Fiction - Religion & Beliefs
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Overview
Slipping. Lydia Bontrager's youngest sister is frighteningly ill, and as a good Amish daughter, it falls to Lydia to care for her siblings and keep the household running, in addition to working as a teacher's assistant and helping part time at her grandmother's bakery. Succumbing to stress, Lydia gives in to one wild night and returns home drunk. The secret of that mistake leaves Lydia feeling even more restless and confused, especially when Joshua, the only boy she's ever loved, becomes increasingly distant. When a non-Amish boy moves in nearby, Lydia finds someone who understands her, but the community is convinced Lydia is becoming too reckless. With the pressures at home and her sister's worsening condition, a splintering relationship with Joshua, and her own growing questions over what is right, Lydia could lose everything that she's ever held close.Editorials
VOYA -
Sixteen-and-a-half-year old Lydia is ready for a first boyfriend (and future husband) in her Pennsylvania Amish community. She has her heart set on childhood friend. Joshua, but recently he has seemed distant and unavailable. Just at this time, her baby sister, Ruthie, who has been suffering from a lingering illness, is diagnosed with leukemia and scheduled for treatments at a distant hospital, requiring her mother's absence and Lydia's leadership in family duties. Lydia chafes at the extra work and suffers from guilt, fear, and sadness. In a moment of frustration, while at a youth gathering, she hides behind a barn with a known troublemaker and drinks beer, a sin she knows could lead to severe punishment. To make matters worse, she inadvertently develops a friendship with a new "English" neighbor boy, something severely condemned in her tightly-knit community. The eighth book by this writer of Amish novels, Reckless Heart is an introspective, slow-moving examination of turmoil faced by a young woman seeking to find her place among loving but demanding elders. Despite the happy ending, readers are left asking hard questions about Amish life. Simple, repetitive prose sprinkled with Pennsylvania Dutch (defined in a glossary) and the absence of action make the book an easy read. Reviewer: Laura WoodruffBook Details
Published
April 23, 2012
Publisher
Zondervan
Pages
272
Format
Paperback
ISBN
9780310719847