A Christmas Gift for Rose BY Tricia Goyer

Title: A Christmas Gift for Rose
Author: Tricia Goyer
Publisher: Zondervan
Sep 2013
ISBN: 978-0310336785
Goodreads: 4 of 5 stars

Tricia continues to bring us wonderful books to read! I am really enjoying these Amish books by Christian authors! Thank you for sharing your talents and passions with all your readers!

In A Christmas Gift for Rose we follow Rose Yoder as she struggles with the fact that the man she loves leave to help the Englisch in World War II and turns her back on him, being encouraged by their Bishop and the community they grew up in...only to find out that she, herself, was born into an Englisch family! We find out how she came to be with the Yoder family and what most likely led up to her biological parents leaving her behind! This great story is inspired by true events. One of the great lessons in this book is that of discovering your own true identity! Rose struggles with this as she tries to choose what to do now that she knows she is Englisch, she recognizes the similarities between her and the main character in the book Heidi, which she reads to the children at the local school...but will she stay or will she go? What about the man she loves?

That pretty well sums it up...to get the answers to these questions, read the book and let me know what you think! Yep, short and sweet, just like the book!  Some of my thoughts: One of the wonderful things I found in this story is how sometimes we might make choices that are not popular in our group of family and friends, but, in the end, the lessons learned end up helping us and others! Also, I'm not quite sure how I feel about the Amish view on their serving in the military. I mean, I understand their thoughts, but I also understand the views of those not part of the Amish, too! See question below to share your thoughts...

One of many quotes I'd like to share: "...it was time to let the future matter more than the past." (pg 121)

I would like to pose one of the included discussions to you: "During World War II most Amishmen chose to join the Conservation Corp or spend their time in jail or working on farms. How did the war impact these men and those in their community?"

To buy the book, go here:
Amazon
Barnes & Noble
ChristianBook.com
BooksAMillion.com

Disclosure: As part of the Tricia Goyer 2013 Fiction Launch Team, I did receive a free copy of this book; however I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions expressed here are completely my own!

The Promise Box BY Tricia Goyer

Title: THE PROMISE BOX
Author: Tricia Goyer
Publisher: Zondervan
May 2013
ISBN: 978-0310335122
Goodreads: 4 of 5 stars

Another great Amish read!

This is the story of Lydia Wyse. She was raised Amish but has chosen to lead an "Englisch" life in Seattle, WA. The book starts off with the passing of her mom, so she returns home to West Kootenai, Montana.

Enter Gideon Hooley, one of the "bachelors" that come at least 6 months before hunting season so they can gain residency for the hunt. We also see the mention of many characters from The Memory Jar. Just a note that you do not need to have read The Memory Jar to read The Promise Box. Ok, back to Gideon. When he first appears, he is training a horse named Blue. He is from Bird-in-Hand, Pennsvylvania and has been to West Kootenai before. As a young child. During that trip, he had an experience that has somewhat haunted him his whole life. His parents have not talked to him, so he's hoping to find out the details while in Montana. When he does, it haunts him even more...all the while he is falling for the new Englisch girl in town...

Lydia has been haunted by her own demons, surrounding her birth. She was adopted by the Wyse's at her birth and left after finding out the truth. The pain was too much. As she returns to help her Dat, the Amish lifestyle and customs come back easily to her. Her boss has planted the idea that the time is ripe for her to write her own book focusing on returning to the Amish community. She isn't so sure...

Will Gideon get over the details of what happened when he was a child?
What about his feelings for the Englisch woman?
Will Lydia really return to the Amish life?
What about her 'book'?

For answers to these questions, read The Promise Box BY Tricia Goyer and then come back and let me know what you think of this great read! Of course, I won't leave you without a quote from the book! It's really hard to choose just one, but here goes...as usual, I couldn't bring it down to just one:

pg 13: "Mem had told her that her life was a gift, that God didn't make mistakes."

pg 103: "We aren't perfect. God doesn't expect us to be...Faith isn't about having all the answers. It's about taking one step. The first step."

pg 138: "You can tell when you're on the right track. It's usually uphill."

To buy the book, go here:
Amazon.com
Barnes & Noble
Christianbook.com
BooksAMillion

Disclosure: As part of the Tricia Goyer 2013 Fiction Launch Team, I did receive a free copy of this book; however I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions expressed here are completely my own!

The Memory Jar BY Tricia Goyer

Title: THE MEMORY JAR

Author Tricia Goyer

Publisher: Zondervan

October 2012

ISBN: 978-0310335108

Goodreads: 4 of 5 stars

I do believe this to be the first Amish book I have read and I loved it!

This is the story of Sarah Shelter. Having lost her best friend, Patty, Sarah struggles to allow herself to move on. Having suffered loss of a close loved one, I completely understand. Sarah lives in West Kootenai, Montana where young Amish men come in the spring to live for at least 6 months so they can gain resident status for the hunting season. Each year these "bachelors" often leave with a bride.

For five years, Sarah has allowed love to pass her by, but this year is different. She has some stirrings for Amos not even paying attention to Jathan Schrock. Then, one day a group of friends goes on a hike and life will never be the same!

Sarah keeps a jar with little trinkets she has gathered throughout her life. These serve to remind her of the many memories of life. I love how this habit helps her through her life's decisions and helps her as her life progresses to new adventures. Sarah's dream is to own her own bakery. This dream is a struggle as she likes the 'fancy' things, like decorated cupcakes. So different from the 'simple' things of the Amish life.

Jathan comes from a place where his life has been planned out for him. He is to return to work in the local factory to help take care of his parents. We come to find out that he, too, has an interest in helping with his mom's bakery! Given this hard choice, what would you do? Follow your heart and passion? Or take the job for its security?

You will have to read this great book to find out how it works out in the end. But, suffice to say, that Lord does work in mysterious ways and what we think we want may not be exactly how it works out. Sometimes exciting and new things seem like a good idea and seems like it is the perfect solution to please everyone may or may not work out that way! Change is good, but is it for everyone?

Also, note that you just never know how the people you meet along the way will affect your life's outcome. The great lesson is to trust in the Lord and follow his guidance. Which brings me to the quote I'd like to share: "...the more Sarah thought about the word faith, the more she realized it was all about looking ahead." (pg 240) "...we jest need to keep walking in the direction God pointed us last, and if we keep looking fer him and waiting on him, God will let us know when to make a change of direction." (pg 136)

Do you trust in the Lord to guide you? Enough to follow him? How do you remember your memories? Do you have a jar with a collection of all kinds of things?

To buy the book, go here:
Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Christianbook.com
BooksAMillion

Disclosure: As part of the Tricia Goyer 2013Fiction Launch Team, I did receive a free copy of this book; however I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions expressed here are completely my own!

Love Finds You In Glacier Bay Alaska BY Tricia Goyer & Ocieanna Fleiss

TITLE: Love Finds You in Glacier Bay Alaska

AUTHOR: Tricia Goyer & Ocieanna Fleiss

PUBLISHER: Summerside Press (release 1 Jan 2013)

ISBN: 978-1609365691

Goodreads RATED: 5 of 5 stars

Ok, it is official, Alaska is amazing! You ever been there? I haven’t, but after reading Love Finds You in Glacier Bay Alaska, I know it just has to be amazing! This is the third book that Tricia Goyer & Ocieanna Fleiss have written together! Please say there will be more…please! I’m all for a sequel to this book, but I’m also all for any work the two of you bring to us readers! Thank you!

The story is about Ginny, a rising singer, who is on the verge of getting everything she always wanted….or is she? She has a huge life changing decision to make and seeks out her former fiancé for his advice. Brett lives in Glacier Bay, Alaska. When Ginny arrives Brett is not there, but she is introduced to his grandma, Ethel. Instantly Grandma Ethel takes Ginny right in and while there Ginny discovers the story of Ellie through a box of letters!  What an adventure lies ahead…

I do note there was one little teeny tiny misinformation in chapter two…The Parent Trap reference, I am certain they meant the remake of The Parent Trap and not The Parent Trap II as stated. This was easily and quickly overlooked and forgotten, but I would be remiss if I didn't mention it as many of you know how much I love both The Parent Trap movies, original and remake!

The genealogist in me loved the way this story plays out! My favorite part of this book is the use of letters, kept over time, from people so important to the history of Glacier Bay and now, it turns out, to the future of Ginny! WOW! This novel moved me; it has been a long time since I’ve given a book 5 stars! This book jumped right up there to match the level of my favorite Sisterchick books!

The setting took on a life of its own as a character in the book, the small close knit community! I have always loved the idea of a small community where everyone knows everyone! As I read this story, I could clearly see the book playing in mind as a movie, oh please let this happen! Such a moving story…stories even!

My favorite complete character is Janey and my least favorite character is Mrs. Standard! You will just have to read the entire story for yourself to find out why! Then come back, let me know what you think and who and what you especially liked and didn’t like!

This book was very well researched by the authors! They even went to Glacier Bay, Alaska. This is the third of the three books written by Tricia Goyer & Ocieanna Fleiss, but the first that I have read! I look forward to finding the time to go back and read the other two, Love Finds Youin Lonesome Prairie, Montana & Love Finds You in Victory Heights,Washington!

For more on the authors, connect with them here:

Tricia Goyer, website                                     OcieannaFleiss, website

Tricia Goyer, facebook                                   OcieannaFleiss, facebook

Tricia Goyer, twitter                                        OcieannaFleiss, twitter

QUOTES:  It was really hard to narrow down the amount of great quotes from this book, but I finally got it down to these five:

Pg 30: “Right now he needed to stay put, even though he didn’t exactly know why. But he’d learned not to ignore these feelings.”  ---1Nephi 4:6, need I say more?

Pg 226: ---Seen in the postcard above, (thank you to a fellow launch team member for putting this together) this quote is probably the most applicable one for recent events ---This was THE perfect quote to summarize 2012 for our family! We are now awaiting the ‘masterpiece’ that is still in the works for us!

Pg 262: “They’d come to hear their story. To hear about those who’d come before them and made their life here possible.” ---I’m a genealogist, what’s not to love about this quote?

Pg 289: “I don’t need the approval of others to make me happy. I’ve got Christ, and He’s enough. Well, at least that’s what I’m trying to learn.” --- Words for all of us to live by, yet so hard to remember in our society!

Pg 289: “Our plans are not as His {our dear Lord}, though. We must be prepared for a different outcome than we hope, but we can trust His ways are always the best.” ---Another great reminder that is so hard to remember and also very much applies to our family’s events in 2012, the good, the bad and the ugly!

To buy the book, go here:

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Christianbook.com

BooksAMillion

Disclosure: As part of the Tricia Goyer 2013Fiction Launch Team, I did receive a free copy of this book; however I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions expressed here are completely my own!