Book Review – Somewhere to Belong, by Judith Miller

This story is set in the late 1870’s in the Amana Colonies in Iowa.  Having visited the Amanas Colonies several times, I was very excited to read this book!  It did not disappoint.

The story centers on two young women, Johanna and Berta.  Johanna has lived in Amana her entire life.  Her brother, upon reaching adulthood, left the Amana way of life and moved to Chicago, and this has left Johanna curious about life outside of the colonies.  Her parents are very protective, having lost one son to the outside world, and another son to an ice-skating accident that ended his life. 

The other girl, Berta, is from Chicago and used to the privileged lifestyle of her wealthy family.  She is all about fun, not rules.  Her family has moved to Amana for reasons Berta can only guess, and she struggles with the rebelliousness in herself and the many rules of community life that she encounters in Amana.

These young women are on a journey to discover themselves and although they are on much different paths, the friendship they form is a help and encouragement to them both.  There is a bit of mystery playing out in each of their families… for Johanna it has to do with the circumstances of her brother’s death and why her other brother moved away.  For Berta, the mystery surrounds her father and why the family moved to Amana in the first place.

There is also a welcome bit of romance for both girls.   But the main story is how each of them comes to an understanding of who they are, what they believe, and where they belong. 

I enjoyed this book, but felt it was geared towards teenage girls and young women who are suffering from a lack of peace within themselves… wondering what God has to do with them and what life has in store for them.  It was a quick and entertaining read, and I would recommend it to young women (16 to 21) as a wholesome alternative to many secular books.

Thank you to Bethany House for providing me with a free copy of this book to review.

Books of the Week – June 5, 2010

We have been reading so many good, good, GOOD books lately!  M and I (and Daddy too!) just love all the ones in the carousel above, so please check them out. 

It was hard to decide on just a couple to talk more about (I usually try to just write about 2 books in detail, since I tend to be wordy… ).  And I decided to go with the two that M has been requesting almost daily over the past two weeks.

First, Encore for Eleanor, by Bill Peet.  Peet has become one of our very favorite authors.  This is a cute story about a circus elephant who falls from her stilts one day and is sent to spend the rest of her days at the zoo.  Poor Eleanor – she is so talented, but what can she do at a zoo?  Everyone stares at her and she stares back, and finally decides to hide in her zoo barn.  Thanks to a teenage girl who visits the zoo, Eleanor discovers a new talent and happily becomes a performing elephant again.  M loves this book so much, I think we are going to make some stilts like Ticia’s to go along with this book.  (I know… I said I was going to make them immediately after you wrote that post, Ticia, but you should know nothing ever gets done that quickly around here.)

Secondly, Farmer Dale’s Red Pickup Truck, by Lisa Wheeler.Wheeler is quickly becoming one of our favorite authors too.  In fact, this story is also about animals with interesting talents.  The story is in rhyme and it’s very well done, which is always important to me.  There is nothing worse than a rhyming story with a rhythm that doesn’t work, or words that don’t really rhyme.  Sweet-tempered farmer Dale picks up several animals on the way to a talent show in town; they end up being too much of a load and the old truck breaks down.  The sheep picks on the cow, the cow bosses everyone around, the pig is sort of whiney… it’s actually a pretty funny story.  I love when the cow is steering while Dale pushes and when he says, “ turn the key”  the sheep says, “He can’t, he’s got no h-a-a-a-nds”.  Cracks me up every time! :)  They actually learn a lesson about working together by the end of the story, but that’s almost eclipsed by just how much fun this book is.

For more reviews of children’s books, check out Mouse Grows, Mouse Learns and Feed Me Books Friday.

Have a beautiful day! :)