Child of Mine

Despite what the cover looks like, I would not call this an 'Amish novel' - only one of the characteris is Amish, and the vast majority of the book is set in the 'English' world. Instead, it is a story of family secrets, relationships, forgiveness and healing: very similar in style to Lisa Wingate's novels. I found it slow to start, but, once it got going, I couldn't put it down! Plot twist after plot twist, that I just couldn't see coming, kept me gripped until I reached the very end. A really beautiful story.

I always enjoy Beverly Lewis's stories based on Amish life and this one was as good as ever. No doubt her husband's involvement in writing this particular book added something special too. One of the features of this story is that, whilst one of the major characters lives according to her traditional Amish faith and upbringing, and still belongs to a slightly more modern Amish community, the rest of the characters are what the Amish refer to as """"Englischers"""". It is characteristically a gentle, warm and highly readable story, with a plot that has enough twists, turns and surprises to add just the right amount of suspense for someone who likes it to be moderate. Most of the characters are highly likeable and you can't help but fall in love with 8-year-old Natalie and want everything to turn out perfectly for her, as well as her dad and Kelly, who is searching for her child, stolen and sold on the black adoption market when she was just a baby. At the same time, your desire for Natalie's Amish nanny, Laura's own happy ending, creates some conflict in your hopes for the outcome of Kelly's search. While the content is not overtly spiritual, it certainly has Christian overtones, in addition to the Amish element, the major characters are Christians, and Christian teaching, ethics and behaviour crop up naturally along the way. A lovely story by competent authors!

I loved this book. I was suprised to find it contained many plot twists and turns, keeping me guessing until the final few chapters of the story. David and Beverly have crafted a fantastic storyline, weaving through elements of faith without being pushy. Forgiveness, grief and loss are addressed within an engaging story. \\r\\nThis is definetly one of Beverly's best novels yet! I would have given it 4. 5 stars if that were an option :)