Graduation Gift List

Need a graduation gift idea for a new or recent graduate? We’ve got you covered!

‘Tis the season when many young men and women doff mortar boards and tassels and step forward into their future. Why not give them a book that will help turn them ever more to Christ as they move forward into the story He’s written for them!

Over the years, the RR staff has come up with several lists full of graduation gifts. Thankfully, there is an embarrassment of riches because we are fortunate to have a wealth of gifted, thoughtful Christian writers. Note: many of these titles make excellent gifts for grown-ups, too!

Titles are linked to RR reviews where available.

Graduation Gifts: Bibles and Devotionals

• God Girl Bible ESV and God Guy Bible ESV (Crossway, 2014). Especially for high school grads.
• ESV Study Bible and ESV Student Bible.
• HCSB Essential Teen Study Bible. (B&H Kids, 2016).
• NLT Jesus-Centered Bible (Group Publishing, 2015).
• The Story: the Bible’s Grand Narrative of Redemption (a one-year devotional) by Jon Neilson. (P&R Publishing, 2014).
• Morning and Evening by Spurgeon.

Graduation Gifts: Theology and Apologetics

• Encounters with Jesus: Unexpected Answers to Life’s Biggest Questions by Tim Keller. (Penguin, 2015).
• No Little Women: Equipping All Women in the Household of God by Aimee Byrd. (P&R, 2016).
• The Gospel for Real Life by Jerry Bridges. (NavPress, 2003).
• Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus  by Nabeel Qureshi. (Zondervan, 2016).
• Rise by Trip Lee. (Thomas Nelson, 2015)
• Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis. A classic with good reason!
• How to Talk to a Skeptic by Donald Johnson. (Bethany House, 2013).
• Truths We Confess by R. C. Sproul. (Reformation Trust Publishing, 2019).
• Confronting Christianity: 12 Hard Questions for the World’s Largest Religion by Rebecca McLaughlin. (Crossway, 2019). {See also: 10 Questions Every Teen Should Ask {and Answer} About Christianity by Rebecca McLaughlin (Crossway, 2021).
• Transformed by Truth: Why and How to Study the Bible for Yourself as a Teen by Katherine Forster. (Crossway, 2019).
• Surviving Religion 101: Letters to a Christian Student on Keeping the Faith in College by Michael Kruger. (Crossway, 2021).

Graduation Gifts: Worldview and Academic Disciplines

• Science and Grace: God’s Reign in the Natural Sciences by Tim Morris and Donald Petcher. (Crossway, 2006).
• What’s Your Worldview? An Interactive Approach to Life’s Big Questions by James N. Anderson (Crossway, 2014).
• Finding Truth by Nancy Pearcey. (David C. Cook, 2015)
• The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert by Rosaria Butterfield. (Crown & Covenant, 2012). Especially for those headed into the humanities and/or secular institutions.
• The Christian Imagination: The Practice of Faith in Literature and Writing edited by Leland Ryken. (Shaw Books, 20o2). Especially for English majors!
• The Gagging of God by D. A. Carson (Zondervan, 2002). Especially for those headed into meaty/philosophical studies!
• The Intolerance of Tolerance by D. A. Carson (Eerdmans, 2013). A little less “meaty” and more accessible than The Gagging of God.

Graduation Gifts: Christian Living and Practical Advice

• This Changes Everything: How the Gospel Transforms the Teen Years by Jaquelle Crowe. (Crossway, 2017).
• Crazy Busy by Kevin DeYoung. (Crossway, 2013).
• Just Do Something by Kevin DeYoung. (Moody, 2014).
• The Golden Booklet of the True Christian Life by John Calvin. (Baker Books, 2004).
• The Happy Christian by David Murray. (Thomas Nelson, 2015).
• Thriving at College by Alex Chediak. (Tyndale, 2011).
• Don’t Waste Your Life by John Piper. (Crossway, 2004).
• Do Hard Things by Brett Harris and Alex Harris (Multnomah, 2008). A great complement to This Changes Everything!
• You Have a Brain by Ben Carson (Zondervan, 2015).
• True Beauty by Carolyn Mahaney. (Crossway, 2014).
• God at Work: Your Christian Vocation in All of Life by Gene Edward Veith. (Crossway, 2011).
• Solomon Says: Directives for Young Men by Mark Horne. (Athanasius Press, 2020.)
• Adulting 101: #wisdomforlife (Book 1) by Josh Burnette and Pete Hardesty (Broadstreet Publishing, 2018)
• Adulting 101: #liveyourbestlife (Book 2) by Josh Burnette and Pete Hardesty (Broadstreet Publishing, 2021).

Graduation Gifts: Inspiration and Those Who’ve Gone Before

• Death by Living by N. D. Wilson. (Thomas Nelson, 2013).
• 7 Men and the Secret of Their Greatness by Eric Metaxas. (Thomas Nelson, 2013). Also check out 7 Women and the Secret of Their Greatness by Metaxas. (2016)
• Stepping Heavenward by Elizabeth Prentiss. A classic.
• See also our Church History October resources, particularly the recommendations from various pastor and teachers.

What have we missed? We’re happy to keep adding to this list! (And may continue to do so throughout this graduation “season.” )

*Updated: originally published April 24, 2017.