As my title above suggests, I have read Judith Miller before, particularly when she partnered with Traci Peterson. And I have loved her stories, so please believe me, it pains me to write this review. This book, however, was below par for her. Readers of this genre are generally Christians looking for inspirational, uplifting stories. I found this story tedious and to be honest, I found the characters incredibly annoying. Whining was the voice of choice, retribution, carping, nit-picking, deliberately watching others for flaws or misdeeds, criticism, etc etc ... hardly the values a Christian cherishes. The characters were childish and unlovable and I was truly disappointed. For example, the woman who runs the kitchen in the Amana settlement is so unkind and harsh, hardly Christian in her attitude. She displays complete lack of compassion, is judgmental in the extreme and then tosses out scriptures that quote virtues she is totally devoid of. And she is not the only one ... they all do it!! The settlement appears to be one huge slave colony, since no-one gets paid for their labors and apparently, they all seem to resent it to one degree or another. It also came across as a little Animal Farm-ish, but in this I mean some Christians are more equal than others. To throw in an attitudinal transformation at the end of the book when you have portrayed every single character as either mean spirited, little, harsh, carping, jealous or small-minded just doesn't cut it. For a group of people who joined together to display Christian values and live a life apart from the "world", I believe the worldly characters could have taught the Christians a thing or two. Unless you want to spend a few tortuous hours, I would give this one a wide miss.Read full review
This is an excellent book. well written and very satisfactory read. I like a good story that welcomes values
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