Marlena needed time to let things sink in. It was beyond her how all this could possibly work out–adding the care of an infant to her daily routine. Fortunately, it would just be until Luella returned home from the hospital and was stronger. No more than a couple weeks, surely. Marlena Wenger’s life takes an unexpected turn on the day she learns she must care for her estranged sister’s baby. Spending the summer in Brownstown, Pennsylvania, to assist her Mennonite grandmother, and miles from Marlena’s Old Order Amish beau, she feels out of her element in nearly every respect. Yet Marlena determines to do her best and stay focused on her future, even as those hopes become drastically altered.
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Summary
The Love Letters by Beverly Lewis is quite different from her other Amish novels. First, this is a stand alone story. You haven't missed something key that is found in a previous book. The setting is Pennsylvania, however it's not the area of Pennsylvania that I'm used to finding Lewis's books set. Another difference is that in this novel, she introduces more about the different Amish churches: the Low, Old Order Amish, the High Beachy Amish and then Amish orders in between. The difference is in how conservative they are, the low being the most conservative; whether or not it is acceptable to pray out loud; and assurance of salvation. I really appreciate her integrating these bits of information throughout her storyline, and revealing how this can stir up conflict within the Anabaptist communities of Amish and Mennonites. She shows different areas of conflict, such as a young Amish woman leaving the Amish to go fancy, marrying an Englisher. Another conflict is a young Amish woman being courted by a beau in an old order Amish church while her own parents have moved into the Beachy Amish order. We see sisters divided due to one having married into the old order and the other marrying into a more progressive order. And inserted into all of this is a young teenage disabled Amish boy looking to win his father's approval. He finally manages to gain it when he befriends an older gentleman who has memory problems. It's really quite a wonderful read, and Ms. Lewis crafts her usual brilliantly told story full of rich spiritual lessons. The title The Love Letters refers to two sets of love letters. One set shows a love story long lived, one of tenderness and admiration and forgiveness. The other set, one of young love, reveals that the supposed love was not so deep and abiding after all.
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