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Monday, June 28, 2010

Booksneeze Book Review 6.28.2010

Patch of Heaven Book CoverNo matter what our theological beliefs may be, we are all asked to submit to the will of the Lord and to trust Him with out lives. Such is the case with Sarah in the book Sarah's Garden by Kelly Long.

Sarah is an Amish girl who must learn to lean upon her Creator to sustain her throughout all of life's troubles. Her older sister had married so it came upon her to run the family produce stand, despite her shyness. She has to learn to trust God to protect her in situations she never dreamed she would be exposed to from people asking some of the rudest questions, a man trying to force his attentions on her, her father's sudden illness and even with the coming of the new Englisch veterinarian to the farm next door. Can Sarah learn to trust God without getting her heart torn in the process?

This book was well written. It used a different dialect than most other of the Amish stories that are so popular right now, one that I wasn't familiar with. At first, I was put off with the cover. The picture of the Amish girl with her bun showing from the back of her kapp, the perfectly groomed eyebrows and what appeared to be cosmetic blush on her cheeks really put me off. I have been in at least five different Amish settlements (in different states) and none of the ladies there showed any of their hair, wore any form of makeup, nor had perfectly groomed eyebrows. Overlooking the cover art, I was able to enjoy reading the book. The plot line moved at a very good pace and it was hard to put down. I do wish that the characters had been developed more. I wasn't able to form an emotional attachment or any kind of feeling towards any of them really. When I read a work of fiction, I want to feel what the characters feel, see what they see and understand what makes them tick. I wasn't able to with this book.

This book was a good read and it did have a great theme of learning to trust, even with things don't go the way we picture. However, if you are looking for more of an emotional attachment to the characters, then I don't suggest it.

I was given this book from Thomas Nelson as a part of their BookSneeze program in exchange for an honest review. All opinions within this review are mine and mine alone.