The Bridesmaid Review

The Bridesmaid, by Beverly Lewis, is a wonderful book of love and hope for Joanna Kurtz.  She has been a bridesmaid several times, and is now in her mid-twenties.  The whispers have started that she will end up an unmarried woman, unfortunately seemingly led by her younger sister Cora.  She meets a wonderful man, Eben, and believes he is the one.  The problem is that he belongs to another Amish church in another state.

This book is a really wonderful love story.  It has a lot of depth of the characters, which I adore in a book (like most people!).  I felt so involved in Joanna's life, between her quilting bees, and her chores, and her relationship to her immediate and extended family.  It showed such a nice picture of the values of the Amish.

Overall I was incredibly pleased with this book.  I had one issue, which was the redemption of the younger sister.  I am sure that the author was demonstrating how a real Amish woman would forgive her sister, but for the majority of the book I wanted Joanna to yell or scream, or something!  Their reconciliation seemed too easy to me, but perhaps that is because I am not Amish.

I think that anyone who enjoys an Amish story will enjoy this book.  The dedication of the children to their parents was very admirable, and I can only hope that my children will feel the same dedication as they grow up!

I received a copy of this book from Bethany House Publishers in return for my review.  The opinions are my own.