Gratitude: Why Giving Thanks Is the Key to Our Well-Being
By Cornelius Plantinga
Reviewed by Sonya VanderVeen Feddema
Throughout his insightful, accessible exploration of gratitude, Cornelius Plantinga reiterates the amazing fact that “gratitude is the single best predictor of human well-being.”
Plantinga’s questions touch on the realities people face: “Why does Scripture put such a premium on gratitude—urging it, commanding it, making a sacred duty out of it? … How can I seriously thank God when the world seems so awful?” However, when there are numerous reasons to give thanks to God, Plantinga urges readers to consider asking ourselves, “What’s it like to savor and celebrate them?” and “How might I keep a record of my thanks for them?”
Not surprisingly, reading Gratitude stimulated this reader’s gratitude for God’s amazing grace and God’s world of wonders beyond counting. (Brazos Press)
The Brothers Sun
Reviewed by Daniel Jung
Michelle Yeoh is everywhere these days, including on the Netflix series The Brothers Sun. Yeoh plays Eileen “Mama” Sun, an immigrant single mom raising her son, Bruce (Sam Song Li), in a quaint suburb of Los Angeles. But Mama Sun is not Bruce’s only parent, and Bruce discovers that his estranged brother and father run the most powerful crime syndicate in Taipei.
The Brothers Sun captures the struggle between family loyalty and personal liberty. Both brothers struggle with their identities as they navigate how to be loyal to the expectations of their parents or follow the dreams of their own hearts.
Mama Sun is clearly the head honcho. In a patriarchal society—both fictional and actual—Yeoh continues to rewrite the narrative for Asian Americans in Hollywood. (Rated TV-MA for violence and language.)
When God Became White: Dismantling Whiteness for a More Just Christianity
By Grace Ji-Sun Kim
Reviewed by Mary Li Ma
Korean Canadian theologian Grace Ji-Sun Kim sets out to “unpack the origins of whiteness and its implications for the church, Christianity, and theology.” From immigrating to being educated in a white school environment and converting to Christianity at a white Christian church, Kim witnessed a wide display of white identity and its privileges. She calls for a need to “renegotiate justice by making this privilege visible to everyone and dismantling it.”
In recent years, many theologians have published books with a similar goal of reflecting on the white privilege of Christian churches. What makes this book stand out is Kim’s critique of white Western missionaries to other parts of the world during the era of colonialism.
This book is essential reading for a more whole and just future. (IVP)
The Lowdown
Beyond Ethnic Loneliness: Growing up as an Indian American immigrant in white Southern culture, Prasanta Verma unpacks the exhausting effects of cultural isolation and how our places of exile can become places of belonging—to ourselves, to others, and to God. (IVP)
He Restored Sight to Millions: Sight traces Dr. Ming Wang’s journey from growing up facing persecution in communist China to becoming one of the leading eye surgeons in America and developing an innovative technology that has restored sight to millions of people. Starring Terry Chen and Greg Kinnear. (PG-13, Angel Studios; in theaters May 24)
Based on the Book: Based on the 2016 novel by Amor Towles, A Gentleman in Moscow is set against the backdrop of post-Revolutionary Russia, where Count Alexander Rostov is stripped of his title and material wealth and placed under house arrest for life in a grand Moscow hotel. Starring Ewan MacGregor. (Paramount Plus with Showtime)
Camino Ghosts: In John Grisham’s third Camino Island book, bookstore owner Bruce Cable reunites with Mercer Mann for another island mystery. A large real estate developer has his eye on a deserted island between Florida and Georgia. All that stands in his way is the last living resident. (Penguin Random House, May 28)