Kara G. reviewed on 10/2/2013 + 82 more book reviews

Helpful Score: 2

Im so excited that there are already Christmas fiction books available and this one caught my interest right away! Rose is a seemingly typical Amish girl who has been raised with a loving family and has fallen in love with an Amish boy. Then one day this boy makes a crucial decision to enlist into the army as a medic leaving Rose and most of their small community in stunned humiliation. Rose decides to end their relationship while he is away and the Bishop approves of her decision. The Amish are known for being pacifists and participating in this war is something they dont do. She is angry, hurt, and feels like she doesnt know Jonathan anymore, that he is no longer trustworthy after making such a bold move.

I thought the overall opinion of the community was harsh for Jonathan and the way the women glare at Rose throughout the book was uncalled for. Then again, I know nothing of their culture and their waysthis treatment both Rose and Jonathan experience is brutal yet realistic.

Then Rose learns that her Amish family isnt her biological one and she spends the rest of the book looking for answers from her past and trying to figure out how to go forward with this new knowledge. Theres one scene where she gets a new revelation of her Englisch family and her mouth makes an O, one second later after Id read the same revelation my mouth made the same shape in total surprise!

There is a reference to the book Heidi by Johanna Spyri. Rose compares this story to her own for much of the book and it brought sweetness to the plot.

For some reason I kept picturing the actor Lucas Till as Jonathan, an Amish man turned Army medic and comes back the same yet not the same. Much of the book mentions other characters that fought in the war and even though they come back alive they suffered terribly at what they experienced while away from home. One neighbor suffers from PTSD and it was precious how Jonathan and others visit him and help him get his mind back.

It turns out that Rose is one of 8 children in her Amish family and even though her background is unique she is pure Amish in her thinking, her faith, her community, and especially with her family. She is given the ultimate Christmas gift from Jonathan that symbolizes the kind of love and future they will enjoy together. I was delighted in the answers she finds, but even more so in the way her family and God loves her. This book is sure to enhance the Christmas season for new and seasoned Tricia Goyer readers alike.

I want to thank Booksneeze and Zondervan for the review copy. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions expressed are my own.

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