The Rebel

Happy Lost Sock Memorial Day!  Does this happen to you?  You put two socks in the wash, but only get one back?  This happens to me quite frequently.  It is the way our washer is constructed.  There is room for socks and other small items to get out of the drum and fall down inside the machine.  When the repair person comes out, he takes off the front and out comes all my missing items (if I tried this it would void my contract).  We are encouraged on this day to briefly look for our missing socks, mourn them, and throw out the sock without a mate (you know you keep them)!  My solution is to buy all white socks (I love comfy crew socks). That way they all match and are easy to replace.  My mother, though, likes unique socks (the mate will show up eventually).  My daughters solution is to just wear the socks whether they match or not!  Some interesting events that happened on May 9 are Buffalo Bill Cody's Wild West Show opens in London in 1887; the first horse drawn bus makes its debut in Mumbai in 1874 (it had two routes); and in 1960 Searle's Enovid becomes the world's first approved oral contraceptive pill.

The Rebel by Marta Perry is the third book in Keepers of the Promise series.  Barbie Lapp is twenty-four years old.  She is still unmarried and has not yet been baptized into the Amish faith.  Barbie has been feeling restless with her life and would like to experience a little adventure.  A co-worker takes her to a bar where she encounters sixteen-year-old, Mary Kauffman.  Mary is quite drunk and about to be taken advantage of when Barbie rescues her.  Barbie is in Englisch clothes, but she has to take Mary home.  Unfortunately for Barbie, Mary lives with the minister, Benuel Kauffman (older brother).  Mary has been a little out of control since the passing of her mother.  Her father and brother are having trouble understanding and helping her.  Barbie seems to understand Mary, and the two of them start spending time together (though Benuel has his reservations).  Barbie needs to decide where she wants to spend her life.  Does she wish to be baptized and stay Amish?  Or does Barbie wish to join her brother, James, in the Englisch world?  Barbie finds help in a dower chest given to Barbie by her grandmother.  It takes her back to 1960 with Elizabeth Lapp.  A woman who also had to make a decision.  What path will Barbie pick? Will Benuel Kauffman influence Barbie’s decision?

The Rebel is a good story with a great ending (to the book and series).  You do not have to read the other books in the series in order to enjoy The Rebel (it would be helpful and you will want to read them).  I give The Rebel 4 out of 5 stars.  I liked the characters in the book and the beautiful setting.  I liked how Barbie was guided in her decision.  The Rebel shows how the past can help people in the present.  The novel is predictable (you know how it will end), but it did not stop my enjoyment of the novel.  The book has a good moral or life lesson. The Rebel is a sweet, heartwarming novel that can be enjoyed by readers from 14 to 94 (or, hopefully, much older).  I will be reading more books by Marta Perry in the future.

The other books in the Keepers of the Promise series are The Forgiven and The Rescued.  I received a complimentary copy of The Rebel from NetGalley in exchange for an honest evaluation of the novel.

I am off to wash Doozy (my youngest and biggest dog).  It is warm again outside so it is a good time for him to have a bath.  I do one dog at a time (it just kills my back).  The hardest part is getting him into the tub (there is a lot of pushing, pulling, and dragging involved).  Have a wonderful day! Take care and Happy Reading!

Kris
The Avid Reader