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A review by jazzyjan94
An Amish Home: Four Novellas by Kathleen Fuller, Amy Clipston, Beth Wiseman
4.0
This review appears on my blog: https://confessionsofabookwormweb.wordpress.com/2019/12/27/book-review-an-amish-home-by-various-authors/
For those of you who have been long-time readers of the blog, you’ll probably remember that I used to read a lot of novella collections a few years back, however I stopped after a while because sometimes I didn’t really like the stories. However, since I jumped back into reading more Amish and Christian fiction a couple months ago, I discovered that there were a lot of Amish fiction novella collections available and I was curious to try them out. An Amish Home is the first one I picked up, and I was not disappointed!
As I’ve done for previous reviews of novella collections, I am going to write a review for each one and then do an overall review for the entire collection at the end.
A Cup Half Full by Beth Wiseman
Beth Wiseman is one of my new favorite writers that I’ve discovered in the last few months, I’ve really been enjoying her Daughters of the Promise series, and I also really enjoyed this novella by her. “A Cup Half Full” follows a young Amish woman, Sarah, who was in an accident a month before the start of the novella that left her legs paralyzed. She starts to adapt to life in a wheelchair, however she also harbors bitterness towards God for allowing her to live. Her husband, Abram, does everything he can to help her adjust to a new way of life, but also holds on to the hope that someday they can have children, but Sarah’s fears of her ability to take care of a child hinders that. I really enjoyed this story and I felt like the author did a good job of dealing with a somewhat difficult topic, however she did it in a really good way and in such a way that it didn’t seem like the story was rushed in the end or that everything was tied up neatly. 4/5 Stars.
Home Sweet Home by Amy Clipston
Amy Clipston is an Amish fiction author I’ve been meaning to read from for a few weeks, but I just haven’t gotten the chance to. “Home Sweet Home” follows Chance and Mia who are forced to move into the daadi haus belonging to Chance’s boss after they are evicted from their apartment. However, as they adjust to life without modern conveniences, they also have to deal with being in debt and a newborn, and the stress that comes with all the issues they are currently facing. Will they ever feel at home in their new dwelling place? This was another good novella, it deals with issues such as finances and how that can put stress on a marriage, and even some of the resolution wasn’t quickly tied up, it also left some loose ends, which is realistic. The end gave the feel that yes, things are looking up for Chance and Mia, but that doesn’t mean its going to be perfect and that they still have issues that they need to work through in the future. There were a couple of times I found Mia to be somewhat exceedingly cruel to her husband, however it did make sense considering all the stress they are going through. I look forward to reading more of Amy Clipston’s novels in the future. 3.5/5 Stars.
A Flicker of Hope by Ruth Reid
Ruth Reid is an author who was completely new to me, I had not heard of her until I picked up this collection, but I was not disappointed! A Flicker of Hope follows a style that I really enjoy, a story set in the present day, while also switching to events the characters’ past that had effect on the present day. I felt like the author did a go great job in switching back and forth and as well as dealing with very real issues. This novella follows Amish couple Thomas and Noreen King, who have been married for fifteen years, the marriage started out well, but after facing many trials their marriage is strained and appears to be getting worse. However, when a fire destroys their house, it might just be the very thing that finally starts to bring them back together. I really enjoyed this story, and it seemed to progress naturally towards the end and it ended happily, but not in the cliche sort of way. I’m definitely keeping Ruth Reid’s works on my radar in the future. 4/5 Stars.
Building Faith by Kathleen Fuller
Kathleen Fuller is another Amish Fiction author that has been on my radar ever since I started reading Beth Wiseman’s books, but I haven’t had a chance to check out her books, but this novella was a good introduction to her writing. “Building Faith” follows Faith Miller who longs to be a carpenter, and finally gets a job making cabinets for her friend, but she soon finds that she will have to work with her ex-fiance, Silas. However, it could be a good opportunity for them to work through differences. I liked the story, but I honestly wish that the communication between Silas and Faith had been better, especially when readers find out how Faith broke off her engagement. Overall, there was a happy ending, but the story was a tiny bit melodramatic. But it also made sense, a little. I’m looking forward to reading some of Kathleen Fuller’s full-length novels in the future. 3.5/5 Stars.
An Amish Home was a great collection of four novellas. I enjoyed each story and I definitely want to continue reading more works from each of these authors in the future. I’m also looking forward to reading more of these novella collections in the months to come. Overall, I am giving the whole collection 4/5 Stars.
For those of you who have been long-time readers of the blog, you’ll probably remember that I used to read a lot of novella collections a few years back, however I stopped after a while because sometimes I didn’t really like the stories. However, since I jumped back into reading more Amish and Christian fiction a couple months ago, I discovered that there were a lot of Amish fiction novella collections available and I was curious to try them out. An Amish Home is the first one I picked up, and I was not disappointed!
As I’ve done for previous reviews of novella collections, I am going to write a review for each one and then do an overall review for the entire collection at the end.
A Cup Half Full by Beth Wiseman
Beth Wiseman is one of my new favorite writers that I’ve discovered in the last few months, I’ve really been enjoying her Daughters of the Promise series, and I also really enjoyed this novella by her. “A Cup Half Full” follows a young Amish woman, Sarah, who was in an accident a month before the start of the novella that left her legs paralyzed. She starts to adapt to life in a wheelchair, however she also harbors bitterness towards God for allowing her to live. Her husband, Abram, does everything he can to help her adjust to a new way of life, but also holds on to the hope that someday they can have children, but Sarah’s fears of her ability to take care of a child hinders that. I really enjoyed this story and I felt like the author did a good job of dealing with a somewhat difficult topic, however she did it in a really good way and in such a way that it didn’t seem like the story was rushed in the end or that everything was tied up neatly. 4/5 Stars.
Home Sweet Home by Amy Clipston
Amy Clipston is an Amish fiction author I’ve been meaning to read from for a few weeks, but I just haven’t gotten the chance to. “Home Sweet Home” follows Chance and Mia who are forced to move into the daadi haus belonging to Chance’s boss after they are evicted from their apartment. However, as they adjust to life without modern conveniences, they also have to deal with being in debt and a newborn, and the stress that comes with all the issues they are currently facing. Will they ever feel at home in their new dwelling place? This was another good novella, it deals with issues such as finances and how that can put stress on a marriage, and even some of the resolution wasn’t quickly tied up, it also left some loose ends, which is realistic. The end gave the feel that yes, things are looking up for Chance and Mia, but that doesn’t mean its going to be perfect and that they still have issues that they need to work through in the future. There were a couple of times I found Mia to be somewhat exceedingly cruel to her husband, however it did make sense considering all the stress they are going through. I look forward to reading more of Amy Clipston’s novels in the future. 3.5/5 Stars.
A Flicker of Hope by Ruth Reid
Ruth Reid is an author who was completely new to me, I had not heard of her until I picked up this collection, but I was not disappointed! A Flicker of Hope follows a style that I really enjoy, a story set in the present day, while also switching to events the characters’ past that had effect on the present day. I felt like the author did a go great job in switching back and forth and as well as dealing with very real issues. This novella follows Amish couple Thomas and Noreen King, who have been married for fifteen years, the marriage started out well, but after facing many trials their marriage is strained and appears to be getting worse. However, when a fire destroys their house, it might just be the very thing that finally starts to bring them back together. I really enjoyed this story, and it seemed to progress naturally towards the end and it ended happily, but not in the cliche sort of way. I’m definitely keeping Ruth Reid’s works on my radar in the future. 4/5 Stars.
Building Faith by Kathleen Fuller
Kathleen Fuller is another Amish Fiction author that has been on my radar ever since I started reading Beth Wiseman’s books, but I haven’t had a chance to check out her books, but this novella was a good introduction to her writing. “Building Faith” follows Faith Miller who longs to be a carpenter, and finally gets a job making cabinets for her friend, but she soon finds that she will have to work with her ex-fiance, Silas. However, it could be a good opportunity for them to work through differences. I liked the story, but I honestly wish that the communication between Silas and Faith had been better, especially when readers find out how Faith broke off her engagement. Overall, there was a happy ending, but the story was a tiny bit melodramatic. But it also made sense, a little. I’m looking forward to reading some of Kathleen Fuller’s full-length novels in the future. 3.5/5 Stars.
An Amish Home was a great collection of four novellas. I enjoyed each story and I definitely want to continue reading more works from each of these authors in the future. I’m also looking forward to reading more of these novella collections in the months to come. Overall, I am giving the whole collection 4/5 Stars.