Last updated on 08/31/2026
Welcome to the September 2026 edition of An Open Book, hosted both at My Scribbler’s Heart and CatholicMom.com!
I didn’t get to my second Tennessee-set novel on vacation last month, so I read Appalachian Song by Michelle Shocklee in August. The book is set in the Sevierville area of the Great Smoky Mountains, where recently departed Dolly Parton was born and raised. This split-time story portrays the simple goodness and hardiness of the mountain people exemplified by the Jenkins sisters (based on the real-life Walker sisters). This novel of young mountain girl Songbird and the son she gave up for adoption in the 1940s emphasizes the value of every human life, no matter the circumstances of conception.
Walking Green Flag is the fourth book in Marie Veillon’s Camellia Rom-Com series. This novel seemed a little higher on the spice scale than some of the previous novels, and I almost set it aside. I’m glad I didn’t, because the author eventually dives deeper into the flaws and motivations of the longtime single, Catholic ob/gyn Rowan and recently divorced (and carrying a lot of emotional baggage) Claire. There’s a lot of sexual innuendo, but there are also important themes regarding pride and the inherent dignity of every person and the author doesn’t flinch at sharing the truth of Catholic teaching. My full review digs a little deeper.
On the sweet/clean end of the rom-com spectrum, I read Cece Louise’s Falling After All, set during autumn. I really enjoyed the conflict between Camden, a young mayor who plagiarized his tutor’s essay in high school, and Penny, the aforementioned tutor, now author, who’s trying to overcome writer’s block and avoid Camden. The entire After All series has been so enjoyable!
My high school daughter and I both read The Light They Left by Sister Allison Regina Gliot, the second book in the In Aeternum series. We both liked this book even better than the first. Told from the perspective of Christopher/Josef (the vampire), The Light They Left delves into Christopher’s human past in the mysterious Black Forest of late 19th c. Germany. This volume brings greater depth to the series and is one of the most spiritually moving novels I’ve read.
My adult son read Galahad and the Grail by Malcolm Guite, a beautifully bound, illustrated epic ballad by a contemporary author. It is the first volume of four in Merlin’s Isle: An Athuriad in which Sir Galahad and other knights set out from Camelot on their quest to discover the Holy Grail. This poetry can be enjoyed by adults as well as younger readers, and my son recommended this to his thirteen-year-old brother, who enjoys Arthurian legend.
Wisdom and Innocence: A Life of G.K. Chesterton by Joseph Pearce is a biography of the 20th c. author and thinker, including some never-published information about Chesterton. Pearce’s main thesis is that Chesterton’s wisdom an innocence went hand in hand and those who maintain such innocence are the wisest, as exemplified by his writing and in how he treated others. This biography combined with I Also Had My Hour make for a good introduction to Chesterton.
I wish we had a larger piece of land for our family to grow into. So do, it seems, my children. My son listened to The Liturgy of the Land: Cultivating a Catholic Homestead by Jason M. Craig and Thomas D. Van Horn. While it is primarily a theology of homesteading for Catholics, it includes practical advice as well. My son says, “If you have read agrarian related works from Chesterton, Belloc, Wendell Berry, and others, you may already be familiar with many of the underlying arguments made, although the book does the unique job of tying all of these writers together while providing some more hands-on and practical advice.”
In addition to continuing the Green Ember series, my middle school son read the first book in The Wingfeather Saga, On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness by Andrew Peterson. In this children’s fantasy novel, Janner Igiby and his sister Leeli live with their mother and ex-pirate grandfather. From the description: “They will need all their gifts and all that they love to survive the evil pursuit of the venomous Fangs of Dang, who have crossed the dark sea to rule the land with malice. The Igibys hold the secret to the lost legend and jewels of good King Wingfeather of the Shining Isle of Anniera.”
My son loved The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate and is eager to read the subsequent books in the series. He chose this Newbery Award-winning book as his summer reading program reward on the recommendation of his older sister, whose classmates had read it. The story is told from the perspective of a captive gorilla, Ivan, who enjoys watching television and painting. When he meets Ruby, a young elephant, he begins to see things through her eyes.
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