BESIDE STILL WATERS by TRICIA GOYER book review

A LITTLE BOUT THE BOOK

Marianna Sommer believes she knows where her life is headed. Nineteen years old and Amish, her plan is to get baptized into the church, marry Aaron Zook, and live in the only community she's ever known.

When Marianna's family moves from Indiana to Montana she discovers life and faith will never be the same. As she builds an easy friendship with local guy, Ben Stone, Ben not only draws her heart, he also gets her thinking about what loving God and living in community is all about.

As Marianna struggles to find "home", she also encounters God in intimate ways.

MY THOUGHTS ON THE BOOK

Before this Tricia Goyer novel I had never read an Amish novel.  I must say I was quite intrigued by the book and felt terrible for Marianna and he problems with always wanting to feel adequate cause of the loss of her sisters on the night she was born.  I also felt pain for her when she had to get up and leave Indiana and Aaron to move with her parents to Montana to keep her younger siblings from her older borther, Levi.  Levi had chosen to leave the Amish lifestyle and was no longer a part of their community.  She does plead to stay but in the end she leaves her Amish community, her older brother, and her childhood love.

 Of course the book does not stop there and the Amish community in Montana is not like the one she is used to.  This community works closely with the English and do a lot of things different than Marianna is used to.  Of course to make things even more interesting there is another guy in Montana named Ben.  He seems perfect and does everything right but he has just one flaw - he is not Amish. 

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and found myself finishing it in one sitting and am anxiously awaiting Book Two in the series so I can find out what happens next in the life of Marianna.  This is definitely a must read for any fan of a Amish literature or anyone looking for a good book period.  You can find out more about this book and Tricia Goyer's other works HERE.

*I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of the Beside Still Waters Campaign and received a copy of the book and a promotional item to thank me for taking the time to participate.