The Wish by Beverly Lewis

Posted by abakersp in Amish / 0 Comments

My Review

Anytime I see the name Beverly Lewis, I just know I’m going to like the story. She is such a wonderful story teller and I have yet to meet a book of hers I didn’t enjoy. I will say that this wasn’t one of my favorites, however I still enjoyed the storyline and found myself engrossed in the book!

Beverly’s writing style has always grabbed my attention. She has the perfect mix of dialogue and narration to keep my attention on every page. Her words are descriptive enough that I can imagine the scenes vividly in my head, but not so descriptive that I just want to skip over the paragraph on go onto the next. While there were times I felt Leona had a tad too much self pity, the characters in this book were well executed and I enjoyed reading about all of them.

I do wish there had been more information about Gloria’s father and his decisions behind moving. Although it did touch on it a little later in the story, I would have liked to see his side of the story, maybe given a reason as to why those things happened, and perhaps seen this storyline come to full circle. I felt although the main story was about Leona and Gloria and their paths, Arkansas Joe didn’t get the attention I felt his character deserved. And while I cannot give specific information because of spoiling the book, I did not care for how his storyline ended.

I did enjoy how Beverly wove Gloria’s story and felt a connection to her character. Sometimes in life we have to choose whether to go with Gods direction for us, or go with family. It is certainly not an easy decision for anyone to make and I appreciated Beverly making that clear for Gloria. I do not feel she made any hasty decisions which made the story that much more believable. I also liked seeing her point of view throughout the book, rather than just Leona’s. It always nice to see what the other characters are feeling and experiencing.

I think any Amish Fiction reader will enjoy this book as well as Beverly Lewis fans. Once you dive in, I think you’ll want to just spend the entire afternoon getting to know Leona, Gloria, and their families. I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review which I have given.

Purchase your copy here!
About The Book

Leona Speicher got the “sister” she’d always dreamed of the day Gloria Gingerich and her family moved to Lancaster County Amish farmland. The Arkansas newcomers seem to be everything a devout Plain family should be, and Leona can’t help comparing Gloria’s engaging young parents to her own.

Leona’s cousin shows a romantic interest in Gloria around the same time as Gloria’s older brother expresses his fondness for Leona–it seems likely the two young women will marry into each other’s families, remaining close friends for life. Thus, Leona is shocked when the Gingeriches suddenly pack up and disappear after being expelled from the church for reasons no one will discuss. Despite Leona’s pleas, Gloria goes with them, leaving more than one broken heart behind.

When Gloria unexpectedly contacts Leona after a silence of several years, Leona makes up her mind to persuade her friend to return to Lancaster County and the Amish ways. Leona’s fiancé, the deacon’s son, is alarmed when Leona decides to go after Gloria. Will Leona’s dearest wish lead to her own undoing?