I was excited when I received The Wish by Beverly Lewis as I have always been a fan of her works on the Amish community. In fact, I have several complete sets of different series by Lewis. So I was eager to meet her newest Amish characters.
Leona Speicher has always felt as if she didn’t belong in her own family. But she has fit perfectly with the family of her best friend, Gloria, even dreaming of one day marrying Gloria’s brother and truly being her sister. But when Gloria’s family leaves without saying goodbye, a lot of questions are left unanswered, and Leona is left wondering if she will ever see or hear from her best friend again.
Three years pass, and Leona is about to be engaged to be married when she suddenly receives a cryptic letter from Gloria telling her she will be calling. When Leona finally speaks to her long-lost friend, she is still left wondering what could have happened and whether her friend is truly happy in her new “English” life.
Determined to find answers for herself, Leona immediately sets out to bring her friend back home. But will Gloria decide to stay English, or will she come back to her roots?
I was so disappointed by this story! First of all, I don’t believe Lewis ever truly answers what happened to Gloria’s family. There’s some vague reasons given, but the family becomes almost an after-thought. This becomes more about Leona (whom I found rather annoying and naive). Even Gloria, who is the one being “rescued,” seems to get lost behind Leona.
Second of all, I have never seen Lewis not bring the reader to a clear understanding of how to have a relationship with God. In this book, Leona seems to believe that she can “save” Gloria simply by bringing her back to her Amish roots. Instead of showing how the family can be redeemed – even if they stay “English” – it seems that the whole way to salvation is by giving up everything in this world and living as the Amish do. (I know that this is not what Lewis believes, but it seems to be the message of this particular story.)
Overall, I did not particularly enjoy this story and would recommend that you find another one of Lewis’ wonderful series to read.
*I was given this book by Bethany House Publishers. All opinions are my own.
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