English professor’s novel named one of Christianity Today’s best of 2024

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Heather Holleman’s faith has played a central role in her life since adolescence.

In recent years, it’s also deeply inspired her work as a writer, from her series of spiritually focused inspirational books to her debut novel, “This Seat’s Saved” (Moody Publishers, 2023), which recently was named the winner in the Young Adult (YA) category for Christianity Today magazine’s 2024 Book Awards.

The award is “an incredible honor,” said Holleman, associate teaching professor of English at Penn State.

“I was very surprised when I found out — I was standing in my kitchen on a very ordinary day when my editor called,” said Holleman, who in addition to her duties in the Department of English teaches advanced writing courses for the Schreyer Honors College.

“Christianity Today is one of the leading voices in the faith world — it’s like The New York Times Best Seller list of Christian books,” she continued. “Sales have been excellent, and I’ve been getting a lot of nice letters from people. What I’ve most noticed about the award is that when you get that endorsement from Christianity Today that you’re supporting evangelical thought, it’s a big deal within the faith-based community.”

“This Seat’s Saved” revolves around Elita Brown, a seventh grader from central Pennsylvania whose social status plummets when she’s denied a seat at the “popular table” in her middle school lunchroom. Her bad luck continues when she’s harassed by the meanest girl in school and accused of a crime she didn’t commit.

Still, Elita perseveres, befriending an older couple who live in the woods and gaining much-needed confidence while researching a science project on the red fox (something Holleman also did as a kid). Along the way, her Christian faith deepens, too.

“‘This Seat’s Saved’ captures the longing of every teenager in America: belonging,” wrote Reese Carlson, youth pastor and author of “Church Doesn’t End With Z,” in a capsule review of the book on Christianity Today’s website.

Holleman had written several other novels over the years, but “This Seat’s Saved” was the first to find a publisher. Prior to that, she had written eight Christian inspirational books, among them 2015’s “Seated with Christ: Living Freely in a Culture of Comparison” (Moody Publishers), a bestseller that led her to a successful sideline on the faith-based motivational speaking circuit.

In “Seated,” Holleman explored how adults can overcome feelings of rejection, jealousy and comparison. That eventually led to her being asked by fans to translate that message to a younger audience.

Then it occurred to her one day — a YA novel would be just the right vehicle.

“Middle school is quintessentially the worst time for a child, for both girls and boys,” said Holleman, whose doctoral dissertation at the University of Michigan examined shame and guilt in 19th century poetry.

“My two daughters’ real-life experiences helped inspire me,” she said. “I wrote the book during the early days of COVID in 2020 — my daughter Kate and I would take walks after school every day and talk about the plot, and I got everything written in about three months. She helped me feel again what it was like to be 11, 12 years old. I also showed it to some of the kids in my neighborhood. I love that middle school age group; they’re so open to things. They gave me a lot of great feedback that was really helpful.”

Holleman also gets plenty of inspiration from her students, who refer to her as a “walking exclamation point.” In class, she encourages them to strive for all the things she looks to accomplish in her own writing, from creating tension to making good use of “strong, vivid verbs.”

Recently, she shared with them her recent research on the concepts of savoring and delighting in life, which will serve as the foundation of her next book.

“It’s such a good mental health practice, and there are certain passages from the Bible that deal with the subject,” Holleman said. “I do talk about my writing projects with my students, but I’m careful about how much I share with them. I try to be very respectful of all the different faith traditions.”

Meanwhile, it looks like Elita and the other characters from “This Seat’s Saved” will be populating her imagination for the foreseeable future. Thanks to the novel’s success, Holleman has been contracted to write several more books in the series.

She can’t wait to share those stories with her fans.

“The letters I get from young readers — that’s the best part of writing. And I love when a mom emails me and says, ‘My daughter hates reading, but she can’t put your book down,’” Holleman said. “It’s a dream come true. When I was young, my wish was to grow up and become an author. And it happened — and I’m so grateful.”