A Gift of Grace

Rebecca's sister Grace left the Amish. Grace and her husband died in an accident, and now the childless Rebecca and her husband Daniel, residents of Bird-in-Hand, are entrusted with the care of their two "Englisch" nieces. The older girl Jessica is much like her mother and has no desire to experience the new culture. She finds she can't finish school and is put to work in a furniture factory. The younger girl Lindsay goes to work with Rebecca at the bakery. She embraces the culture. She was never very good at school. She loves baking and enjoys playing with the children when it is her time to mind them. Jessica cannot seem to do anything right because she enjoys music, her phone, boys, and her old lifestyle too much. She wants her show more godmother to find a way around the terms of her mother's will so she can go live with her in Virginia Beach. This is a little different concept for an Amish fiction book since it deals with acculturation. I just wish Jessica had been able to assimilate. I understand the author's demonstration that the Amish lifestyle is not for everyone, but I think I would have preferred to see her adjust to the lifestyle at a slower pace than her sister. show less

I felt this author wrote a very honest and believable story about people struggling with real issues that enter into their lifestyle. You will find Rebecca and Daniel, an Amish couple, taking in their two nieces, Lindsay and Jessica, who were raised "English" by Rebecca's sister who left the Amish way of life when she married. Sadly, both parents are killed and Rebecca has been given charge over them. This is hard for two teenage girls to take in, and hard for the Amish to accept, especially Daniel. The struggles between man and wife on what is best for the girls, the struggles the girls have adapting to the Amish way of life, and the struggle Rebecca faces in letting go and letting God direct the outcome are all very real and made you show more feel for each person in a different way.

At times I wanted to just give up on each of these characters. They all had a lot of learning and understanding to to deal with what was going on. Each person was stubborn, but each person also had a very good reason why they were being stubborn. So, although I would get mad at them, I also could fully understand their position (understanding and agreeing with are two different things). It was a story that was hard to put down until the end, and now I am anxious to start book 2 ('A Promise of Hope') to find out more about the folks in this Amish community in Pennsylvania and see what becomes of the folks I have gotten to know. show less

Rebecca and her sister were both raised Amish, but her sister left to be English. When she died with her husband in a car accident, she named Rebecca guardian of her two teenaged daughters. This story is about the struggles Rebecca and her family go through, as the girls try to adapt to the Amish life while the Amish community tries to understand the girls and accept their ways. The author does a good job of illustrating the problems each must deal with, and the concept of English teens being thrust into an Amish community is an interesting and not a common scenario. This well-written story is an excellent beginning to what promises to be be a entertaining series.

I am split on how I feel about Amish books. On one hand, I feel like they are comfort reading. I enjoy reading about the Amish lifestyle and how they live their life in simplicity. I also adore reading about their food, I get stuffed just by reading one book. On the other hand, sometimes I disagree with their spiritual beliefs and also that the author seems to be very one sided in presenting the lifestyle. I have heard that some books have totally fabricated or over exaggerated events to make the books appeal more to readers. With this book, I honestly wanted to really enjoy it. The beginning of the book totally captivated me. There's a bakery (food!), an interesting situation (normal teen girls forced to live in Amish house), and then show more the fact that the girls were from Virginia Beach (my hometown area). The writing is very engaging and it moves really fast. You get sucked into the story as you want to find out what happens to the girls and their new lifestyle.

However there were many problems though I had while reading it. Enough, that I almost gave up reading the book in frustration. The main one was the fact that Rebecca would not let Jessica and Lindsay go to school because they are too old according to the Amish. What bugs me about this is why she didn't' tell them this BEFORE they got back to Pennsylvania? It was said she spent a month with them before traveling back and even then she was hoping it wouldn't come up until later. Also her husband and her had agreed that the girls did not have to become Amish so I don't' understand why they couldn't have let them just go to school. This is especially because Jessica wants to go, and her mother had emphasized that going to college was always important. This really annoyed me because people should NOT be denied an education when they want it. How would they have felt if the situation had been reversed and Amish kids were forced to live in modern world and do things they didn't want just because they now lived in a new household? Also, Daniel really got on my nerves with his flip-floppy behavior. On one hand he's annoyed with Jessica because she won't adapt to the Amish lifestyle and stop being worldly and corrupting his family thus making him look bad. However he won't talk to her and won't tell her exactly what he wants. I cannot see how he can blame her for doing something wrong when she didn't know she wasn't supposed to! Then he's irritated with Lindsay because she DOES want to fit in with the Amish and learn their way of life. He thinks it's just a phase and refuses to encourage her in anything she does. Personally he just seems like he's not ready to be a father to teenagers because he doesn't have a clue of how to handle them at all. There were also issues I had with the Amish community itself. However the author did add a note in the beginning saying that she had changed some of the traditions to fit the storyline.

I know it sounds as if I really had problems with this book. I'm not bashing it all. I just had problems with the way some issues were handled because I felt they were handled wrongly. Sometimes I feel that certain books seem to be pushing a certain lifestyle and try to make the reader feel guilty for not living that way. I sort of got that feeling with this book. This probably was because it seemed that everyone was against Jessica for wanting to not change to the Amish lifestyle and I totally agreed with her. I did enjoy reading about the bakery so I'm looking forward to reading more about it in the future. Also I LOVED the recipes sprinkled throughout as some of them seemed very easy to make. I just hope for the next book that these issues have been resolved. While this book may not have been for me, if you are a fan of the Amish lifestyle you will enjoy this book. show less

Rebecca Kaufman's life is thrown into turmoil when her sister grace, who left the Amish community, is killed, along with her English husband. Suddenly Rebecca, who has resigned herself to a childless life, finds herself raising two teenagers.

The oldest daughter, Jessica, wants nothing to do with the Amish lifestyle and refuses to conform. She cannot believe there is no electricity in the house for her to charge her cell phone or use her laptop. Conflict arises between the two sisters when the younger of the two begins to dress in Amish clothing and adopting the Amish lifestyle.

In a rare moment of wanting to help, Jessica weeds the garden. The problem is, she chooses to do it on a Sunday while the family is attending church, and she show more decides to do it in a bathing suit. This results in a visit from the Bishop.

It's a great book but I found myself wanting to shake Rebecca for forcing the Amish lifestyle on Jessica, saying that she will eventually come around. show less

Too predictable, too slow, but it does project an enlightening view of Amish life and faith.

Rebecca is a traditional Amish wife who has, sadly, been unable to have children. When her sister Grace and Grace's husband are tragically killed in a car accident, she suddenly finds herself with the guardianship of her two teenage English nieces. Her sister had left the Amish community years ago and married an outsider.

The two girls come to live on the farm, and one works with Rebecca and her mother-in-law in their family bakery, and the other works in the office of the family carpentry shop. Predictably, these girls have a huge adjustment to make, foregoing i-pods and music, television and pop culture for gardening, baking and family gatherings. One sister, Lindsay, adjusts much more rapidly and easily than the other, and there is show more conflict when the other sister, Jessica, clings to her old way of life. This conflict leaves Rebecca questioning her husband,her Amish life, and her faith in God.

I confess that I enjoy reading these Amish life type Christian novels. I find the Amish lifestyle fascinating, albeit unfathomable. There wasn't anything particularly special about this one, except the plot was different and unpredictable; yet it was a pleasant and enjoyable read and it made me smile. show less