I admit it...I like stories set in the Amish country. There's just something about the Amish, the fact that they don't need or want us, that fascinates me. I'm fascinated by the lifestyle and the traditions which seem so foreign to us Englishers. I suppose that's why I continue to pick up Beverly Lewis's works whenever a new book comes out. The Longing is the third in the Courtship of Nellie Mae Fisher trilogy, and it brings the series to a satisfying, if very predictable, close.
The second book in the series left me hanging and ready to move on, and this entry picks up the story nicely. Nellie Mae is mourning the loss of her younger sister Suzy and the ending of her relationship with Caleb, who doesn't believe in the New Order Amish church Nellie's found so intriguing. Nellie's also worried about her older sister Rhoda who has left the Plain life, and her friend Rosanna who has had many miscarriages and has lost her adopted twins. My biggest complaint is that Lewis is often times overly preachy in my view, but once I can get past her need to constantly quote scripture, I can find a good tale set in a place I don't understand but enjoy reading about.
One caveat for Mrs. Lewis, however; it'd be truly nice if she found a different formula for her next series of books. I felt there wasn't much difference in this trilogy than Annie's People, with the Christian situations being very similar. I much preferred her series on Abraham's Daughters which gave us some very different themes. My full Amazon review can be found at http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0764203126/ref=cm_cr_thx_view. I hope you'll decide to visit the site and vote. And now blogger is acting weirdly when I try to hit enter, so I'll just sign off here as ~taminator40.
