I've read some Amish fiction before and found this book seems to have more depth. I was fascinated with Marianna's beginning, the doubts she carried through childhood, and the hopes she has for her future. I read the book in one day (on vacation) and can't wait to start the next book! I want to s...
It was an interesting fictional take on thwarting an attempt by Goebbels to steal the Mona Lisa and use it as a bargaining chip to get him out of Europe and to Argentina before the Nazi surrender. Unfortunately the authors attempt to capture the dialogue of WWII France came off as sounding much t...
Normally I do not read WWII stories but the book was recommended to me. The story provided a different perspective of the war. Switzerland being a neutral country had an active role that I did not realize which resulted in limited cooperation with the Nazis and a safe haven for Allied spy network...
Sarah and her friend Patty started a memory jar when they were young and before Patty dies in a accident. Jathan is in town for hunting season. They become friends and she shares a lot of memories of her and Patty with him. He gets called back home due to his father having a stroke. His mom ha...
What a sweet book! Sarah and Jathan's story is simply lovely. Discovering life and moving on after tragedy is no simple feat. Tragedy can paralyze you, even when you can't see it yourself.Overcoming words from others' is also no simple feat. Words give life or death. When they give death, it can ...
SUMMARY: New Yorker Julia Cavanaugh never meant to be a mail-order bride. When Julia finds herself stranded in Lonesome Prairie, Montana, unwittingly promised to an uncouth miser, she turns to a respected circuit preacher to protect her from the marriage.REVIEW: This LFY was filled with faith, ...
Allyson is a super clean freak, mommy, and blogger whom now is having trouble beginning a post for her blog. Allyson admits she does not have control in her everyday life, as she would like when her husband is away.Sondra, Pastor Ray’s wife, is Allyson’s go-to person since joining the church six ...
It is 1945, and a group of American soldiers liberate a Nazi concentration camp. Helene is the abandoned wife of an SS guard who has fled to avoid arrest. Overcome by guilt, she begins to help meet the needs of survivors. Throughout the process, she finds her own liberation--from spiritual bondag...
. . at least that's what the beating of my heart, the rush of heat to my cheeks, and the stirring deep in my gut—like the churning of butter—tell me as I feel Aaron Zook's breath against my neck. Aaron slumps in the seat next to me, his dreams taking him on some adventure as the train carries us ...
The group had gobbled down Lanie’s grits, perfectly fried chicken, and homemade apple pie—delicious despite the tiny amount of sugar rations she used. And then Miss Tilly said she needed to “rest these old bones,” asking Kenny to accompany her home. By the time Rosalie had returned to her apartme...
The bench wagon arrived last night, and volunteers brought in the benches and set them up. Then today, as morning dawned, their neighbors arrived. The women sat on one side, in the kitchen area, and the men gathered in the living room. The service began with song. Marianna...
Thick groves of trees lined the roadway. As they drove, the groves opened up into wide meadow plateaus. It was hard to believe such a horrific battle, the Battle of the Bulge, had happened in such an idyllic place. “How far are we from Bastogne?” Grand-Paul asked in a grog...
Something was wrong. Very wrong. When Frank had first returned to his house, he’d been relieved to find Art gone and their house locked. The darkroom had remained locked too. Looking around the darkroom, Frank’s guess had been that no one had touched his things. He packed up one set of prints and...
AMISH PROVERB Tuesday dawned with a warm wind blowing from the east. After eating a breakfast of dippy eggs, bacon, and toast, Noah stepped out the back door and eyed the warehouse, wondering how Lovina’s conversation with her parents had gone the night before. Wondering if his sketches had made ...
Taylor was in no mood to verbally spar with a Swiss operative from the Basel office. They remained mute as she ushered him into Dulles’s office. “Ah, Mister Baumann, thank you for coming on such short notice,” said the angular Dulles, rising from a burgundy-colored, padded leather chair. “Have yo...
AMISH PROVERB In Ohio, the first planting happened after the snow had melted and the ground was able to be worked. The first things Hope typically put in were spinach, onions, radishes, beets, and carrots. After the danger of frost was gone she put in the green beans, zucchini, peppers, corn, and...
AMISH PROVERB Joy followed Matthew through the front door of Yoder’s Restaurant—one of the favorite places to eat in Pinecraft, Amish or not. The aroma of fried chicken and fresh cinnamon rolls greeted her, and her stomach rumbled a little despite the lunch she’d had earlier. A cell phone chimed,...