I want to thank NetGalley and the Publisher for making a review copy of this book available to me. The book will be released on February 1, 2016, you can pre-order it on Amazon.
Joshua finds that his brother Alton is causing quite a bit
of trouble during his “running around” phase of teenager years. He has bought a
truck, taken up smoking and often times drinks and gets drunk, even though he
is underage.
Joshua is the much older, more conservative, normal Amish
boy that has deep ties to his family, to his church and to the farming life he
leads. He doesn’t need distractions. So much so that he has yet to marry even
though he is approaching thirty years of age.
But in a twist of fate his parents and the Bishop ask him to
go on a “Mission Trip” to a small island off the coast of Texas where a
hurricane has torn up the town and most of the island and people need help
rebuilding their homes.
The catch is this, they are sending Alton and they want
Joshua to go as his chaperon to keep an eye on him.
But also going on the trip is Becca Troyer, a nice young
Amish girl that Joshua has noticed but never really made any effort to get to
know her.
Now, the other side of this story is the parallel story of
Charlie, his dog Quitz, and a grandmother and two children who have lost their
home to the hurricane. Their lives will intersect with those of Joshua, Alton,
Becca and another young girl Sara who come to help through Mennonite Disaster
Relief.
The story is very good and touches on several subjects, such
as;
Loss
Grief
Pain
Unforgiveness
Profiling of others
Eating disorders
Substance abuse
Commitment and Loyalty
The way they all come together is really quite well done.
Then the reading guide at the end of the book will allow Book Clubs to have a
great time of reading and talking through what they learned.
I hope you enjoy it as much as I did
