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Early Christmas Tale

I've written before that Amish fiction has puzzled me and given me a bit of concern.  But, every once in awhile, I take another chance on it.  This week I read A Lancaster County Christmas by Suzanne Woods Fisher.  Here's my disclaimer:  This is fiction.  It is not nonfiction.  Please keep this in mind if you read this book.  Suzanne Woods Fisher hosts a radio show called Amish Wisdom.  I listened to a short excerpt of the show yesterday, which I do have thoughts about, but those thoughts are probably better suited to a separate post.  So, I'll limit this review to this book. 

Storyline:  Jaime and C.J. have been married for 3 years.  Jaime is having doubts about her marriage and her ideas about what life should be have gotten skewed by the influence of her father who has reappeared in her life after being an absentee father almost her entire life.  Mattie and Sol are Amish and live with their son, Danny, and nephew, Zach, on a farm.  The two families intersect when Danny leaves his whistle at the doctor's office and the doctor asks Jaime to return it to him.  Jaime and C.J. find themselves stuck at the Amish family's home over the Christmas holidays when they try to return the whistle as they are leaving town.  The story is about what transpires over those few days and how hearts change.

Writing:  I thought that her writing was better than in another book I read by her.  It was pretty good and the dialogue was far less contrived than another fiction book I read recently by a different author. 

Plot:  The plot is clear in the first chapter.  No surprises.

Conclusion:  If you enjoy Amish fiction, then you'll probably really like this book.  Is this a genre I'd recommend?  Not really.  But, that's another topic for another day...

Please note that I was given a complimentary copy of this book for review by Revell Publishing.
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