Gwendy's Button Box by Stephen King and Richard Chizmar

A girl is entrusted with a very special box yet given little information on its use or implications.

When almost-middleschooler Gwendy meets the suited man, she is strangely drawn to the box he offers. She needs to have that box! But then he's gone, and she's left with a million questions and one strange, small box with a series of colored push buttons on top.

This is my favorite kind of Stephen King story: it's creepy and sinister, yet really left up to your imagination to fill in the blanks. Because what's scariest is very personal, and you create your own nightmare with his subtle framework and direction.

Also, this audiobook recording includes a bonus short story, "The Music Room," based on an Edward Hopper painting. Also fantastic, and very, very minimal.

Dear Ijeawele, or A Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Addressed as a letter to a friend seeking advice, Adichie gives a brief, powerful primer on feminism in a changing world.

While it's addressed to a new mother on raising her daughter, the lessons are equally important for anyone. We all impact the next generation, and the first steps to change must be our own.

It's an amazing, succinct piece with a lot to ponder. It's probably worth repeated reading and is truly the kind of book you should buy to revisit annually.

The Biggest Story by Kevin DeYoung

While the art is what sells this one, I have to say the message is done very well too.

Without becoming a storybook, DeYoung intended to convey the over-arching message of the Bible: belief in God is the path to heaven. He doesn't get wrapped up in telling about Noah, or lingering on the nativity - he briefly touches on them on the way to a larger message. It's an interesting approach, and a couple times I laughed at the simplification job he does: the popular betrayal story gets summed up as Joseph's brothers "almost killed him because of his fancy coat."

No matter your Christian denomination, the message here is going to ring true and stand with church doctrine. There's obviously a lot more to it and this shouldn't be your only sourcebook, but I like it as a different tactic for kids. It's something I haven't seen before.

But let me move on to the art. Because illustrator Don Clark knocks one out of the park with this book; the retro-inspired design is simply rendered yet intricately detailed. I can't stop looking at the Garden of Eden, and the way he depicts a lot of anything (houses, people) is stupendous. I read an advanced reader's copy provided by the publisher, but I've now also seen the finished publication which is even brighter and more engrossing. There is a lot of visual inspiration here for artists of any age.

In this season of books as gifts, I'm gonna recommend this one for the Sunday school kids on your list. It's different, it's absolutely gorgeous, and it's a book that will definitely give you something to talk about.

Inexcusable by Chris Lynch

High school senior Keir is a football player, a decent athlete, and an all-around good guy, he says. But the more he talks to us (the reader) and to Gigi Boudakian, the more we start to see there's a darker side to these stories that he's apparently overlooking. And the scary part is that he really, truly believes his own bright-side stories.

It's a quick read, only 165 pages. This would be an awesome book for a teen discussion - I can see a great conversation about the lies we tell ourselves, about social responsibility, about bullying, and about how often athletes are held as above reproach.

The Wise Fool by Shahrukh Husain & Micha Archer

While most of the fairy tales and morality stories in America are based on European folk tales, the rest of the world also is rich with these type of stories. This bright, vivid book tells a series of Mulla stories, as have been handed down all across the Middle East.

The stories all center on Mulla Nasruddin, a man of great wisdom and humor. In the stories he uses his brain to maneuver sticky social situations. It's a kind of manners or ethics lesson told through brief encounters, a trickster tale like Br'er Rabbit or Loki or even Bugs Bunny.

The artwork in this book is astounding, a colorful papercraft that truly brings the Islamic world to life on the pages. Each story is less than 2 pages long, which leaves plenty of room for large, bright illustrations.

God is in the Pancakes by Robin Epstein

Smart-ass 15-year old candy striper Grace has met her match with smart-ass nursing home resident Mr. Sands. She probably should have been fired after she busted him out and they went to a movie. But when he asks Grace to help him kill himself rather than be further ravaged by Lou Gehrig's disease, she's got a big choice to make.

Without being heavy-handed, this is a great book that deals with belief, morality, and ethics. I think it would be a great book for a family read or a teen book discussion - there's a lot to ponder. Even Grace acknowledges she's not sure what she would do, looking back or in the future.

Horns by Joe Hill

Could you get past the "horror" genre to read a really good coming-of-age story? Because this book is SO WORTH IT ... even if you're not a fan of the supernatural.

Ig did something terrible last night, but he can't remember what. Now, in addition to a killer hangover, he seems to have sprouted devil's horns from his forehead. And they seem to make everyone he comes into contact with confess their darkest thoughts.

Much of the story is told in flashbacks to Ig's high school days: hangin' with his friends, meeting Merrin and falling in love, etc. And while Ig was a good kid with high morals and solid faith, since Merrin's murder a year ago, he's struggled to find footing.

I would love to read and discuss this story with a book club. There's lots of meat here to dig into concerning belief, humanity, evil, revenge, love ... but I'd have to convince them that a horror story is worth their time. Any ideas on how to do that?