The Shunning
By Beverly Lewis
Bethany House
282 pages
Synopsis
Katie Lapp is a twenty-two-year-old Amish woman who is preparing
to marry the much-older widowed bishop of her community. Katie has always felt
alienated from her Amish heritage. The only girl in a family of boys, she is
drawn to forbidden music and pines for Daniel, the man with whom she shared a
love or music and would have married had he not drowned. When Katie finds a
satin baby dress hidden in her parents’ attic, it radically changes the trajectory
of her life and calls into question her entire identity.
Gentle Reads Appeal
Though the story is fast-paced and suspenseful, the Amish
setting gives the book a traditional flavor. There is no profanity, and while
there is conflict and some characters are revealed to be complex, the genre is
clearly Christian fiction. The tone is heartwarming, homespun, and moving; the
writing style is richly detailed and peppered with insights into Amish life.
Read-a-likes
The Newcomer
By Suzanne Fisher Woods
The first book in the Amish Beginnings series is a richly-detailed
account of an Amish church immigrating to America. The story involves the
revelation of a secret and a chaste romance.
Her Brother’s Keeper
By Beth Wiseman
The first book in the Amish Secrets series includes a chaste
romance and an account of Amish life from an outsider’s perspective. It is a
bit edgier than many Amish series, but readers who connected with Katie Lapp’s
crisis of faith will find this worth a read.
The Confession
By Beverly Lewis
This book is the follow-up to The Shunning, which ends on a cliffhanger.
Darcy, I haven't read this title but it does intrigue me, especially when you talk about it being suspenseful and I have to know about the satin baby dress that changes Katie's life. Good annotation. You have me interested in reading this title!
ReplyDeleteAnne, I never expected to enjoy this book; Amish Christian fiction is not exactly up my alley. Now I have to read the other two books in the trilogy because the first one ended on a cliffhanger!
DeleteDarcy, I also read an Amish Christian fiction book, but my was romance. I had heard from many librarians that Amish romance was a huge growing trend in public libraries so I decided to give it a try!
ReplyDeleteDarcy,
ReplyDeleteCan I ask why you chose to read an Amish Christian fiction? When I first saw the genre, Gentle Reads, I assumed it would be these kinds of Amish books, but then after reading the textbook, it seemed like there were loads of other books in this genre that I hadn't expected. Anyway, that made me wonder why you chose this type? Do you think you'll read more of them after this trilogy? Ladies at my library who like these Amish books also enjoy books ABOUT the Amish such as A Portrait of Amish Life by Richard and Wanda Brunstetter and My Life as an Amish Wife by Lena Yoder. It's fun to get a real-life look at the Amish people - makes the books feel truly possible.
Deirdre, Amish Christian Fiction is very popular at my library, too! I picked this genre for that reason, plus, it was not something I would normally read. I wanted to understand why my patrons read this genre.
DeleteI get it now! The story was well-written, without rough language, but it still had complex characters dealing with topics that I people could relate to. That being said, I do not necessarily think these books give us a "true" look at Amish life.
From reading one-star Amazon reviews (LOL) I gather that Beverly Lewis is pretty polarizing among Amish fiction fans. Further, one of my co-workers grew up Amish. Her family was kicked out when she was 12 or so, and she provides an interesting perspective on Amish fiction books. Her take + the popular Amish fiction authors' take = those books are good FICTION.
If a reader is interested in topics related to Amish fiction and needs a book with a happy ending, no rough language, no explicit sexuality, no upsetting topics, (but including a peppering of Amish culture), give them Lewis, Woodsmall, Brunstetter, or Wiseman. If they are SERIOUSLy interested in culture, point then to the sociology section.
Hello Darcy! I enjoyed reading your annotation on this gentle read book. It's so interesting, though, that this book has elements of suspense included in it. I would not have suspected that of a stereotypical gentle read book, but it seems like gentle reads can cover different genres and still stay in the gentle read genre. Great job Darcy!
ReplyDeleteGreat job! Full points!
ReplyDelete