A Christian Woman's Guide to Finding Clean & Captivating Fiction Books

To say that I'm an avid reader is a bit of an understatement. On any given day, I can have ten or so books stacked up on my nightstand awaiting my attention. My TBR list feels more substantial and overwhelming than the national debt. (That may or may not be a bit of an exaggeration. I'll let you decide.)

For years, I gravitated towards non-fiction. As a Christian woman who's compelled to honor the directives found in Philippians 4:8, I found fiction books to be tricky to navigate. They were either clean but not very captivating or captivating but not at all clean.

 

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Whenever I spoke up about my plight to other Jesus followers, I was told to just stick to the Christian fiction side of the bookstore. And while there are several really great gems among that lot like the Mark of the Lion series or No One Ever Asked, so many Christian fiction books have flimsy and predictable plots with uninteresting characters. 

It took me a long time to realize that I could use some of the same filters for adult titles as I did for the books I vet for my kids. This simple aha moment gave me the courage to explore fiction again. Since then, I've discovered countless new-to-me authors and titles that meet my two-fold criteria. Turns out, clean and captivating fiction books aren't quite as elusive as I had once thought. 

If you desire to fill your mind with stories that are true, honorable, just pure, lovely, and commendable--as cited in Philippians--then I'd invite you to consider the following resources and tips for screening fiction books.

Consider the source of that booklist

Name a female celebrity or online personality and I'll show you her booklist or reading guide! There's no shortage of famous book peddlers. It seems like everyone and their cousin's sister's aunt creates annual reading lists these days. But just because a booklist exists doesn't mean it's worth your time and attention. Consider the source. Does the person compiling the list share your same values? Do they avoid salacious or crude language in their everyday conversation? Did the books they've suggested in the past match up with your reading convictions? If not, give that popular book list a hard pass and look for one whose curator shares your same reading habits. 

Here are a few worth considering:

The Storied Mom Reading Challenge

Well-Read Mom (This is an international book club that hosts a new list every year. Their selections are a mix of traditional classics and "instant" classics. Please note: Some of the books lean towards a Catholic faith perspective.)

65 Clean Books to Read

Tim Challies Annual Reading Challenge (This challenge mostly focuses on non-fiction, however.)

Honey for a Woman's Heart by Gladys Hunt

Book Girl by Sarah Clarkson

Use trustworthy vetting sites

When you stumble upon a new-to-you book or author and aren't sure if the book will be worth reading, consult the following trustworthy review sites. Some are more user-friendly than others, but all use presets to evaluate titles according to profanity, violence, and sexual content. 

More Than a Review- To go directly to the review section of the site, click here.

Rated Reads- To find a review of a particular title, enter the title into the search bar found at the upper-right side of the home page.

Common Sense Media- This site is mainly for parents to use when vetting movies and books for kids, but it also reviews a variety of YA and adult novels.

Compass Book Ratings- Hover over the "Search for a Book" drop-down tab to access several different search options. 

Novel Book Ratings- To go directly to the review section of the site, click here. Be sure to click on Ratings/Reviews to set your own personal standards for profanity, violence, and sexual content. 

Consult the endorsements section

Birds of a feather flock together. Authors tend to forge writerly friendships with other writers who share their same writing style, genre focus, and overall tone/voice. These connections come in handy when they need to garner endorsements for their work. Endorsements are personal stamps of approval. Someone who writes clean and captivating fiction is not going to endorse dark erotica and vice versa. 

So after finishing a great book, check the inside flap or back cover to see which authors have endorsed it. Chances are an author who has appreciated the writing of that book writes his/her own books with similar convictions. Compile a list of those endorsers and start reading their offerings.

While not a fool-proof way to find new-to-you authors, an endorsement list can be like a trail of bread crumbs, leading you to your next great fiction adventure. 

Join clean online reading groups

When word-of-mouth recommendations aren't forthcoming from your friends, check out the recs of online reading groups. Similar to book clubs, these are online groups where real people (as opposed to professional book reviewers) with similar reading interests can gather to discuss what they're currently reading. Unlike in book clubs, members aren't assigned particular titles. They read books of their own choosing and share about them in discussion forums and social media threads.

If, say, you are on the hunt for a cozy mystery similar to Smoke Screen, you can simply ask for recommendations. Folks who share your love for Terri Blackstock's work will chime in with all their opinions.

Here are two groups that gravitate towards clean fiction:

Intentional By Grace Online Reading Community

Clean Reads on GoodReads

Feel free to follow me

If all of these other suggestions seem too complicated, you can always follow my lead. Once a month, I write a What We're Reading blog post where I share all the titles that my kids and I happen to be reading at that moment. I've been writing these monthly diatribes for nearly seven years, so I have a huge back catalog of recommendations awaiting your exploration.

Additionally, you can check out my GoodReads page. While I rarely have time to post lengthy reviews, I add ratings to books nearly every week. And be sure to watch my Stories over on Instagram where, like any true bibliophile, I talk about books almost daily.

Friends don't let friends read bad books. I'll always steer you in a good direction. Pinky swear.

A Final Word

Curating a personal reading list that honors the Philippians 4:8 charge can feel like a daunting task at times. It would be so much easier if books came with a rating system similar to movies. But, alas, they don't. 

With just a little bit of direction and simple vetting from trustworthy sites, however, you too can have a mounting TBR filled with clean and captivating fiction. 

Looking for more lists like this?

Once a month I email a book list to the members of the Biblio-files. Every title on the list has been personally read and vetted by me and has been compiled by age range in order to help you navigate the library with your kids. In addition, I also include a few books that you should be aware of--books that contain explicit language, sexual agenda, graphic violence, etc. so that you can make an educated decision when/if your kids should ever be interested in reading any of them. I've recently begun including titles just for moms! What's more, members are invited to join me in a private Facebook group where we help each other find just the right books for our kids and each other. We'd love to have you join us!

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