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Liked It “This is another awesome book by Woodsmall. When doing the "right thing" is seen as wrong, how does a person respond?” see full review » see other reviews » |
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“This is another awesome book by Woodsmall. When doing the "right thing" is seen as wrong, how does a person respond? ”
D. Tipton wrote this review Thursday, November 4, 2010. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“I liked it a lot!”
sharon c wrote this review Thursday, October 7, 2010. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Cindy Woodsmall is able to catch your attention right from the start. She had a strong story to tell about a woman who does her absolute best to take care of her daughter, Lori. After she finds an Amish town that she thinks her mother had friends in she will soon discover that the man who she thinks is "heartless" is really her one true friend until the community discovers who she really is and how she is different compared to her mother.”
Shelby E wrote this review Wednesday, July 28, 2010. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Book 1 of Ada's House series
Karen S wrote this review Monday, July 26, 2010. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
Wonderful story of the return of a woman and daughter to their (unknown to them) Amish roots. Excellent author....”“Great Amish novel. Much deeper and more interesting than many of the others out there.”
Jada M wrote this review Thursday, June 3, 2010. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“It is a wonderful book Cara Moore who was raised in a foster care. She lived in New York, with her young daughter, Lori. Cara was struggling against poverty and a stalker. So she decided to leave the city and go toward the Amish community, trying to find out about her past.She was left at a bus station, at a very young age. Cara found out that the Amish community did not like Englischer ,that was at Dry Lake, Pennsylvania. But one Amish man Ephraim Mast, tried to help Cara and Lori because they were living in his barn, and the police going to arrest Cara and take Lori away. Ephraim, sister Deborah was planing on her marriage to Mahlon Stoltzfus ,her dreams were threatened when he begin behaving oddly. Deborah, loved Mahlon's mom Ada. Ephraim was torn between the requirements of his community and trying to do what he believes is right. Ephraim, gets shun. Cara tries to be a good mother and make a home for her daughter. ”
Norma S wrote this review Tuesday, April 27, 2010. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“I liked it.”
Brenda O wrote this review Thursday, February 4, 2010. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“I'm not sure where I learned about this author but I liked the book. Think of it as Nicholas Sparks in Amish country.”
Andrea B wrote this review Tuesday, November 10, 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Loved this book! Believable situations and characters. I can't wait for the next book in the series. If you like Amish fiction, you will love this book.”
Shari L wrote this review Monday, September 7, 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“My synopsis: Cara felt like she had been on the run with her daughter forever. But now that Mike had found her again, and this time knew her daughter's name and school - she needed to really get lost. Unfortunately Cara had been "lost" her whole life. Her mother died when she was 8 and her father left her at a bus stop and told her to wait for someone named Emma Riehl who was going to come and get her. Emma never showed up and Cara ended up in foster care. It was while she was here that she met Mike. As a teenager she had tried to go to the police about him, but they did not believe her. She married when she was 17 to get protection from him. When her husband died a few years later, she was left to raise their daughter Lori alone. Mike soon found out and began to stalk her again.
Kristi (Books and Needlepoint) wrote this review Friday, August 14, 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
Discovering an address in a journal that her mother Malinda had kept, Cara sets out with Lori with little money and just the clothes on their backs. They are headed to Dry Lake, Pennsylvania, an Amish community. Cara has not been able to trust anyone for so long, that when she shows up in Dry Lake she hides out in a barn with her daughter. She feels as if she knows this place though, but doesn't know how or why. They attend a local auction with the hopes of finding some food when Cara hears the name Emma Riehl again. She knows she must get some answers, but doesn't know what she is going to do for food and shelter in the meantime.
Her stay in the barn does not last long as a local has called the police. They claim they have seen a drunken thief in the area and that she appears to be living in this barn. Before the police can take her away, Ephraim steps in and tells them that she and her daughter can stay with him. He is not quite sure why he has done this, as it will cause problems in the community. Especially if she is who he thinks she is - the daughter of Malinda Riehl, who was banished from the community many years before and left much hurt in her wake. He remembers playing with her for a week when he was a child and has never forgotten her.
Cara's presence in Ephraim's household does indeed cause problems. He is shunned, more severely than normal. This means he is not allowed to speak to any other Amish person, nor sit with them at a table, nor take something from their hands or hand them something. He has also been banished from working at his cabinetry business. In spite of all this, he hears "Be Me to her" when he is having his greatest doubts and feels deep inside that he is doing the right thing. He has no clue how all this will end though.
My thoughts: This was really my first "Amish" book - and I know there are a lot out there right now! I really enjoyed it though, and it gave me a look into a world that I did not know anything about. On one hand, I don't know how people live without electricity, cars, TV, etc - but on the other hand life would be so simple! I am not sure that I would be happy like that forever though. I believe in the same God that they believe in, but I am not sure that if you are not born Amish that his would be a society that you would ever truly belong to. This says it is an Ada House novel, so I am hoping that there are more to come. There were a lot of background characters - Deborah (Ephraim's sister), Mahlon (Deborah's fiance), Ada (Mahlon's mom) and Anna Mary (Ephraim's girlfriend) that I would like to learn more about. I have a feeling that there will be some good stories there!
Oh - there is a cute puppy in the book which Ephraim names Better Days which makes for some good one liners!”
