Beverly Lewis

Book 1 of Abram's Daughters series from bestselling author Beverly Lewis. Years of secrecy bind the tiny community of Gobbler's Knob together more than the present inhabitants know, and the Plain folk who farm the land rarely interact with the fancy locals. So when Sadie is beguiled by a dark-haired English boy, it is Sadie's younger sister, Leah, who suffers from her sister's shameful loss of innocence. And what of Leah's sweetheart, Jonas Mast, sent to Ohio under the Bishop's command? Drawn into an incomprehensible pact with her older sister, Leah finds her dreams spinning out of control, even as she clings desperately to the promises of God. The Covenant begins a powerful Lancaster portrait of the power of family and the miracle of hope.

Covenant, The

Jeni Enjaian

A review from my old blog... (joint review of The Covenant and The Sacrifice)

I found myself drawn into these books like I haven't been for a long time. Many of these books on my list are not books that I would normally read for pleasure. The reasons for that are various. Many of the books from the past week aren't my normal fare simply because I am a college graduate and not in elementary school or middle school. That's not to say that they aren't good books of course. Some of the other books fall outside my normal range because I have matured in my tastes in reading (books like that are all of the Gilbert Morris books). Even as I sit and write this review I can't wait to dive into the last book, the conclusion of this story and finally see Leah become Jonas' Leah.

I have always been intrigued by the Amish and reading Mrs. Lewis' books have often satisfied or intensified that curiosity. I also find it interesting how she deals with the question of the right way to find God and whether an Amish person can truly be a child of God. She doesn't have a pat answer for every character. For every character that rebels against the Old Order Amish ways and finds God outside the Amish church she has one that finds truth in the church but obviously more so than that... in a desire to serve God in the best way possible.

*Update*
This book did not survive a second read. Once again, Mrs. Lewis avoided much of the egregious issues that plagued her early novels. However, this book continued to alternate between far too many characters in such rapid succession that the reader could not grasp the individual attributes of each character. It makes me wonder if Mrs. Lewis had a grasp on the individual attributes of her characters either. I almost read the remainder of the books in the series to see how things turned out but a quick read of the final few pages of the final book satisfied that curiosity. The entire series now sits on the bench waiting to be donated. Thus, none of Mrs. Lewis books remain in my collection.

Covenant, The

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