BOOK REVIEW & CFBA Tour: The Thorn

This week, the

Christian Fiction Blog Alliance

is introducing

The ThornBethany House (September 7, 2010)

byBeverly Lewis
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Not until her own children were well into middle school did Bev seek to publish her work, first in magazines such as Highlights for Children, Dolphin Log, and Guideposts for Kids. Her first book followed in 1993—Mountain Bikes and Garbanzo Beans—presently retitled Big Bad Beans (book #22 in the popular CUL-DE-SAC KIDS series of chapter books—see list of Bev's children's books).
Beverly's first venture into adult fiction is the best-selling trilogy, THE HERITAGE OF LANCASTER COUNTY, including The Shunning, a suspenseful saga of Katie Lapp, a young Amish woman drawn to the modern world by secrets from her past. The book is loosely based on the author's maternal grandmother, Ada Ranck Buchwalter, who left her Old Order Mennonite upbringing to marry a Bible College student. One Amish-country newspaper claimed Beverly's work to be "a primer on Lancaster County folklore" and offers "an insider's view of Amish life."

Booksellers across the country, and around the world, have spread the word of Bev's tender tales of Plain country life. A clerk in a Virginia bookstore wrote, "Beverly's books have a compelling freshness and spark. You just don't run across writing like that every day. I hope she'll keep writing stories about the Plain people for a long, long time."
A member of the National League of American Pen Women, as well as a Distinguished Alumnus of Evangel University, Lewis has written over 80 books for children, youth, and adults, many of them award-winning. She and her husband, David, make their home in Colorado, where they enjoy hiking, biking, and playing with their three grandchildren. They are also avid musicians and fiction "book worms."

ABOUT THE BOOK

Lancaster County, with its rolling meadows and secret byways, may seem idyllic, but it is not without its thorns. THE ROSE TRILOGY is the stirring saga of two Amish sisters on the fringes of the church, and the unforeseen discoveries that change their lives.

Rose Kauffman, a spirited young woman, has a close friendship with the bishop's foster son. Nick dresses Plain and works hard but stirs up plenty of trouble too. Rose's sister cautions her against becoming too involved, but Rose is being courted by a good, Amish fellow, so dismisses the warnings.
Meanwhile, Rose keeps house for an English widower but is startled when he forbids her to ever go upstairs. What is the man hiding? Rose's older sister, Hen, knows more than she should about falling for the wrong man. Unable to abandon her Amish ways, Hen is soon separated from her very modern husband.

Mattie, their young daughter, must visit her father regularly, but Hen demands she wear Amish attire--and speak Pennsylvania Dutch, despite her husband's wishes. Will Hen be able to reestablish her place among the People she abandoned? And will she be able to convince Rose to steer clear of rogue neighbor Nick?

Watch the book trailer:

If you would like to read the first chapter of The Thorn, go HERE.

My Review:
Two sisters, one Amish, the other Fancy. Both yearning for the place in their roots, where they belong.



Amish fiction abounds in today’s Christian book market, but I truly believe that one of the few authors that does it incredible justice is Beverly Lewis. Though her stories can often tend toward the slow side, I know I can always count on her fiction delivering a strong story.


I enjoyed this first installment in the new series The Rose Trilogy, THE THORN. With one sister in the “world” and the pull of her Amish roots beckoning her, and the other sister torn between two young men claiming her affections, I wasn’t sure where this book was going to go. The ending took me by surprise in the sudden twist and where the other two books will go is mystery, one I am most anxious to see solved. Will Brandon except Hen’s Amish ways? And will Nick come back for Rose?


The characters are warm and welcoming, but it is their struggles that make them “human”. The depth of their growth has just begun. Where they will go from here will keep me restless to read the coming novel, The Judgment.


This is my honest opinion. Thanks to the publishers for my copy to review through CFBA.