Monday, March 30, 2015

Book Review: An Amish Cradle

Author: Beth Wiseman, Amy Clipston, Kathleen Fuller & Vanetta Chapman
Title: An Amish Cradle
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Publish Date: Feb 10, 2015
Buy: Amazon
Review Copy Provided By: Net Galley
Book Blurb: 
In the Father's Arms by Beth Wiseman
Ruth Anne Zook is excited that she and her best friend are due with their children the same week. But when Ruth Anne's baby is born with Down Syndrome, she and her husband struggle to understand God's plan.

A Son for Always by Amy Clipston
Carolyn and her husband Joshua are thrilled to be pregnant with their first child. A teenager when she had her son Benjamin, Carolyn still feels obligated to work to secure Ben's future, even though Josh adopted Ben. She struggles to realize that Josh will love and protect both of their children equally.

A Heart Full of Love by Kathleen Fuller
Ellie's mother loves to meddle in her personal life-especially now that Ellie's pregnant. Since Ellie is blind, her mother worries that she won't be able to handle the baby. When Ellie gives birth to twins, her mother insists on moving in. Just as everyone reaches the breaking point, a miracle draws them closer to each other and to God.

An Unexpected Blessing by Vannetta Chapman

At 42, Etta thought her time of having children was over, but she's pregnant again. She goes into labor during a blizzard, and complications with the delivery raise fear. Etta struggles to accept Gotte's wille for the baby and her son, David, who moved away two years earlier in search of what he would do with his life.

Review: An Amish Cradle is a wonderful collection of stories of Amish couples becoming parents, some for the first time and others a welcome addition to the family

Each couple has some hardships that go along with the arrival of the boppoli (baby).

In The Father's Arms is the first novella, and it is my favorite of the four.  Ruth Anne and Levi have their first child and he has Down Syndrome. This story details a woman coming to terms with a child's disability as well as with a husband that his struggling with it. There are many times during their journey as new parents that you'll want to cry

A Son For Always is Amy Clipston's offering here, and it is a novella that is part of the Lancaster Grand Hotel series. Carolyn has found love with Joshua, and they are expecting their first child together, but she has doubts about him accepting her son Ben, that she had out of wedlock as a
teenager.

I love that this story tackles an issue that you don't usually see in Amish fiction. It shows that the Amish have the same problem as the rest of the world

I did think that Carolyn's worries about Joshua were a bit excessive, but it also showed her deep love for her son.

This was an absolutely beautiful story that reminded me I have to get some more of Amy's books.

A Heart Full Of Love had my nerves on edge. I loved this story, but I wanted to reach into the pages and shake Ellie's mother most of the time. Ellie is blind and the mother of twins and Edna really steamrollers her after their birth with her over protectiveness.

There is a reason for her behavior and it will break your heart for her.

More than that, it shows what a strong, capable woman Ellie is.

The final story in the book is Vanetta Chapman's An Unexpected Blessing. I love Vanetta's books, and this was really a sweet story of a couple having a child later in life. Etta is 42 and her husband is 45, so there are challenges with her pregnancy.

I didn't quite feel that Mose should be acting as old as he was. OMG he was only 45!!!

There was more to this story than the new baby, there was also the return of their son, who was away on his rumspinga.

I liked the different family dynamic in this novella. I loved how the cradle was being passed back from Etta's son to his mother.

Four wonderful stories to warm your heart. Highly recommended to those of you that can't get enough Amish fiction

Rating: 5 flowers


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