adult Fiction with an emphasis on the Romance genre, and my debut novel, Kismat Connection, releases from Inkyard Press and HarperCollins in Summer 2023. Growing up as an Indian American, I remember searching for bits and pieces of my identity in the media. Most of the time, I wouldn’t find any representation at all—so it wasn’t long before I decided that if I couldn’t find the representation that I so desperately wanted to see, I’d have to make it myself. Kismat Connection was born from this moment in my life, and it will forever serve as the foundation for my career in publishing.
This is a complex young adult contemporary novel that spotlights Mini as she singlehandedly organizes the wedding-of-the-year for her older sister and her fiancé. Amidst the primary plot of Mini pulling together the wedding and falling in love with the handsome Vir Mirchandani, there is a unifying theme of family. Nandini Bajpai does an incredible job of unpacking the elements of an Indian family, specifically in how they support each other after the loss of a loved one. It was heartwarming to see Mini come into her own by the end of her story, and I highly recommend this book to anyone with a penchant for Indian weddings, Indian culture, and young love.
Mini's big sister is getting married. Their mom passed away seven years ago and between Dad's new start-up and Vinnie's medical residency, there's no one but Mini to plan the wedding. Dad raised her to know more about computers, calculus and cars than desi weddings but from the moment Mini held the jewelry Mom left them, she wanted her sister to have the wedding Mom would've planned.
Now Mini has only two months to get it done and she's not going to let anything distract her, not even the persistent, mysterious and smoking-hot Vir Mirchandani. Flower garlands, decorations, music, even…
