From the back cover:  Rebecca Kaufman's tranquil Old Order Amish life is transformed when she suddenly has custody of her two teenage nieces after her "English" sister and brother-in-law are killed in an  automobile accident.  Instant motherhood, after years of unsuccessful attempts to conceive a child of her own, is both a joy and a heartache.  Rebecca struggles to give the teenage girls the guidance they need, as well as fulfill her duties to Daniel as an Amish wife. Rebellious Jessica is resistant to Amish ways and is constantly in trouble with the community.  Younger sister Lindsay is caught in the middle, and the strain between Rebecca and Daniel mounts as Jessica's rebellion escalates.  Instead of the beautiful family life she dreamed of creating for her nieces, Rebecca feels as if her world is being torn apart by two different cultures, leaving her to question her place in the Amish community, her marriage, and her faith in God.

My review:  Amy Clipston has truly captured the voice of fifteen-year-old Jessica.  Any parent who has raised a teenager knows that the teenage years are challenging under normal circumstances.  But what happens when you take a child that age, whose parents have been killed, pull them from everything familiar - their home, school, and friends - and send them to live with relatives in an Old Order Amish community?  No TV.  No Internet.  No place to charge an IPOD or cell phone.  Add to that - Jessica will no longer be attending school since the Amish only believe in taking an education through the eighth grade.  There go her dreams of graduating with her friends and going to college.  But Jessica's younger sister, Lindsay, adapts quite well to the Old Order ways, much to Jessica's horror. 

All Rebecca wants is a happy family and to be a good guardian to her two nieces following the death of her sister and brother-in-law.  It's the family she's always wanted, and despite the unhappy circumstances surrounding the situation, Rebecca is certain that it is God's will for the girls to live with her.  Early on, Jessica's rebellious behavior causes upset in the community, and Rebecca's husband, Daniel, is held accountable for Jessica's actions.   This leads to troubles within the marriage as Rebecca is pulled between her husband and the duty she feels to be a good mother-figure to her nieces. 

The Old Order Amish believe that everything that happens is God's will.  But what happens when our own wants and needs block out the voice of God and what is truly His will?  Clipston does a great job of posing this question to the reader through Rebecca's thoughts and actions.  Rebecca is so determined to be a good mother to these children and to have the happy family she's always wanted, sometimes she doesn't see the bigger picture.  My heart ached for both Rebecca and Jessica as they each struggled with the changes within their lives.  The ending both surprised and pleased me.  It was real and stayed true to the characters. 

This is Clipston's debut novel, and she did an excellent job of capturing the ways of the Old Order Amish.  Fans of Amish fiction will enjoy this book, and even if you haven't read stories set within an Amish setting, give this one a try.  I look forward to more of Amy Clipston's books.  

   

Amy works full-time as a public information specialist for the City of Charlotte, North Carolina.  She lives in Monroe, North Carolina, with her husband and two sons. Watch for book #2 in the Kauffman Amish Bakery series in January 2010.