|
Ruth Marlene Friesen: Welcome!
This site is like Ruthe,
the heroine of my novel,
Ruthe's Secret Roses
Ruthe is . . .
intimate with God,
prays a lot,
a bleeding heart for the hurting,
a big sister,
rescues friends,
has creative ideas,
likes to give
surprise gifts,
loyal to friends,
dreams of love and
marriage,
dreams of writing a book
goes the extra mile
So this site offers;
good books to read!
help to become Friends with Jesus,
The One Ideal Real Friend
a cure for loneliness
An Older Sister's Coping Secret
how to pray Panic Prayers,
& regularly/daily
devotionals,
how to grow in faith
Christian mentoring,
how to share your faith
character development
how to become a writer

Join The Customer Advantage - so I can bless you AND your friends!
|
A Book I can Highly Recommend
The Shunning
by Beverly Lewis
published 1997 by Bethany House Publishers, Minneapolis, Minnesota
ISBN#1-56865-478-2
I've seen advertisements and posters for this series, The Heritage of Lancaster County,
over several years, but didn't get a change to read these books until this past Christmas when I
received the set as a gift.
The Shunning is the first of the three, and is dedicated to the author's grandmother, who
left the Plain community and married outside of the Amish world.
In this book we meet Katie as she discovers a satin baby dress in the attic just days before she is
to marry their local Amish bishop, who is widowed and with children. When the story is finally told
to Katie, by her parents, how she was given to them as a baby when their own was stillborn in the
hospital, she is thrown into a fresh tailspin of realizing that she doesn't belong here. She isn't
Katie but this Katherine Mayfield, whose name is sewn into the little satin dress.
After all the preparations for the church service in their home, and all kinds of foods, and guests,
Katie jumps up as the vows are about to be said, and after a few brief words dashes out and
away.
The Bishop announces a ban on Katie. No one is to eat at the same table as she, and no one is even
to speak to her, not even her own family. This becomes very hard for Katie to bear, and after a
period of moping in shock, she makes plans to leave and find out who she really is, and where her
true mother is.
I tell you, this author has a wondrous way of drawing a reader into Katie's life and emotions. It is
hard to put the book down!
For me an added dimension was the details of the Amish life woven in, including some expressions of
speach that ring familiar to me because of my Mennonite background. Aside from the exact accent, I
had a sense of de ja vu. But mostly I think it is Lewis' excellent use of description - just right
amount - so that we get the atmosphere and lifestyle nuances, without getting distracted from the
story line.
Of course, there is a romantic element. Daniel, the young man she was seeing four years earlier was
to have drowned at sea on his birthday. Memories of him, and the guitar he left in her care keep
reappearing in Katie's life, and towards the end we discover why this is important.
In fact, I was very glad I'd received the other two books in the series so I did not have to wait to
find out what Katie found when she went to New York. The sequel is The
Confessions.
My Dad at 88, enjoyed it too. He needed things quite simple, so this told me that he could follow this plot, and see it vividly in his mind as well.
Back to index of Reviews
Giveaways
|
Ruthe's Secret Roses available in softcover! Purchase it at BookLocker.com and it will be in the mail to you within 48 hours!
The novel:
Order NOW
Author
Read it Right NOW!
Available at:
BookLocker.com
Amazon.ca
Amazon.com
Or ASK at any bookstore!
Have the RoseBouquet
(my inspirational blog/RSS feed)
sent to you weekly by email:
Site Hostess:
About Me
Contact Me
Media Kit
History
In the Garden
RoseBouquet Blog
RSS feed!
Privacy Rule
FAQs
Site Map
Search
linking Vines
WebRings
Best Friend

Tips & Solutions
Song Search at ChristianBook.com
Anything you know well (ie. your book?) can be digitalized! Sell it!
I come to the garden alone, while the dew is still on the roses, and the voice I hear, falling on my ear....
Ruthe's Secret Roses, my novel, illustrates that dear song!
|