Great Addition to My Cushman Library! ~ Almost Amish by Kathryn Cushman ~ Review

The minute I read the back cover copy of this novel I loved it. A modern family enters a reality television show to become “almost Amish.”. Love that premise and the novel pretty much followed what I expected, in both story and quality.

            

I loved Julie’s heart. She is a woman every house wife in America can relate to. I immediately sympathized with her situation and hopeless driftlessness in it all. The only thing I wish was that the dynamic between her and her husband had been brought into the story in a stronger aspect.

           

I now own and have read all of the author’s novels to date and let me say this: I love her stories. Each word effortless slides into the next and the next, stringing a story that takes no energy to read. I simply have to turn the pages and join the world of the characters. Setting, emotions, character portrayal and situations are all great. 

I thought the middle sagged just a tiny bit. At times I was wondering what was going to happen, but thought the showing of the character growth (and sometimes not) was great through this entire part.

           

Character growth was genuine. So often in a novel, to find that tidy ending, events are rushed or feel fake. Nope. All good on that front here.

            

All in all, I really enjoyed the novel. And maybe…I really don’t want to become Amish like I thought. (wink)

            

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

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More about the novel and author...

            

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing Almost Amish Bethany House Publishers (July 1, 2012) by Kathryn Cushman


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Kathryn Cushman is a graduate of Samford University with a degree in pharmacy, but all her life she knew that she wanted to write a novel “some day”. For her, “some day” came in 2003, when she started writing and never looked back.


Her first two manuscripts remain firmly ensconced in the back of her closet (the dust bunnies tell her they really are terrific!). Her third attempt became her first published novel.


A Promise to Remember and Leaving Yesterday were both finalists for the American Christian Fiction Writers Carol Award, and Waiting for Daybreak was a finalist in Women’s Fiction for the Inspirational Reader’s Choice Award.


On the homefront, she has been married to the wonderful and handsome Lee for nearly twenty-five years now, and their two daughters are currently braving the worlds of high school and college.


They’ve lived in Santa Barbara for over twenty years. It’s a beautiful place and Kathryn feel blessed to be there (although a seventy degree Christmas still leaves her dreaming of a white one—or at least a colder one!)


When she's not writing or reading or braving seventy degree holidays, you’ll find her trying her best to keep up with her daughters in their various theater, softball, dance, and filled-with-activity lives.


ABOUT THE BOOK

Proving the Simple Life Isn't So Simple After All


Overcommitted and overwhelmed, Julie Charlton is at the breaking point. She knows she should feel blessed as a mother and wife--but she just feels exhausted. And then, the miraculous happens. Her sister-in-law Susan, a Martha Stewart-in-training, lands the chance to participate in a reality TV series about trying to live like the Amish and needs another family to join her. It's just the break Julie needs.


But the summer adventure in simple living soon proves anything but simple. With the camera watching every move, Susan's drive for perfection feels a lot like what they left behind, while Julie suddenly finds herself needing to stand up for slowing down. Whether it's cooking, cleaning, or dressing differently, each new Amish challenge raises new complications...and soon each woman learns unexpected lessons about herself and her family.


If you would like to read the first chapter of Almost Amish, go HERE.