Rumspringa's Hope (Spirit of the Amish, Book 1) by Beth Shriver

Book Description:  Torn between the affections of two men, will Emma's time away from home help her choose?

Although promised to the widowed neighbor Zeb, Emma is considering leaving her Amish community to watch over her younger brother Mark when he leaves for Philadelphia to explore the outside world during his Rumspringa.

There, she reconnects with her former beau Caleb, who protects the Amish teens, introducing them to his life evangelizing and helping the homeless. Unbeknownst to Emma, Caleb is glad for the opportunity to spend time with her and hopes to win her back.

Struck by the power of evangelism and outreach, Emma begins to feel a draw to Caleb's way of life. When she doesn’t return home when she promised, Zeb goes to the city to find her, forcing Emma to choose in which of their two worlds she really belongs.

My Thoughts:  One thing I've found out about Beth Shriver's books is that the reader will either love them or hate them.  I happen to be in the first category...I love them.  Yes, for some readers this read may be a tad slow but one must read on for the information about what is going on.

This is the first book in the Spirit of the Amish:  Three young Amish women face overwhelming obstacles and must struggle to find out who they are and what they believe. Although each is dealing with her own unique situation, they all must discover how to follow their dreams and stay true to themselves, whether their journeys take them away from--or back to--their Amish communities.

This read is more about what Amish teens do on their rumpspringa...their "running around" time.  So, for me it was not "the usual" Amish read.  I found it to be quite fascinating and was drawn to Emma's story. 

I found the "evangelism" of this read great!  It's so refreshing when christian fiction is actually christian and the reader feels the love of God through the written word.

Loved this story!

*This book was provided for review by Bookteria*

• Series: Spirit of the Amish (Book 1)
• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Realms (May 6, 2014)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1621365999
• ISBN-13: 978-1621365990