"Rose couldn't get Jonathan off her mind. He'd captured a large slice of her thoughts since that first evening three years ago when he'd stared at her over the fire pit at the Yoder's place during a Singing. Distance had not lessened her care.
When he'd gone overseas, Jonathan had written and told her he worked at the hospitals away from the front lines. Rose should have been thankful, but as a pacifist he should have had no part in supporting the war - not even in the hospitals. If Jonathan had been drafted, that would have been one thing, but he'd volunteered. And while other young Amish men waited out the war on the home front, growing gardens in the small county prisons or working for the Conservation Corps, Jonathan had left their Amish community and traveled to a distant county with armed soldiers. He'd trained in their camps and made friends with outsiders. The shame! And she was the one left to see the disapproval in the gazes of her fellow Amish. To hear the women's comments around the sewing circle. She was the one who'd received a visit from a very unhappy bishop upon the discovery of what Jonathan had done and where he'd gone.
Pretty soon he's going to stop being Amish. Most likely he's already made that choice," the bishop had commented after it was discovered that Jonathan was in France. His disapproval had been clear. Though they were friendly with their English neighbors, there was a dividing line. Though invisible, the barrier was all Rose had been raised to know. There was "them" and "us." Rose knew there was no middle ground.
Being among the English had no doubt changed Jonathan. Supporting the war most likely did too. In all their months apart her feelings for him had never waned, yet how could she continue loving someone who had chosen to follow the world's way?" (pg 8).
In the latest novel from best selling author, Tricia Goyer, A Christmas Gift for Rose, takes us back to the Amish community located in Berlin, Ohio during 1945, where we see the struggle that is working in the life of Rose Yoder when Jonathan left the Amish to join in the war efforts as a medic. It goes against everything they both were brought up to believe. Now that he has returned home, she has assured herself that their relationship is over but why do these feelings for him continue to linger? What will happen when Rose discovers that she too was born English? What will happen to the feelings she still has for Jonathan or will the faith she was brought up on as an Amish woman be too hard to let go of?
I received A Christmas Gift for Rose by Tricia Goyer compliments of Zondervan Publishing and Litfuse Publicity for my honest review. I did not receive any monetary compensation and the review is based on my personal opinion of the book. I love getting the opportunity to review books that bring not only a love for reading during the Christmas season but also share a wonderful message that lasts long after you finish the final page. Tricia Goyer is definitely one of my favorite authors so I LOVED being able to review this book just in time for the upcoming Christmas season. Trust me, you'll want to pick this one up if you love Christian Amish Romances set in the 1940's during a time of war for both the Amish and English communities. This shows what it really means behind sacrifice, deep love and discovering one's own true identity. The answers might just surprise you. I easily give this one a 5 out of 5 stars!
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- Hardcover: 192 pages
- Publisher: Zondervan (September 24, 2013)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0310336783
- ISBN-13: 978-0310336785
- Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.2 x 0.8 inches
Wonderful review! This is a great book.
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