Hannah's Dream
Sixteen-year-old Hannah Miller exudes naïveté and absolutely lacks guile. One admirer notes that she has ...all kinds of stars in her eyes. Hannah dreams of reconciling a poetic, idealistic notion of romantic love with the will of God, as filtered through her parents. Eager for excitement but not predisposed to rebellious rummspringa, she leaves the South Bend area to help her aunt on a Montana horse farm and wrestle with the options. Bachelor number one: Sam stands to inherit a choice farm, on which he and a future spouse will work intensively every day of their grueling lives. He s loyal and a punctual letter writer. Downside: Sam hates books and Hannah gets bored just thinking about him. Bachelor number two: A bit of a bad boy, Peter mixes with the English and cruises the byways of northern Indiana in an extremely unbuggylike sports car. He tells Hannah to watch for him out her window some night, and to never mind her old-school father or the watchdog. Downside: May tell innocent womenfolk what they want to hear. Bachelor number three: A fire spotter for the Forest Service in northwestern Montana, Jake hikes down from the Cabinet Mountains to sing praise songs in church. Not ready for membership, he carefully avoids sins which require a knee confession. Downside: Burned once by love; might be hung up on the past. The author incorporates approximate symmetry into characters experiences to show the impact of acceptance and rejection from both sides. Religion is part of daily discourse, but cultural norms and the processes used to determine their pairings are prominent in this story. The strong paternal tone is best viewed through a prism of relativism; otherwise occasional pronouncements like, it takes a woman to straighten out what a woman messes up, could appear as internalized scorn for female competence. Jerry Eicher s other young adult novels are the briskly selling Sarah and A Time to Live. Raised in an Amish community, the author is active within the Anabaptist Evangelical movement. Amish readers will note general support for the goals and expectations of established ways, despite a few indirect criticisms. Hannah s Dream is aimed at teens but can be enjoyed by curious adults of English or any other extraction. Todd Mercer --Foreword Clarion ReviewsHannah's Dream is an exceptional book of faith, dreams, and love. It is a wonderful story of a young Amish girl who is able to overcome obstacles and disappointments to discover true happiness. Great reading. --Carol M. Broadwater, Co-owner-Amish Original