Thank you for visiting today. I hope you are having a good start to your weekend. Suzanne Woods Fisher is the author of An Amish Beginnings series (and other Amish novels). You can follow Ms. Fisher on Facebook and Amazon. Readers can get more information about the author and her books on her website. There is a giveaway on her site until August 15 (great prize).
The Return by Suzanne Woods Fisher is the third book in An Amish Beginnings series. Readers are taken to Stoney Ridge in April
1763. Betsy Zook is in love with Hans
Bauer and looks forward to his proposal of marriage. Then one night her life is changed when the
Indians attack, kill her parents and take her hostage along with her brother,
Johnny. Willie Zook hid in a hollow log and
after the Indians depart, he runs to the nearest town. Hans wants to immediately set out to find
Betsy, and it takes some work to convince him that would not be the best idea
(due to the number of Indians and they have no idea where the hostages were
taken). Betsy and the other hostages are
taken into the mountains where they are given to various Indian tribes (in
tribute). Hans rails against the Indians
much to his families’ consternation.
Tessa Bauer has cared for Hans for some time and is happy when he starts
to pay attention to her. Hans is ready
to move on with his life, but then Betsy is returned to them. Caleb, half Indian and half Mennonite,
engineers Betsy’s escape and returns her to the Bauer family. Hans is thrilled to have Betsy back, but his
quest for vengeance has not been extinguished.
Betsy, Caleb, Hans, and Tessa have choices in front of them. Will they make the right decisions? What does the future hold for them? Join them on their journey in The Return.
The Return is well-researched and
contains good writing. I thought the
characters were well-developed (thought out).
The Return is an emotional novel (great sadness and loss). I have to say that The Return is my least
favorite novel in An Amish Beginnings series.
There is extreme violence and cruelty in the story that was disturbing
to me. I am fully aware it is based on
true events, but I do not like to read about the violence in such detail (one
scene near the end was extremely off putting).
I did find the information about Conestoga wagons (the creation, design)
to be fascinating. My rating for The Return is 4 out of 5 stars. I highly
recommend reading Anna’s Crossing and The Newcomer prior to The Return. Otherwise, it can be confusing with the
various characters, their relationships, and how they came to America. Some of the themes or life lessons in the
story are prejudice, revenge, racism, tolerance, jealousy, faith, love, and
trusting God. I liked the phrases “triumph
of human spirit” and “sovereignty of God in all things”. I was
disappointed with the ending. It was
unsatisfying and odd. It felt incomplete. The Christian element was handled
beautifully.
I have a few errands to run (I have put them off as long as I can) and then I will be reading Assaulted Caramel by Amanda Flower. May each of you have a relaxing day. I will be reviewing Tiny House on the Hill by Celia Bonaduce next time. Take care and Happy Reading!
Kris
The Avid Reader
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