The River by Beverly Lewis
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
★: Didn't Like it
★★: It was Ok
★★★: Liked it
★★★★: Really liked it
★★★★★: It was amazing
Suggested Age:13+ Genre:Amish Fiction, Christian Fiction
Note: There is one delicately written reference to rape. However it is so tastefully written that I didn't feel that my daughter couldn't handle reading this book.
I really enjoyed aspects of this book however I did dislike
one of the main characters—throughout the entire book. I’ll get to that in just a bit but first,
isn’t the cover amazingly gorgeous? Beverly Lewis consistently has the best
book covers in her genre. Overall, I
gave this book a good solid four. I just didn’t connect with one of the
characters, Tilly.
After hearing that their father is ill and Ruth begs to return home for her parent’s anniversary, Tilly is finally convinced to go spend some time with her parents. It’s a difficult time for her as there are unresolved issues for her, guilt from her sister’s death eating at her plus her dad’s treatment of her.
As I mentioned earlier, Tilly was hard for me to bond with. Tilly had already married an Englisher, it was evident that she would not return to the Amish. However, I felt that she was pushy with Ruth’s decision on whether she should return to the Amish or not. I felt like the character, Ruth, really should have had more of a voice. In the end I feel like Tilly was going to get her way, no matter what. The book was good, don’t get me wrong. I just couldn’t connect much with Tilly.
Of course, forgiveness and finding peace in Christ first and then the healing that follows was an overall theme, as in most of Mrs. Lewis’ books. This was a quick read and very enjoyable.
View all my reviews|Excerpt
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."
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, with whom this book was written, make their home in Colorado, where they enjoy hiking, biking, and spending time with their family. They are also avid musicians and fiction "book worms."
You can find out more about this author by visiting her website at http://www.beverlylewis.com/
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