Books for Christian Girls: "An Amish Home" by Beth Wiseman, Amy Clipston, Ruth Reid & Kathleen Fuller

About this book:

“From bestselling authors Beth Wiseman, Amy Clipston, Ruth Reid and Kathleen Fuller comes a beautiful collection of four novellas that spread the warmth of Amish living with every page.”

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“A Cup Half Full” by Beth Wiseman

About this book:

“Sarah Lantz always dreamed of the perfect home, the perfect husband, the perfect family. When she married Abram, she knew she was on her way to securing her perfect life. All of that changes in one moment when an accident leaves her unable to walk and confined to a wheelchair, dashing all of her dreams. As Abram starts to transform their home, Sarah begins a transformation in her spirit, and she begins, once again, to see her cup as half full.”

Spiritual Content- Prayers; Talks about God & His will; ‘H’ are capital when referring to God; Sarah is not happy with God after the accident & thinks He has forsaken her; Mentions of God, His will & hope; Mentions of prayers, thanking God & blessings over food; Mentions of a bishop, church services & church going; Mentions of a Bible; A few mentions of blessings; A couple mention of miracles.

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘geez’ and a ‘shut up’; A bit of eye rolling; Drinking, beers & a bar; Mentions of an injured duck & blood (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of nightmares (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of a car accident & injuries; Mentions of debts; Mentions of lies; A mention of almost cursing; A mention of manure; A mention of throwing up.

Sexual Content- a hand/figure kiss, two cheek kisses, a forehead kiss, a almost kiss, a not-detailed kiss, five barely-above-not-detailed kisses, and a semi-detailed kiss; Touches & being carried to a bed (twice) (up to semi-detailed); Wanting to embrace & feeling physical love; Noticing; Hinted intimacy (truly just hints of barely-above-not-detailed); Many mentions of marital intimacy on a wedding night & nights after (and how it went), hinted intimacy in a novel, Abram hoping to have intimacy with his wife that night, being ready for intimacy & baby making in a bedroom (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of flirting, winks, dating, break-ups, & jealousy; A few mentions of what a man is longing for in their bedroom; A few mentions of thinking a husband might be cheating; A couple mentions of a married couple enjoying themselves; A bit of love & being in love;

*Notes: A few mentions of a man just wearing a pair of boxers, hoping for intimacy with his wife; A couple mentions of a wife’s bare shoulders; A couple mentions of Sarah being fertile & it being safe in a few days for embraces; A mention of playing hooky with a wife; A mention of nursing; A mention of a curvy woman.

-Sarah Lantz, age 23

-Abram Lantz
P.O.V. switches between them

100(-ish) pages

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Pre Teens-

New Teens-

Early High School Teens-

Older High School Teens-

My personal Rating-

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“Home Sweet Home” by Amy Clipston

About this book:

“Down on their luck and desperate after they are evicted from their small apartment, Chace and Mia O’Conner reluctantly take Chace’s Amish boss up on his offer to rent them the daadihaus located on his property. They are certain they will never feel at home in the rustic cabin without any modern conveniences, and they start to blame each other for their seemingly hopeless situation. But with the help of their new Amish friends, Chace and Mia begin to enjoy their cozy cabin and realize that home really is where the heart is.”

Spiritual Content- A Scripture is quoted, talked about & remembered; Prayers; Going to a church; Talks about God; ‘H’s are not capital when referring to God; Mentions of God; Mentions of prayers; Mentions of churches, church going, church services, Amish beliefs, youth group, & singings; A few mentions of blessings; A couple mentions of guardian angels; A couple mentions of peace;

*Note: There is a scene at a church talking to a woman who’s called a pastor.

Negative Content- A bit of sarcasm; Mentions of hate filled comments & verbal abuse; A few mentions of robbing a place, shooting someone & ending up in jail; A few mentions of a thief & stealing; A few mentions of gossip; A couple mentions of jealousy.

Sexual Content- a cheek kiss, a head kiss, a not-detailed kiss, two barely-above-not-detailed kisses, and two semi-detailed kisses; Wanting to kiss (once); Touches, Smelling, Tingles, & Embraces (barely-above-not-detailed); Noticing; Mia & Chace had an unplanned pregnancy & then got married (no details on how it happened); a ‘babe’; Mentions of leaving a spouse; A few mentions of noticing; A bit of love, being in love & the emotions;

*Note: A few mentions of breastfeeding; A mention of a short skirt.

-Mia O’Conner

-Chace O’Conner, age 24
P.O.V. switches between them

100(-ish) pages

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Pre Teens-

New Teens-

Early High School Teens-

Older High School Teens-

My personal Rating-

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“A Flicker of Hope” by Ruth Reid

About this book:

“Fifteen years ago, Thomas and Noreen King were blissful newlyweds. Young, naive, and in love, life was rosy . . . for a while. Then trials and tribulations rocked their foundation, shattering them emotionally, and soon, their marriage was in shards. All hope for restoring their previously unshakable union seems lost. When fire destroys their home, Thomas and Noreen are left to sift through the rubble. As uncovered items from the remains of the house shake loose memories of the past, Thomas and Noreen begin to draw closer and a flicker of hope—and love—is re-ignited.”

Spiritual Content- Prayers & Thanking God; Scriptures are quoted, mentioned & remembered; Talks about God; ‘H’s are capital when referring to God; Thomas is upset at God in the beginning; Mentions of God; Mentions of prayers & blessings over food; Mentions of a bishop, church, church services, church going, & singings; A few mentions of being blessed & blessings; A couple mentions of Bibles & reading.

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: 2 ‘stupid’; Injuries, pain & bruises (up to semi-detailed); A fire, trying to get out and put it out, smoke & pain (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of the fire; Mentions of pain, blood & injuries (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of burglaries, vandalism & slaughter livestock (and vandalism with pig’s blood); A few mentions of throwing up; A couple mentions of manure.

Sexual Content- six forehead kisses, four barely-above-not-detailed kisses, four semi-detailed kisses, and a detailed kiss; Touches, Embraces, Smelling & Nearness (up to semi-detailed); A labor, screams & miscarriage (semi-detailed); Mentions of marital intimacy, undressing & bare skin (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of kisses & kissing; Mentions of reputation & being alone with the opposite gender; Mentions of blushes; A few mentions of jealousy; A couple mentions of doing nothing more after a detailed kiss; Love, being in love, & the emotions;

*Note: Mentions of miscarriages; A mention of a woman’s biological clock; A mention of a husband just wearing pajama bottoms.

-Noreen King

-Thomas King, age 39
P.O.V. switches between them
100(-ish) pages

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Pre Teens-

New Teens-

Early High School Teens-

Older High School Teens-

My personal Rating-

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“Building Faith” by Kathleen Fuller

About this book:

“Faith Miller knows that carpentry is an unlikely hobby for a young Amish woman, but she loves the work and it keeps the memory of her grandfather alive. So when her cousin asks Faith to build the cabinets in her new home, Faith is only too happy to take on the job, even if it is the most ambitious project she has ever taken on. The only catch is that she has to work with her ex-fiance, Silas. As they work to build Martha’s kitchen, can they put the past behind them and start to build faith in one another again?”

Spiritual Content- Prayers; Talks about God; ‘H’s are capital when referring to God; Mentions of God & His will/plan; Mentions of prayers & blessings over food; Mentions of church, church services, & church going; A few mentions of miracles; A couple mentions of blessings.

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘stupid’; Sarcasm; A few mentions of lies.

Sexual Content- a barely-above-not-detailed kiss and a semi-detailed kiss; Touches, Embraces, Nearness & Butterflies (barely-above-not-detailed); Noticing; Mentions of kisses & kissing; Mentions of dating & break-ups; Love, falling in love & the emotions.

-Faith Miller, age 22

-Silas Graber, age 22
P.O.V. switches between them
100(-ish) pages

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Pre Teens-

New Teens-

Early High School Teens-

Older High School Teens-

My personal Rating-

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Pre Teens-

New Teens-

Early High School Teens-

Older High School Teens-

My personal Rating-

Beth Wiseman’s: I am a firm believer that Christian Fiction needs to have more diverse characters, including those with disabilities. The only thing I liked about this novella was Sarah. I honestly was very disappointed in all the intimacy mentions and some comments felt like…not typical Amish comments. They really needed to talk things out. So much miscommunication, which I never enjoy in my reading. This novella was more focused on the physical kind of love, than the emotional, just being loving kind of love; if that makes sense.

Amy Clipston’s: Different from her previous Amish books, the main couple aren’t Amish! I really enjoyed that fact and enjoyed it. There was a lot of angst though, that made me hold on to my heart at many moments. ;)
Ruth Reid’s: This one seemed more than a bit depressing to me; the majority of the chapters in this novella go back-n-forth between present day and fourteen to fifteen years earlier, happy times. Thankfully, this novella ends better, but I still wasn’t thrilled with all the miscommunication.

Kathleen Fuller’s: My second favorite after Amy Clipston’s, but it felt much shorter than the rest of the novellas. The bickering got to be a bit much and then it did a one-eighty, but I like the ending. ;)

I wasn’t expecting this novella collection to have the majority of them be about married couples (which can be fine depending on mentions). I wouldn’t say this was my favorite Amish novella collection, but I did enjoy Amy Clipston’s novella the best and would love to see/read about that couple again in one of her books.

See y’all on Monday with a new review!