License Plates And Baby Blankets

Return To Huckleberry Hill by Jennifer Beckstrand is a delightful Amish romance which I loved. The tale grabbed my interest from the start as I warmed to both the setting and characters.

With comprehensive descriptions, Jennifer Beckstrand ‘walked’ me through the novel. I ‘saw’ the countryside and could almost ‘smell’ the cooking. The atmosphere was warm and jovial.

The characters were realistically drawn and there were some wonderfully humorous moments. I ‘felt’ like I was hearing the tale of friends rather than reading a novel.

There were some Godly themes of pride, forgiveness and guilt. In thinking of ourselves as better than others, there is an air of judgment surrounding some characters. We are never to judge or think of ourselves more highly than others. Our job is to love and to spread kindness as embodied in one of the characters.

Forgiveness and guilt go hand in hand. Forgiveness may be hard but we need to extend it. Guilt will drag us down if we do not deal with it.

Friends are important. True friends will go the extra mile and need to be cherished.

For some, outer appearances are key. God does not look at our outside, He is more concerned with the state of our heart and how we are progressing on our journey with Him and our interaction with our fellow man.

We are called to behave like the character of Jesus and practice servanthood. This needs to be done cheerfully and not grudgingly.

The novel shows the power of words. Words spoken in anger can wound. Once the words leave our mouths we cannot take them back. Words can be used to tear down or build up. We need to make sure the words coming from our mouths are positive and life affirming. We have the power of life and death in our tongues which need to be tamed.

The Amish are a community. This really exudes from the novel with its knitting group, singing and generally helping others.

I always love Jennifer Beckstrand’s writings. They are warm and witty and leave me with a smile on my face and hope in my heart.

A marvellous read.

I received this book for free. A favourable review was not required and all views expressed are my own.

JULIA WILSON

 

Return To Huckleberry Hill blog tour on Celebrate Lit

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