The Miting - Dee Yoder

5 Stars!

ABOUT THE BOOK -

Leah is seventeen and Amish. Like many her age, she has lots of questions, but the temporary flight of freedom known as rumspringen is not the answer for her. She does not desire Englisher fashion, all-night parties, movies, or lots of boyfriends. Leah is seeking to understand her relationship with God, to deepen and broaden her faith by joining a Bible study hosted by an ex-Amish couple. She wants to know why Amish life is the only lifestyle her family accepts, why the church has so many rules, and...most disturbing, how godly men can allow her best friend to be abused in her own home.

In the pressure-cooker environment of church and family, Leah is not allowed to ask these questions. When finally she reaches the breaking point, she walks away from the Old Order Amish life that is all she has known. Though adapting amiably to the Englisher world, Leah is tormented with homesickness. Returning to the community, however, entails a journey of pain and sorrow Leah could never have imagined.

The miting--shunning--that will now be Leah's unendurable oppression every day is beyond her most devoted attempts to believe or understand. All the bishop and her family ask is that she abandon her practice of reading the Bible. Is that a price she is willing to pay?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR -

Dee Yoder's fiction is based on the lives of her former-Amish friends. She is actively involved in the Mission to Amish People ministry as a mentor, volunteer, and author. In addition to writing over eighty short stories, her coming-of-age novel, The Powerful Odor of Mendacity, won the FaithWriters Page Turner contest in 2011. Dee lives in central Ohio.

MY REVIEW -

Fantastic book! This book is very real. As you all know I read a lot of Amish fiction and even non-fiction. Some of you may not know this though - I live in the finger-lakes area of NY and there are a LOT of Amish here! I am surrounded by them in my everyday life. I go to an Amish store at least two times a week during the summer. Thats where I get most, if not all, of my veggies and plants.

This book had a very different feel to it than the other stories I have read. The other ones were great, nice reading and there is usually someone who does want to leave the Amish but I feel like it is always candy coated to make a nice story - and I enjoy that too don't get me wrong. This book doesn't do that. This book is so real - I feel like a fly on the wall eavesdropping. Sometimes I even felt like "Should I be listening to that? LOL"It says that her fiction is based on real people so its no wonder it feels so real.

This is a very interesting book that kept up the pace all throughout! With its very good descriptions and excellent character development. I loved Leah and I could really feel her dilemma. Once she accepted Jesus as her Savior she struggled staying with her Old Order Amish family. They and the Bishop believed it was a sin! Imagine! She, even at only seventeen, had some very hard decisions to make about her own life.

I read the whole last half of this book in one sitting because I HAD to know what was going to happen to Leah. This story moves right along and is a very interesting read! I highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in Amish living and Amish fiction.

Thank you Kregel for sending me this book to read and review.
They provided this book to me for free in exchange for an honest review.

Get your copy of this book from Amazon - HERE
And today - May 19 (maybe because its my birthday) - its FREE!!!!!