Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Book Review: Patchwork Dreams

Patchwork Dreams by Laura V. Hilton

The Amish of Seymour

c. 2011

Whitaker House

ISBN 9781603742559

Romance


When an Amish girl gets more than a taste for the outside world during her rumschpringe year, will only her family and anyone desperate for even a ruined woman accept her?

Becky Troyer had no intention of leaving her Plain world in Missouri when she used her chance to taste the larger world before committing to join the church, and finding it more than she wanted to chew. Once, she wanted to be a teacher; now she has a child of her own to care for, and no husband. Jacob Miller, a young man from Pennsylvania, also has some hard choices to make when his father sends him to Missouri for some time away from his worldly girlfriend. When Jacob meets Becky, his mission to make her smile and find a husband for her turns into a personal quest that rocks both their worlds.

I loved Hilton's portrait of the strong silent Amish men, who could also handle an infant with aplomb. Hilton mentions in her acknowledgements that she visited with an Amish family, which I appreciated. Having Amish neighbors, I read parts of the book to my husband, and was amused to pass an Amish family playing volleyball just when I got to that part in Hilton's story.

A couple of typos distracted only slightly from my reading enjoyment. Although the conclusion was foregone, I enjoyed the pacing and predicament of the young couple, from Becky's dilemma over whether to accept the hand of another man who'd already buried two wives, to Jacob's quasi-Amish girlfriend showing up at the Troyers'. Some repetition with the characters' "do I or don't I love him/her" slowed the story in some parts, but overall, but those who enjoy Amish fiction will find a fresh twist in Patchwork Dreams.

I received a copy of this book from Kathy Carlton Willis Communications for tour and review purposes.

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