Mary Ellis (2) (1951–)

Julia’s children are grown with families of their own, and no longer living near. Julia misses her kids and her grandkids so much that she decides to hold a reunion with them all - no excuses for missing this event. So everyone arrives home, but some come with problems, some are unhappy, and some need to make life-changing decisions. New relationships are blooming but not with thorns, and old ones need to clear up some misunderstandings. It’s quite an entertaining tale, filled with a large cast of characters, all interesting and likable. Life may not always be easy, but somehow, things always work out. Though this is the fourth book in the series, it still works well as a stand-alone, and readers should little trouble understanding the characters and their backstories.… (mais)

Mary Ellis is one of my favorite Amish fiction authors. A lot of her Amish stories are set in the Midwest and the characters are well developed and fewer in number. When I start a book by her, I want to keep reading until the end and I am sad when it is getting ready to end.

Megan Yost is in size, the youngest in a family, her character reminded my mother who was also the smallest and often called the runt in the family. Her ambition was to become a school teacher and be the best that she could be. Her curiosity sometime got her into trouble and her goal of being of a teacher disappointed her best friend and suitor. He wanted to marry and have children soon.

A rash of hate crimes against the Amish came to the attention of Megan' s father who was also a bishop and unlike the custom of Amish working out the problem in the community, he contacted the local sheriff and then felt very uncomfortable with his decision. The sheriff in turn contacted the FBI. Then we are introduced Agent Thomas Mast who has an interesting background and feels more at home in the country and with nature and a lot of city folks.

I highly recommend this book! My family experienced hate crimes on a smaller scale than the Amish in this story and I liked the way that sheriff handled in this book much better than what we experienced in real life.… (mais)