About the book:
Family, community, faith, and love.
These “quilt blocks” sewn together made Ariana’s beautiful life.
When they are pulled to pieces,
will anything familiar remain?
The Old Order Amish life Ariana Brenneman loved vanished virtually overnight with the discovery that she was switched at birth twenty years ago. Now she’s immersed in the Englischer world, getting to know her mother and under the authority of her biological father, an atheist intellectual with resolute plans to expand Ariana’s worldview. Only Quill Schlabach, a childhood friend living Englisch, can steady the tilting ground between Ariana’s two worlds, but can she trust him after so many betrayals?
At the same time, Skylar Nash is forced to choose rehab or spend several months with her true relatives, the large Brenneman family and their seemingly backward life—no electricity, no technology, no fun. What the young woman can’t leave behind is her addiction to illegal prescription drugs and a deep emptiness from the belief that she doesn’t belong in either family.
New ties are binding Ariana and Skylar to the lives they were meant to have. Can they find the wisdom and strength they’ll need to follow God’s threads into unexpected futures?
Fraying at the Edge is the second novel in The Amish of Summer Grove series.
My review:
I loved this fascinating book! Talk about a culture shock for both girls! Ariana goes from a loving, very conservative family and community to angry parents who want to throw her in the deep end of Englisch life. I really felt for Ariana and her confusion and angst about dealing with everything. I loved how she had to work through the legalism and understand why is she doing the things she's doing. Why does she obey the Ordnung? Did God really command them to do or wear certain things or not do or wear them. Are we questioning what we're told by our pastors and others in authority and measuring it against the Bible, not just taking their word for what God said or meant. I could relate to her struggle with being judgmental. Sometimes it's hard to see people do certain things that are wrong morally or even just seem stupid to you and not judge them. However, only God has the right to judge. I used to see things as more black and white, just like Ariana, but as I've gotten older I see the gray more and more. There was also a situation she got herself into because she was too naive and Quill had some great advice about not being too nice to someone who was trying to use you so that you aren't using your good sense or being wise. I really enjoyed Cameron, her step-sister; she was pretty funny and brutally honest. Skylar was a bit hard to take as she was struggling with her addiction and wasn't particularly pleasant to be around. I also felt sorry for her, however, to go from a pretty easy life to one of such physical labor and none of the entertainment she was used to. I liked getting the different viewpoints of Quill, Ariana and Skylar. I liked seeing Ariana grow both as a person and in her spiritual life and also see how her relationships with her family and Quill evolved. You definitely have to read the first book in the series before this one, though there is a handy summary of the first book at the beginning of this one. There's also a glossary and a list of main characters. I highly recommend this book if you like Amish stories or just a unique tale of two girls trying to find where they belong.
I received this book free from Waterbrook Multnomah in exchange for an honest review.
Book three just released yesterday!
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