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Joshua's Mission by Vannetta Chapman
4.0
This is the second book in Vannetta Chapman’s “Plain and Simple Miracles” series, but it can be read as a stand-alone novel. Having enjoyed the first book in this series I looked forward to reviewing this one but while I did enjoy it, it didn’t quite capture me in the same way ‘Anna’s Healing’ did.
The story is told from three different points-of-view: Charlie Everman, a 65 year old Englischer man; Joshua Kline, a 27 year old Amish man; and Becca Troyer, a 20 year old Amish woman. All three of these characters tended towards the serious (or at least quiet) side of the personality spectrum, and while there is nothing wrong with this, I felt as though a slightly livelier character could have lightened the overall mood of the story. The romance did this to a certain extent, but even this often sat in the shadow cast by the tension between Joshua and Alton.
The first third of the novel is split between Port Aransas, Texas (Charlie’s point-of-view) and Cody’s Creek, Oklahoma (Joshua’s and Becca’s points-of-view). In Port Aransas, the community is preparing to evacuate ahead of Hurricane Orion, but Charlie sends his ‘adopted’ daughter, Alice, and her grandchildren on ahead of him while he stays to help as many others as he can. When Hurricane Orion hits before Charlie has managed to convince his friend Moose to leave with him, he has little choice but to pray they will survive the storm.
Meanwhile, a different kind of storm is hovering on the horizon for the Kline family. Twenty-seven year old Joshua is the eldest of six. His next youngest sibling, Alton, is ten years younger and making the most of his rumspringa, but when Joshua has to travel to a town three hours away in order to collect Alton from an overnight stay in jail they know things are getting out of hand. Will this brush with the law be enough of a wake-up call to encourage Alton to show more restraint in the future?
Skip forward seven months and Becca Troyer, granddaughter of Bishop Levi, is preparing to go on a mission with the Mennonite Disaster Services to help with rebuilding in the Port Aransas community. Although Alton has not had any further brushes with the law Joshua is still concerned that his brother is not as settled as he should be and Bishop Levi suggests that getting a different perspective on life might be just what Alton needs. They, too, join the MDS mission trip along with another young girl from their Community, Sarah Yoder. From here the story is centred in Port Aransas where the MDS mission group work on three homes, one of which will be a home for Alice and her grandchildren. As they work together on the rebuilding, the four young people have many opportunities to get to know each other better. In some cases this fosters a deepening of affection and friendship while in other cases it fosters deepening concern.
I think one of the main reasons I found this novel less engaging than the first in the series is that Joshua and Becca are relatively passive characters in the overall plot. I liked the way Joshua was lead to examine his attitude towards his brother (and the role Becca played in bringing this about), but in many ways it was Alton who drove the story, and so in that way I think I felt a little removed from the action. As I mentioned before, Joshua and Becca also tended to be on the serious side personality wise, which gave the novel a more sombre tone than I expected.
The romance between Joshua and Becca was sweet and developed naturally as their friendship grew. There was one moment in particular where the writing felt a bit abrupt, but there were also some lovely moments that made me nostalgic for those early days in my relationship with my husband. You know, those days where everything is new and you’re enjoying getting to know one another... *happy sigh*
All in all an enjoyable read, but not quite on the same level as ‘Anna’s Healing’ in my opinion.
The story is told from three different points-of-view: Charlie Everman, a 65 year old Englischer man; Joshua Kline, a 27 year old Amish man; and Becca Troyer, a 20 year old Amish woman. All three of these characters tended towards the serious (or at least quiet) side of the personality spectrum, and while there is nothing wrong with this, I felt as though a slightly livelier character could have lightened the overall mood of the story. The romance did this to a certain extent, but even this often sat in the shadow cast by the tension between Joshua and Alton.
The first third of the novel is split between Port Aransas, Texas (Charlie’s point-of-view) and Cody’s Creek, Oklahoma (Joshua’s and Becca’s points-of-view). In Port Aransas, the community is preparing to evacuate ahead of Hurricane Orion, but Charlie sends his ‘adopted’ daughter, Alice, and her grandchildren on ahead of him while he stays to help as many others as he can. When Hurricane Orion hits before Charlie has managed to convince his friend Moose to leave with him, he has little choice but to pray they will survive the storm.
Meanwhile, a different kind of storm is hovering on the horizon for the Kline family. Twenty-seven year old Joshua is the eldest of six. His next youngest sibling, Alton, is ten years younger and making the most of his rumspringa, but when Joshua has to travel to a town three hours away in order to collect Alton from an overnight stay in jail they know things are getting out of hand. Will this brush with the law be enough of a wake-up call to encourage Alton to show more restraint in the future?
Skip forward seven months and Becca Troyer, granddaughter of Bishop Levi, is preparing to go on a mission with the Mennonite Disaster Services to help with rebuilding in the Port Aransas community. Although Alton has not had any further brushes with the law Joshua is still concerned that his brother is not as settled as he should be and Bishop Levi suggests that getting a different perspective on life might be just what Alton needs. They, too, join the MDS mission trip along with another young girl from their Community, Sarah Yoder. From here the story is centred in Port Aransas where the MDS mission group work on three homes, one of which will be a home for Alice and her grandchildren. As they work together on the rebuilding, the four young people have many opportunities to get to know each other better. In some cases this fosters a deepening of affection and friendship while in other cases it fosters deepening concern.
I think one of the main reasons I found this novel less engaging than the first in the series is that Joshua and Becca are relatively passive characters in the overall plot. I liked the way Joshua was lead to examine his attitude towards his brother (and the role Becca played in bringing this about), but in many ways it was Alton who drove the story, and so in that way I think I felt a little removed from the action. As I mentioned before, Joshua and Becca also tended to be on the serious side personality wise, which gave the novel a more sombre tone than I expected.
The romance between Joshua and Becca was sweet and developed naturally as their friendship grew. There was one moment in particular where the writing felt a bit abrupt, but there were also some lovely moments that made me nostalgic for those early days in my relationship with my husband. You know, those days where everything is new and you’re enjoying getting to know one another... *happy sigh*
All in all an enjoyable read, but not quite on the same level as ‘Anna’s Healing’ in my opinion.
At Home in Last Chance by Cathleen Armstrong
5.0
There is something so very life-like and down-to-earth about the people of Last Chance. They’re the kind of people you can’t help liking, in spite of their little idiosyncrasies and imperfections, and I think that is a large part of what made this novel so engaging for me. The lack of melodrama was also refreshing, as was the predominance of showing rather than telling. In short, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book!
This is the third book in the ‘Last Chance’ series and although it is technically a stand-alone novel much of the background for both Steven’s and Kaitlyn’s stories is found in books one and two of this series respectively.
Neither Steven nor Kaitlyn have rosy pasts and both have shown a tendency to run rather than to face up to life’s responsibilities. Steven grew up in Last Chance and has returned to his uncle and aunt’s ranch to fill in time before goes to the Law Enforcement Academy in the spring (and to decide what to do with the now derelict bar he inherited from his late father). He has a reputation as a charmer, so it comes as something of a surprise when Kaitlyn remains indifferent to his attempts at getting to know her better. But, as everyone in Last Chance knows, she’s got enough on her plate trying to mend bridges with her seven year old daughter Olivia. Perhaps his well-meaning relatives are right when they suggest Steven is not the kind of guy she needs in her life. Still, it does kind of take a man down a peg or two to hear them say it...
Becoming a single mother at the age of seventeen wasn’t part of Kaitlyn’s plan, and running off after leaving Olivia with her brother Chris wasn’t her smartest moment either. She thought she was doing the best thing for Olivia by signing her guardianship over to Chris, but now she’s back in Last Chance determined to make better choices in her life and be the mother Olivia deserves, and if that means sticking it out waitressing at her brother’s diner and ignoring a good-looking guy who’s a little too confident of his own charm then so be it.
One of the most refreshing things about this novel was that both Steven and Kaitlyn acknowledged the mistakes they had made in the past without wallowing in self-pity or self-flagellations. Rather than dwelling on the past, they are determined to move forward in a more positive direction. There was also a delightful lack of romance clichés in this novel. Yes, Steven is immediately attracted to Kaitlyn, but this attraction is not expressed frequently or in clichés, and his attempts at flirting with her are met with withering indifference. It isn’t until Kaitlyn begins to see a more genuine side to Steven emerging that she takes steps to develop a friendship with him. In the end, their relationship develops out of an emotional connection rather than a physical attraction, and those are always the most satisfying romances for me.
There was one unusual thing about this book in that there was no ‘oh-no-what’s-going-to-happen’ climax towards the end. Oddly enough, I didn’t feel its absence while I was reading the book; it only occurred to me when I started writing this review. I think the reason this novel still worked (for me, anyway) was the subtle tension that built all the way through the novel that was less to do with ‘Will they get together?’ than ‘Will they finally find the peace they are looking for and stop running?’ As the novel nears the end you begin to see all the pieces falling into place; that God has indeed been making something beautiful out of the mess they had made. But it is not until the final scene that you really think, “Yes! They’ve made it.” And on that point, I have to say the final scene in the novel was perfect for the characters and the journey they have been on. I felt like I could release a breath I hadn’t even known I was holding.
This could well become one of my favourite feel-good reads. I’ll definitely be visiting Last Chance again in the future.
This is the third book in the ‘Last Chance’ series and although it is technically a stand-alone novel much of the background for both Steven’s and Kaitlyn’s stories is found in books one and two of this series respectively.
Neither Steven nor Kaitlyn have rosy pasts and both have shown a tendency to run rather than to face up to life’s responsibilities. Steven grew up in Last Chance and has returned to his uncle and aunt’s ranch to fill in time before goes to the Law Enforcement Academy in the spring (and to decide what to do with the now derelict bar he inherited from his late father). He has a reputation as a charmer, so it comes as something of a surprise when Kaitlyn remains indifferent to his attempts at getting to know her better. But, as everyone in Last Chance knows, she’s got enough on her plate trying to mend bridges with her seven year old daughter Olivia. Perhaps his well-meaning relatives are right when they suggest Steven is not the kind of guy she needs in her life. Still, it does kind of take a man down a peg or two to hear them say it...
Becoming a single mother at the age of seventeen wasn’t part of Kaitlyn’s plan, and running off after leaving Olivia with her brother Chris wasn’t her smartest moment either. She thought she was doing the best thing for Olivia by signing her guardianship over to Chris, but now she’s back in Last Chance determined to make better choices in her life and be the mother Olivia deserves, and if that means sticking it out waitressing at her brother’s diner and ignoring a good-looking guy who’s a little too confident of his own charm then so be it.
One of the most refreshing things about this novel was that both Steven and Kaitlyn acknowledged the mistakes they had made in the past without wallowing in self-pity or self-flagellations. Rather than dwelling on the past, they are determined to move forward in a more positive direction. There was also a delightful lack of romance clichés in this novel. Yes, Steven is immediately attracted to Kaitlyn, but this attraction is not expressed frequently or in clichés, and his attempts at flirting with her are met with withering indifference. It isn’t until Kaitlyn begins to see a more genuine side to Steven emerging that she takes steps to develop a friendship with him. In the end, their relationship develops out of an emotional connection rather than a physical attraction, and those are always the most satisfying romances for me.
There was one unusual thing about this book in that there was no ‘oh-no-what’s-going-to-happen’ climax towards the end. Oddly enough, I didn’t feel its absence while I was reading the book; it only occurred to me when I started writing this review. I think the reason this novel still worked (for me, anyway) was the subtle tension that built all the way through the novel that was less to do with ‘Will they get together?’ than ‘Will they finally find the peace they are looking for and stop running?’ As the novel nears the end you begin to see all the pieces falling into place; that God has indeed been making something beautiful out of the mess they had made. But it is not until the final scene that you really think, “Yes! They’ve made it.” And on that point, I have to say the final scene in the novel was perfect for the characters and the journey they have been on. I felt like I could release a breath I hadn’t even known I was holding.
This could well become one of my favourite feel-good reads. I’ll definitely be visiting Last Chance again in the future.