The heirloom

This stand-alone prequel to best-selling Lewis' The Shunning (2002) and its Hallmark movie adaptation is a must-have for all who enjoy reading about the plain life in Amish communities and fans of inspirational fiction. Clara, a member of a very small progressive Amish community in 1990s Indiana, is mourning the death of her mother and feeling uncomfortable with her new stepmother when she finds letters from her mother's great-aunt and decides to travel to Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, to visit elderly Ella Mae. Together they work on restoring an heirloom quilt, and Clara finds worth and friendship with other young people in that community as she joins them for sings and gatherings involving volleyball and ping-pong. She feels comfortable with the stricter Old Order Amish and likes that there are eligible young men there. As she falls in love with Aaron, she has to grapple with the consequences of moving permanently away from her family and of the deeply important decision about whether to change her church affiliation.

Lewis shines in this tender, homespun Amish romance, the prequel to The Shunning. Shattered by a breakup, her mother's recent death, and her father's remarriage not long after, 19-year-old Clara Bender feels out of place in First Light, Ind. To get away, she visits her mother's widowed aunt Ella Mae Zook in Hickory Hollow, a strict Amish community in Lancaster County, Pa., whose residents place more "emphasis on rules and regulations" than on God's grace, according to her father. Ella Mae, who's grieving the loss of her husband, is thrilled to have the young woman as company, and the two bond while repairing an heirloom wedding quilt. When Clara meets local Aaron Ebersol and they develop feelings for each other, she wants to make Hickory Hollow her permanent home, though she's promised her father she'll return to First Light. As Aaron and Clara contemplate a future together, they work to secure blessings from both Clara's father and the straitlaced bishop of Hickory Hollow--a seemingly impossible task, given their religious differences and her father's steadfast belief in a personal relationship with Christ, which he worries is at risk if Clara stays. Fans of clean Amish romance will have their heartstrings tugged by this inspiring tale, which speaks to the power of new beginnings and love's ability to bridge seemingly uncrossable divides. It's a delight. (Sept.)