Review: CLEAN AND SWEET
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 04 9, 2014
I've read a few Amish works of fiction lately. I like the fact that they're clean and have happy endings. Beyond all that, this book helped me do some grieving, as it reminded me of experiences I had when I was young.I think it would have been good for Verity's emotional journey to recognize and accept her share of responsibility for what went wrong between her and Reuben. ***Spoilers Ahead.*** When she asked the Bishop if her expectations of Reuben were reasonable, instead of simply answering, "Yes," he could have brought up the fact that she had chosen to be courted by and become engaged to a guy who would have been the first to admit he was not yet a grown man--spiritually, even if in no other sense, and in their case his lack of spiritual maturity turned out to be pivotal. I see tremendous healing power in incorporating one's acknowledgement of one's own share of the responsibility in the process of forgiveness. In fact that's an acknowledgement she could have made at any time irrespective of what he did, and I think it's kind of sad to suggest otherwise, as if Verity were in a prison of Reuben's making entirely instead of acknowledging she was in a prison at least partly of her own making.***Spoilers continue*** I thought that the about-face each of them did at different times in desiring a reconciliation was a little abrupt, although I can understand why. Reuben's about-face especially was abrupt since we didn't get to see the process by which he arrived at dumping his Englscher life for his former Amish way of life. I would have liked to see a little bit of his process.I've read much more expensive books with less enjoyment. Not only did I enjoy the book, I found it enriching for my life!