Rachel Stoltzfus, a young woman living in an old order
Mennonite community, made a mistake. The citizens of that society began to
notice the change in her. She was not alone in her sin. The newly appointed
bishop of the area wanted to banish her from the community. Her sin, like all
sin, touched others beside herself. Her twin sister and her sister’s husband
felt the sting of undealt with sin.
When the health of an innocent child comes to the forefront,
the people who have been party to and victim of the sin, as well as the ones
who set the stage for it have to admit their part in it.Rachel’s story is told by Rachel and Amos King, the deceased
bishop.
I would recommend this novel to anyone who likes to read
stories about the Amish or the Mennonite people. Although this is Ms.
Petersheim’s first novel, I believe she will write more about her Mennonite
heritage. I look forward to reading her books in the future.
I received a free copy of this book from Tyndale House
Publishing and Jolina Petersheim through the Book Club Network. All I was asked
to do was read this and give an unbiased review.
Graphic: jolinapetersheim.com
Graphic: jolinapetersheim.com
Interesting, Cecelia. I've not run into this author before; there sure are a lot of names in the Amish fiction genre! Thank you for introducing us.
ReplyDeleteHappy Monday!
Rhonda: Thank you for stopping in. This was Jolina's first novel. I plan on keeping my eyes pealed for her future stories.
DeleteHi Cecelia! This sounds like an interesting book. It seems like there are more and more 'reality shows' about Mennonites and the Amish leaving their communities. They seem to be very tight-knit groups. I wonder if this writer was a person who is now away from her community?
ReplyDeleteThank you for a great review! Happy Tuesday :)
Ceil
Ceil: I will trace down who has this book and see if she did. I know Beverly Lewis had a grandmother who was Amish. I know in some of the communites, the teenagers get to go off and explore the "Englisher's" world for one year.At the end of that year they have to decide whether they want to return to the community and formally enter the Amish church.
DeleteThanks for the review. Glad you have Jesus in your life.
ReplyDeleteThank you. Love love, Andrew. Bye.
Andrew: You are most welcome. Feel free to stop by anytime you like. I usually post on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays,
DeleteHi Cecilia .. I would imagine there are many people who have tried to escape the communities .. and others who have been able to ... at least through these sorts of books we can learn about their way of life ... I'd just hate to be so restricted ...
ReplyDeleteCheers Hilary
Hilary: In certain Amish communities, the families allow their teens to go through "Rumpspringe", a time of 'sewing wild oats'.The bishop of each district has the option to allow this year long time. At the end of the year, each young person has to make a choice to either return to the community or not. Some go to neighboring towns some stay at home but live differently from their families-get cars, wear 'Englisher ' clothes, frequenting establishments their elders wouldn't, indulge in habits that they normally couldn't.
DeleteThank you so much for sharing about my debut, Cecelia; what an honor!
ReplyDeleteJolina; I am honored that you stopped in at my blog. Thank you for your kind words.
DeleteThank you for your review, Cecelia. This is also a new author to me. The Amish and Mennonite communities have often been portrayed as living an idyllic life. I'm encouraged to see a more realistic view. They're people with problems like the rest of us.
ReplyDeleteSusan; Thank you for stopping in. This was Jolina's first book. The book was riveting in the fact that the web of wrongdoing was further than what it first appeared to be. I found this in all the Amish books I have read. There is something in the MCs past that the younger generation doesn't know. In our world we call them family secrets.
DeleteI enjoyed reading your book reviews above. Each of those books sound interesting enough for me to want to read. What a neat idea, to get the book free for doing the review! You write an excellent review...so the publishers were smart to send that to you! I may share these with my church librarian where I work...she may want to order them for our church library! Great job!!
ReplyDeletePam: Thank you for your very kind words. I enjoy reading and reviewing books. Doing this has led me to find several authors I was unfamiliar with. This is Jolina's debut novel. I hope to see more of her work..
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