Sister's of the Quilt by Cindy Woodsmall

It is time for me to add some more book reviews. I've been reading and reading and reading, and not reviewing! Whoops!

Title: Sister’s of the Quilt by Cindy Woodsmall

Rating: ★★★★★

Synopsis:

When the Heart Cries

Her life among her Amish community brutally interrupted, seventeen-year-old Hannah Lapp faces questions neither family, nor fiancé, nor even faith can easily answer. The first book in the Sisters of the Quilt series, When the Heart Cries will ignite a broader understanding of others’ beliefs and a God-given strength to deal with pain we all experience.

When the Morning Comes

Rejected by those she loves, Hannah Lapp leaves her Amish community and seeks refuge in the world outside, leaving her family and friends to wrestle with the painful truths that emerge in the wake of her disappearance. As she struggles to find her place in the confusing Englischer world, her community deals with the turbulent aftermath of her departure.

When the Soul Mends

Hoping to help her sister, Hannah Lapp reluctantly returns to the Old Order Amish community she fled in disgrace more than two years earlier. When hidden truths are revealed about her former fiancé, she must choose whether to return to the Plain life or to the Englischer man who adores her in this captivating conclusion to the Sisters of the Quilt series.

Date Published: 2010

Acquired: Library

Reading this trilogy was a long time in coming. I checked it out from the library once, ended up taking it back without having read it...checked it out again about two months ago and renewed it three times before I finally applied myself (the reviews I've read on this book simply do not do it justice) rather than reading other things.

I finished reading "Sisters of the Quilt" after a three day marathon. I enjoyed it more than I can say. As far as typical Amish fiction goes, it brought such depth and true novel-writing to the table. It's probably the "noveliest" book series I've read in Amish fiction. It did so much more than tell a simple love story. I really connected with these characters and was very sorry to leave them behind. I got emotionally involved with Hannah’s sister’s mental health issues, with Hannah’s struggles in and out of the Amish community. I was grieved when she was judged so wrongly by her family and friends and I rejoiced with her as she started over, found her aunt, and like every reader, I was so very happy when she found her way back home again and was able to start over with Paul.  

This story just felt a bit more mature and grown up in comparison to so many I have read. Woodsmall’s characters have layer and depth and she did a wonderful, patient, and complete job telling such a rich and complicated story. I’m even more pleased that I enjoyed her so much because she is a fellow Georgian. J

Her story-telling is exceptional and I'm so thankful that I finally opened this book and devoured it appropriately. I read so much that I rarely have a problem setting down a finished book and snatching up another. However, it took me a while to come back out of Hannah and Paul's lives and begin functioning in the present again! For me, that’s a sign of an exceptional story.