Forbidden, The - eBook

Beverly Lewis, born in the heart of Pennsylvania Dutch country, is The New York Times bestselling author of more than eighty books. Her stories have been published in eleven languages worldwide. A keen interest in her mother's Plain heritage has inspired Beverly to write many Amish-related novels, beginning with The Shunning, which has sold more than one million copies and was recently made into an Original Hallmark Channel movie. In 2007 The Brethren was honored with a Christy Award. She has been interviewed by both national and international media, including Time magazine, the Associated Press, and the BBC. Beverly lives with her husband, David, in Colorado. Visit her Web site at www.beverlylewis.com for more information.

In The Forbidden, the second of three books in The Courtship of Nellie Fisher series, Beverly Lewis deals with issues relevant to modern Christians. Nellie Fisher loves Caleb Yoder, but a split in their Amish church divides their families. Nellie's parents and sisters follow the New Order, while Caleb's stubborn father refuses to budge from the ways of the Old Order. Knowing that her future depends on which Order she chooses to follow, Nellie struggles in her efforts to take sides. Meanwhile, her family tires to cope with the recent loss of her sister, Suzy, and with Nellie's other sister Rhoda's increasing interest in the "Englischer's" world. The Fisher and Yoder families are not the only families affected by the clashing Orders, and Lewis draws the reader into the lives of all those caught in the conflict.

With a slow start, Forbidden lacks the descriptions needed to visualize the setting and people, but the story itself makes up for that. Lewis switches points of view frequently throughout the book, making it confusing for readers who have not read the first book in her Courting series, but these changes give the reader an insightful view of the varying conflicts created by splits in churches.

As characters confront issues of forgiveness, devotion, and faith, Lewis shows the importance of love and prayer in the Christian life. She addresses the Christian's quest for assurance of salvation, questions regarding how to help others come to that same assurance, the need to be in the world but not of the world, and personal struggles to understand God's will. The heart of The Forbidden can be found as Nellie’s mother tells her, "It's not so much how we manage to get through the hard things as it is being willing to cling to God's promises while we're getting there" (p. 267). Elias, Nellie's father, later recalls a verse in the Bible (Acts 1:7) and says, "'Tis not for us to know the times and the seasons, nor the hearts of men… but to simply trust" (p. 290). – Harmony Wheeler, www.ChristianBookPreviews.com

Book two of Lewis's series is exactly the kind of predictable Amish novel her readers have come to expect: multiple character plot lines, romantic entanglements, tension within the religious community, and at least one tragedy. Here, Lewis continues the saga of Nellie Mae Fisher, whose Amish family embraces a "New Order" personal faith that defies the "Old Order" beliefs they've always held dear. Nellie hopes to marry Caleb Yoder, but because of her family's change of belief, Caleb's father forbids him to marry Nellie on pain of losing his inheritance. Lewis capably portrays the struggle Nellie feels between the attraction of her family's faith and the yearnings of her heart. Other plot threads continue: Nellie's sister Rhoda is drawn into the modern world and its promise of convenience, excitement and automobiles, while a couple who have been given a set of twins to raise discover that their burgeoning interest in the New Order faith causes the birth mother to have second thoughts about their fitness as adoptive parents. Lewis's readers seemingly can't get enough of her tales about Amish life, and this latest installment won't disappoint. (May) Copyright 2008 Reed Business Information.