Review: Good Short Piece
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 01 26, 2013
I received this book free from Library Thing to read and review. The author is a new author, writing about Amish daily lives and philosophies.  I found the novella very predictable but nevertheless still refreshing.  Jenna is young and married with two small children but a recent widow, as her husband Mark perished in an accident within the community. In comes Daniel, a different sort of Amish guy, and they begin to feel things for each other.  The problem is that Daniel has been courting another woman, and not all the community is pleased with the budding Jenna and Daniel romance. How everyone works through this emerging romance is the plot. This novella brings out some of the Amish characteristics and way of life. Since I find the Amish interesting and am curious about them, I enjoyed learning more about them. However, as I said, the novella is very predictable, and, as I read, I just waited for the story line to progress, as I knew it would. Nevertheless, the characters are believable and realistic. The author has presented a situation which is entirely plausible to me. I do wish the author had not been so predictable, but perhaps she was really trying to just give us a good slice of Amish life rather than a good story (also, how could you really develop a plot in something so short?), which she most certainly did. Unlike other reviewers, I really did not want the book to go on longer, at least not with the current plot as it is presented.  However, I think the author could easily develop a good, much longer story with the same or similar characters to give us a fuller picture of Amish life and beliefs. This story is just a good start on that endeavor.