Well, I’m trying to plow through my backlog of book reviews, and I’m making some good progress!
This time I was given the opportunity to review Hannah’s Choice by Jan Drexler. I was provided a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.
Description
Hannah Yoder loves her quiet life on the banks of the Conestoga Creek. In 1842, this corner of Lancaster County is settled and peaceful–yet problems lurk beneath the placid façade. Hannah’s father worries about the spread of liberal ideas from their Mennonite and Brethren neighbors. And Hannah blames herself for a tragedy that struck their home nine years ago. She strives to be the one person who can bind the threads of her family together in spite of her mother’s ongoing depression and her sister’s rejection of their family. But her world is threatening to unravel.
When two young men seek her hand in marriage–one offering the home she craves and the other promising the adventure of following God’s call west–Hannah must make a choice. Faithfully perform her duties to her family? Or defy her father and abandon her community?
With a tender hand, Jan Drexler teases out the threads of a romance that will captivate readers in this brand-new Amish historical series.
MY THOUGHTS
For some reason, I love to read Amish fiction books, so I was excited to pick this one, and was not disappointed! The characters are great and I enjoyed learning more about how the Amish did/did not interact with Mennonite and others in their area. Well, from reading the description, you know that there are two men that are vying for Hannah’s hand in marriage, so I’m not giving away the plot when I say that I was rooting for the one that doesn’t win in the end, but oh well!
I also found it interesting that the author’s ancestors were actually among the first Amish, Mennonite, and Brethren immigrants to Pennsylvania in the 1700s. I believe this is the beginning of a book series, and I definitely would love to read more from this author. Her understanding of the historical context and her research into her ancestry makes her a great source of information, and her ability to create characters that you fall in love with is amazing.