Tag Archive for: Catholic

Cath-Lit Live! Episode #53 – Leslea Wahl

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A ten-day Caribbean cruise might sound like a fabulous way to spend the holidays, but Liz would rather be anywhere than stranded on a ship with her estranged father for his high school reunion.

While an anonymous note, an onboard mystery, and a cute boy help turn the tide on the unwanted trip, Liz and her father drift even further apart. However, when Liz’s reckless actions create a tsunami of unintended consequences, she recognizes that she’s drowning in pent-up hurt and anger. As her carefully created façade begins to ebb away, she turns to her faith and sets off to chart a new course for her life.

Leslea Wahl lives in beautiful Colorado and is the author of several award-winning teen novels. She strives to write stories that encourage teens to grow in their faith through fun adventurous mysteries. Leslea is often inspired by her family, their travels, and real-life adventures. She particularly enjoys including the furry, four-legged members of her family in her novels. Besides writing, Leslea also reviews faith-based novels on her website and is a founding member of CatholicTeenBooks.com.

To catch all the new episodes, follow me on YouTube here.

Who’s ready to visit sunny Italy?

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Long, cold winter days make me long for sunny Italy!

You, too?

Great! You can come with me and my friend Fr. Andy Matijevic from Holy Name Cathedral. We’ll be heading to central Italy June 15-25, 2022, for an incredible, fun, and faith-filled pilgrimage.

Join us for a live Zoom meeting on Tuesday, January 25, at 7:30 p.m. Central to learn more! To get the Zoom link, register here.

I’ll even have a few giveaways so you won’t want to miss this!

Books That Feature Catholic Schools

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In honor of Catholic Schools Week, I thought I’d put together a list of novels that feature students in Catholic schools. Sadly, I was having trouble coming up with much of a list on my own, so I took to Facebook and Twitter to pick the brains of people smarter (and more well read?) than I am. Here’s what I found, broken down by the intended audience.

16 Books that feature Catholic schools

Ages 7-10

The Chime Travelers Series by Lisa M. Hendey

Books that feature Catholic schools!

I’ve had the pleasure of reading two books in this fun series. In these tales, Katie and Patrick (who attend a Catholic school) travel back in time when the church bell chimes. Each journey brings them to a place and time in history when they get to meet a saint or at least a saint-in-the-making! My review of The Sign of the Cross can be found here.

Ages 8-12

Rosa, Sola by Carmela Martino

Monday Book Review: Rosa, Sola by Carmela Martino

This is a beautiful tale about a girl who prays the rosary every night so that God will send her a little brother. Rosa attends a Catholic school in Chicago in the 1960s and is the daughter of Italian immigrants. If you missed it earlier this year, click here for my full review.

Pictures of Me by Marilee Haynes

pictures-of-me

Eleven-year-old Annie must complete a self-portrait and present it to the class at the end of the year. However, like my main character Kam (see Seven Riddles to Nowhere below), she has a little problem with public speaking. I haven’t read this one yet, but I hope to do so before the year ends!

A.K.A. Genius and Genius Under Construction by Marilee Haynes

Books that feature Catholic schools

I haven’t read these two books either, but they are definitely on my TBR list! Like the main character in my own book (see next book), the protagonist in this story attends a school named after St. Jude! I’m thinking Marilee Haynes and I must be kindred spirits since our books appear to have some similar ideas!

Ages 10-13

Seven Riddles to Nowhere by A.J. Cattapan (hey, that’s me!)

7 Riddles 3d

I spent ten years teaching in Catholic schools. Sadly, one of those schools closed after my fourth year there. Its closing haunted me for years until finally I had to do something about it–and all I could think of was to write a book about a boy trying to save his Catholic school from closing. The result was Seven Riddles to Nowhere. I couldn’t just make it about a boy trying to save his school, though. I had to make it a fun book–one with quirky characters and fun riddles to solve and a scavenger hunt through the city I call home–Chicago!

Seven Riddles to Nowhere has won a Catholic Press Association Book Award and the Catholic Writers Guild Seal of Approval. You can learn more about it and download a free discussion guide here.

Ages 13 and up

John Paul II High School Series by Christian M. Frank

jp-ii-high-books

I’m going to have to admit I haven’t read any of these either (my TBR list is really long), but it’s clear they take place at a Catholic high school. If I understand correctly, Christian M. Frank is really just a pseudonym for a team of writers who work on this series.

Ages 16 and up

 Jennifer the Damned by Karen Ullo

jennifer-the-damned

This one I haven’t read either–and it’s definitely off the beaten path when you think of Catholic school books. However, the author assures me that it takes place in a Catholic school. If I understand correctly, this is the story of an orphan vampire who is raised by nuns who run a Catholic school. So have fun with that!

Coming soon . . .

Some of the authors in our Books for Catholic Teens Facebook group have books coming out this year that will include Catholic schools, so make sure you join our group here to learn more about them and other books for Catholic teens.

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Studiare Day 3

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Tuesday morning we had a regular class. Our discussions about reaching students who are culturally and linguistically diverse are so rich that I fear we talk so much our professor can’t get through half her lesson plan.

In the afternoon, we had time to work on our big group assignment, which meant I spent part of the afternoon doing research for my section of our group project in the library.

Rome campus library

Rome campus library

In the evening, we headed to the beautiful Trastevere neighborhood to meet with someone from the Community of Sant’Egidio, a group dedicated to prayer and caring for the sick and the poor. We meant with one of their members who discussed the wonderful things they do , including helping refugees safely leave the countries where their very lives are at risk. We had a fantastic visit there, and our guide Paolo was truly filled with the joy of the Gospel that Pope Francis keeps encouraging us to demonstrate. The Community of Sant’Egidio is really living out that Christian mission of caring for the sick and the poor.

A 1,000-year-old olive tree in the courtyard at the Communità di Sant'Egidio.

A 1,000-year-old olive tree in the courtyard at the Communità di Sant’Egidio.

We got to see the beautiful former convent where their community meets and then we got to join them for their evening prayer at the incredible Santa Maria in Trastevere Basilica.

Basilica di Santa Maria in Trastevere

Basilica di Santa Maria in Trastevere

Afterward, we went out to dinner at a local restaurant. It was 9:00 when we left the church, so we were eating at the typical Roman dinner time. 🙂

Monday Book Review: Life-Changing Love by Theresa Linden

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I had a chance to read an advanced copy of Theresa Linden’s new release (officially, it comes out on May 26), and I’m happy to share a bit about it now!

Life Changing Love by Theresa LindenTitle: Life-Changing Love

Author: Theresa Linden

Genre: contemporary romance

Age group: YA

Synopsis: There are several “love stories” going on here, but the main character is Caitlyn, who is about to turn 15 and is being introduced to the idea of old-fashioned courtship. There’s no dating without parental involvement, and things must be taken slowly. Caitlyn would like to try out this way of getting to know someone with her crush, Roland West, but Caitlyn’s not the only girl with her eye on Roland. Another girl’s interested, too, and her parents aren’t holding her to any courtship rules. How can Caitlyn compete? To complicate matters, another girl she knows is pregnant, and the boyfriend’s pushing for an abortion. Then Caitlyn learns something about her own parents and their dating mistakes that makes her question everything she’s learned.

Theresa Linden is one of my fellow Catholic Writers Guild members, so she does a nice job of weaving Theology of the Body into her story. This book has a strong pro-life message and would be a great way to talk about difficult dating and sex topics with your teenager. Theresa keeps the story engaging and realistic (this is not a saccharine love story nor are the characters all goody-two shoes).

Plus, there are some scenes in Italy. Enough said. 😉

You can pre-order it on Amazon here.

Monday Book Review: A Single Bead by Stephanie Engelman

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I met author Stephanie Engelman online through the Catholic Writers Guild and discovered that she writes YA just like I do! So, of course, I jumped at the chance to review her book, A Single Bead, when it released earlier this month.

A Single BeadTitle: A Single Bead

Author: Stephanie Engelman

Genre: contemporary realistic fiction

Age category: YA (but okay for middle grade, too)

Summary: (from Amazon) On the anniversary of the plane crash that took the life of her beloved grandmother and threw her own mother into deep depression, 16-year-old Katelyn Marie Roberts discovers a single bead from her grandmother’s rosary—a rosary lost in the crash. A chance encounter with a stranger, who tells Katelyn that a similar bead saved her friend’s life, launches Katelyn and her family on a quest to find the other missing beads. Their journey, filled with glimmers of hope, mystical events and unexplained grace helps Katelyn understand that faith, family and the help of others can restore what was lost.

A Single Bead by Stephanie Engelman and my mom's St. Therese of Lisieux rosary

A Single Bead by Stephanie Engelman and my mom’s St. Therese of Lisieux rosary

I found a lot I could relate to in this book. As many of you know, I lost my mother back in August, and the grandmother in this story reminded me a lot of my mom. And let’s just say I’m really thankful that I didn’t react to my mother’s death the way Katelyn’s mom reacts to her mother’s death.I think young teens who struggle with believing in prayer and maybe even believing in God’s ability to work in their lives will enjoy this book. Katelyn seems to be a pretty typical teen who has some faith but hasn’t gotten to the point of really making it a part of her everyday existence yet. Stephanie does a nice job of balancing out faith-filled characters with those who struggle with their faith.

This could make a great Confirmation present for a teen girl if you’re looking for something a little different to give.

You can follow Stephanie on her blog A Few Beads Short. (Don’t you just love that blog title? Personally, I think I’m more than a few beads short, but that’s another story. 😉 )

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