Review: bland
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 11 7, 2013
I've seen a lot of fiction about the Amish, but this is the first book I've read.  It provided a calm, easy read, and certainly held nothing offensive, but I found it shallow.  The the characters felt wooden, and the dialogue seemed stilted and unnatural.  Writing the Pennsylvania Dutch words in italics didn't help with that--it felt like the characters used odd words for emphasis rather than speaking simple every day words from their culture.Every good story, whether a long epic or a short vignette, contains some sort of tension and release or conflict and resolution.  This story lacks that.  It's told in passive voice, and the greatest tension comes from a job offer that was rejected at first, then reconsidered calmly and without any inner wresting, and eventually accepted. I'm glad others have enjoyed it, but I don't plan to read any more Amish stories.