When Anna König first meets Bairn, the Scottish ship carpenter of the Charming Nancy, their encounter is anything but pleasant. Anna is on the ship only to ensure the safe arrival of her loved ones to the New World. Hardened by years of living at sea, Bairn resents toting these naïve farmers--dubbed "Peculiars" by deckhands--across the ocean. As delays, storms, illness, and diminishing provisions afflict crew and passengers alike, Bairn finds himself drawn to Anna's serene nature. For her part, Anna can't seem to stay away from the aloof carpenter, despite warnings. When an act of sacrifice leaves Anna in peril, Bairn discovers he may not have left his faith as firmly in the past as he thought. But has the revelation come too late?
My thoughts: This book is very different from a lot of the popular Amish fiction stories (and I mean that in a nice way!), since it goes back to when some of the Amish came to America to settle. Anna's story takes place in 1737, and is the story of a young woman who thinks to make the journey to America as a translator, and then return to her aging grandparents. But, as she gets to know the ship's carpenter, she discovers that God might have other plans.
I love the history in this story! I haven't read a whole lot about the first Amish settlements, so I especially enjoyed the friendly history lesson (if you don't care for history, you will still like this book, since it isn't dry at all!). I like all the characters that are woven into the story and look forward to reading the rest of the series! This book is a fun, new experience.
I received this book from Revell in exchange for my honest review.
Amanda, I wanted to review this novel, but I had my plate full at the time. It does look very good! Glad to know it's not dry!
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean! I am thinking that I need to cut back some, since we are putting in a large garden.;)
DeleteThis one is a good one, if you have the time to pick it up!