"The First Love" by Beverly Lewis

About this book:

  “It's the summer of 1951, and Maggie Esh is in need of some hope. Sweet-spirited and uncommonly pretty despite struggling with chronic illness, she is used to being treated kindly by the young men of her Old Order Amish church district. Yet Maggie wishes she were more like other courting-age girls so she could live a normal, healthy life.

   To make matters more complicated, Dat has recently remarried, less than a year after her mother died. And while her stepmother is kind, Rachel is much younger than Mamm, and she simply doesn't understand Maggie or her illness the way Mamm did.

   When tent revival meetings come to the area, Maggie is curious, and the words of the Mennonite preacher challenge her to reconsider what she knows about faith. Can she learn to trust God even when hope seems a distant dream?”

Series: As of now, no.

 

 

Spiritual Content- Scriptures are read, quoted, mentioned, thought over, & discussed in a sermon; Prayers; Going to revival meetings; Yearning to reading the Bible; Talks about God, His will, faiths, & healing; ‘H’s are capitalized when referring to God; Many mentions of God, His will, faiths, & healing; Many mentions of revival meetings, an evangelist, proclaiming one’s faith, testimonies, & singing; Many mentions of the Amish beliefs, church going, services, deacons/bishops, singing hymns, youth activities, & being baptized; Mentions of prayers, praying, & blessings over food; Mentions of Bibles & Bible reading; Mentions of those & events in the Bible; Mentions of Mennonites; Mentions of blessings & being blessed; A few mentions of Heaven; A few mentions of miracles; A few mentions of going to college to be a minister; A mention of a Billy Graham crusade;

             *Note: A couple mentions of a “powwow doctor” that uses chants to cleanse people.

 

 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a form of ‘stupid’; Many mentions of juvenile rheumatoid arthritis & Maggie’s pain; Mentions of injuries, pain, blood/bleeding (barely-above-not-detailed); A mention of crime; A mention of tobacco; A mention of raising cows to slaughter;

             *Note: [Not necessarily a negative point, but a trigger warning to those who have lost their mother: Mentions of a mother’s death & missing her;] A couple mentions of car brands & brand names.

 

 

Sexual Content- A married couple flirting, kissing, snuggling, & embracing (barely-above-not-detailed); A couple Touches & Nearness (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of dates & blushes; Mentions of crushes & puppy love; Mentions of being jilted; A few mentions of handsome young men; A couple mentions of wanting to have babies with your husband; A couple mentions of a boy dating more than one girl at a time; Very slight Love, falling in love, being in love, & the emotions (x2).

 

-Maggie Esh, age 17-18

-Rachel Esh

                                P.O.V. switches between them (1^st person in the Prologue & Epilogue)

                                              Set in 1951 (Prologue & Final Chapter in 1998)

                                                        296 pages

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Pre Teens-

New Teens-

Early High School Teens-

Older High School Teens-

My personal Rating-

Being an Amish book, while reading, I completely forgot that this book wasn’t set in contemporary days, but set in the 1950s. That was different but also not because of the lack of phones wasn’t noticeable. ;)

I would consider this book to be on the lighter side for the romance side—especially one tilted “The First Love”. (Though I think it’s more about Maggie’s relationship with Christ than a boy.) Because Maggie is around the age to start courting and getting married, it’s mentioned and a young man has her interest, but it’s definitely not a romance driven plot, which I found refreshing.

There was a lot of faith content in this book which I really liked seeing. It was a light read and very clean, though there were a few moments that had a harder time keeping my attention because it was an easier read. So that’s why I only gave it three stars personally, but it was a good, clean read. :)

 

 

See y’all on Friday with a new review!

*BFCG may (Read the review to see) recommend this book by this author. It does not mean I recommend all the books by this author.

 

"Anna's Crossing" by Suzanne Woods Fisher

About this book:

  “Some endings are really beginnings...

  On a hot day in 1737 in Rotterdam, Anna Konig reluctantly sets foot on the Charming Nancy, a merchant ship that will carry her and her fellow Amish believers across the Atlantic to start a new life. As the only one in her community who can speak English, she feels compelled to go. But Anna is determined to complete this journey and return home—assuming she survives. She’s heard horrific tales of ocean crossings and worse ones of what lay ahead in the New World. But fearfulness is something Anna has never known.

  Ship’s carpenter Bairn resents the somber people—dubbed Peculiars by the deckhands—who fill the lower deck of the Charming Nancy. All Bairn wants to do is to put his lonely past behind him, but that irksome and lovely lass Anna and her people keep intruding on him,

  Delays, storms, illness, and diminishing provisions test the mettle and patience of everyone on board. When Anna is caught in a life-threatening situation, Bairn makes a discovery that shakes his entire foundation. But has the revelation come too late?”


Series: Book #1 in the “Amish Beginnings” series.

Spiritual Content- Prayers; Scriptures are quoted and mentioned; Mentions of Church, Church going & bishops; Church going; Talks about God & His Will; ‘H’s are capital when referring to God; Witnessing, Forgiving & Trusting; “Judas Iscariot!” is called profanity and is said once; Anna has a very strong Faith; Bairn does not believe in God and his life goal is to be rich (he also tells God to stay away);

*Note: Anna is called a witch; Many mentions of bad luck, superstitions and Braucher beliefs; “H*ll has taken up residence on earth.”.

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a form of ‘shut up’, a “dash it all!”, two “blast it all!” and three ‘stupid’s; Curses are said but not written; Teasing & being picked on; Mentions of drinking; Mentions of killing animals for food; Funerals & Death (goes up to semi-detailed, also about sharks eating those thrown in); Slavery (barely-above-not-detailed).

Sexual Content- a ‘wanton’ and a ‘wench’; two semi-detailed kisses and a detailed kiss; Staring & Noticing; Nearness & Touches (barely-above-not-detailed); Georg stares at Anna’s figure & chest; Georg watches Anna bathe and dress (her behind a curtain); Georg basically tries to attack/rape Anna and touches her, but thankfully she’s saved and nothing sexual happens (barely-above-not-detailed); Bairn has a tattoo of a girl on his arm; It could be read into about Bairn saying he “knew” girls; A mention that a man is whittling a naked woman; A baby was conceived before the parents were married; A baby is born (semi-detailed); Love, falling in love, & the emotions. 

-Anna Konig

-“Bairn”
                                         P.O.V. switches between them & Felix

                                              Set in 1737
                                                        319 pages

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Pre Teens-

New Teens-

(and a half)

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens-

(and a half)

My personal Rating-

(and a half)

I think this is the oldest book I’ve reviewed on here. Meaning about the year it’s set in, not the publishing date. Normally, I would stay away from books set so long ago. I picked this book because I don’t know much about the Amish coming from Germany and the history there. I have mixed feelings about this book through. I really liked Anna’s strong Faith and Felix was just so cute. (Plus I saw the plot twist coming so yay! to the author for thinking how I think. ;) ) But the almost rape, a major doubting faith & some gruesome deaths made me lower all the ratings.

See y’all on Monday with the start of Teen week! :)

*BFCG may (Read the review to see) recommend this book by this author. It does not mean I recommend all the books by this author.

*I received this book for free from the Publisher (Revell  Publishers) for this review.

"Wonderful Lonesome" by Olivia Newport

About this book:

  “”Without Church for over a year, this is a wonderful lonesome place to be.”

  In a struggling Amish settlement on the harsh Colorado plain in 1914, Abbie Weaver fights for the life of the church she cherishes. Hail, wind, drought, and coyotes are daily enemies to the farming Amish, and some families are giving up and returning east. But the lost the community feels most deeply is the lack of a minister. Visiting bishops have stopped coming—a mystery that demands explanation.

  Even Abbie’s closest friends aren’t much comfort: Ruthanna is pregnant and afraid her husband will die. Rudy is lonely and weary. Willem is fiercely determined to succeed at any cost. Their unfolding responses to daily challenges press Abbie to confront the convictions that form the backbone of her dreams for the settlement. Though Abbie loves Willem, his choices put a wedge between them. She turns her gaze to Rudy as a blessing that just might save the settlement.

  When Abbie discovers the root of the unspoken spiritual divide that runs through the settlement, she finds herself questioning her own father’s faith. Will a collision of loves and values cost her Willem forever?”


 Series: Book #1 in the “Amish Turns of Time”. {Book #2, “Meek and Mild”, is coming February 2015.}

Spiritual Content- Many, many, many talks & mentions of God’s will; Many Scriptures are quoted; Prayers & Hymns; Missing church & church going; The big question of salvation outside of the Amish church.

Negative Content- Quite a few mentions of slaughtering animals for bait or twisting necks for food (semi-detailed); A calf is born (semi-detailed (it all ends okay)); coyote attacks on chickens (semi-detailed); a coyote gets killed (semi-detailed); a coyote attacks a dog (the dog is found and it’s very detailed); A mention of a dog of old age so the father shot it; Illnesses (semi-detailed); A dead body and what to do with it (semi-detailed).

Sexual Content- three semi-detailed kisses & a not-detailed kiss; Two embraces (semi-detailed); Ruthanna says that it would be nice “to sleep in her own bed, besides Eber” (but they are married and expecting); When Abbie says she’s going to make a quilt and Willem asks if it’ll be big enough for two; Abbie puts new sheets on Willem’s bed (she cleans for the single men) & imagines that one day it could be her bed too; A mention of a baby being the (married) parents’ “fruit of their love”; A baby is born (semi-detailed); Mentions of a quilt covering a man’s bed instead of another man’s bed; Love, mentions of love, love triangles, and the emotions.

-Abbie Weaver, age 23   // -Willem Peters, age 26

-Ruthanna Gingerich   // -Rudy Stutzman, age 28
                                        P.O.V. switches between them

                                              Set in 1914                                                     

                                                   310 pages

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Pre Teens- 

New Teens-

Early High School Teens- 

(and a half)

Older High School Teens-

My personal Rating- 

{Not for animal lovers or sensitive girls—lower 2-3 stars}

*Just a note that this is the first Amish Historical I’ve ever read.

When I started reading this book, I was really enjoying it; I loved how there were mentions of future generations. But, as it kept going the coyotes popped up more and more. As a very sensitive girl (and I’d like to tell fellow girls who are the same way, there’s nothing wrong with being sensitive!) the animal parts were way too much. With all that and the many, many plot twists, I wasn’t a fan of the book. Though, I will be trying other books by this author.   

See y'all on Friday!

*BFCG may (Read the review to see) recommend this book by this author. It does not mean I recommend all the books by this author.

*I received this book for free from the Publisher (Shiloh Run Press) for this honest review.