Thursday, December 6, 2012

Book Review: The Fiddler (Home to Hickory Hollow #1) by Beverly Lewis

 



I've read so many Amish Fiction stories, especially ones by Beverly Lewis, that I'm really paying attention to what makes them different.  What makes The Fiddler different is that the focus is on an Englisher, what they call a non-Amish, and it's the boy who wants to run away from Amish life.

Amelia Devries spent her entire life playing the violin and living up to her father's expectations of her becoming a world renowned violinist.  In a self-indulgent move she goes under the alias Amy Lee and plays fiddle for a Tim McGraw opening act.  On the way home, she gets caught in a terrible storm and gets lost all the way to Michael Hostetler's doorstep.

Michael Hostetler is running away, not from God, but from the Amish.  He doesn't want to make a committment to the church.  He has moved out of the Amish community and living on his own when Amelia finds him.  He wants to be a Christian, but he doesn't want to kneel down as a member of the Amish community.

Michael takes Amelia back to his family home in Hickory Hollow.  She spends a few days there, making friends, and relaxing away from the stress of her father's wants as well as her boyfriend, Byron.

Amelia and Michael use this trip and each other to discover who they are and what they really want.  Does Amelia want to travel the world as a solo violonist?  Does Michael want to leave the Amish?

The story focuses on more of the English world than Lewis's stories normally do.  That was a nice change.  The downside is that some things happen in Michael's world without explanation for the reader.  That was not nice.  It felt like an excuse to have things go the way Lewis wants them without having to come up with a way to get there.  It does not take away from the overall story.

One aspect I enjoyed was minor mentions of characters from previous stories set in Hickory Hollow, where Lewis originally set her Amish stories.  It brings her world full circle.

I read this for pure pleasure.  All opinions are my own.  I was not compensated for this review in any way.


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