The Winnowing Season is book two in the Amish Vines and Orchards
series. It starts out with a recap of A
Season for Tending, which I appreciated since I would not have known what
was going on without that help. The main
characters are Rhoda Byler and the two brothers who love her, Samuel and Jacob
King. In book one, the Kings’ apple orchard
and their community was devastated by a tornado. Rhoda, her brother’s family, and the Kings
are moving to Maine from Pennsylvania to start over in an abandoned orchard and
begin a new Amish community as other relatives join them. Rhoda is in partnership with the Kings
because of her horticulture experience and canning expertise. Jacob has many secrets from his past, which
still have a grip on his life, causing him to be absent from the workload and
his relationship with Rhoda every time she needs him. Samuel is always there, steady, interfering,
and usually in conflict with Rhoda.
Rhoda has several issues in her life that cause her pain;
she feels guilty that her sister was murdered and she had not kept it from
happening. She has insights into people’s
lives that have caused the Amish leaders to be suspicious of her. She is anxious to move far away from her church
family because the treatment she has received has been painful. She is misunderstood and taken advantage of
by non-Amish, as Jacob is, because of the naiveté of the sheltered lives they
have lived.
The very sad part of this book to me is that the characters
want to please God, but think pleasing God is all wrapped up in obeying the
church leaders and the written and unwritten code of the Amish. I don’t get the sense that anyone has a
personal relationship with Jesus as Savior.
At the end of the book, none of the conflicts have been
resolved. Obviously, at least one more
book is upcoming. I am a fan of Cindy
Woodsmall on Facebook and this week, she asked what color of wedding dress
Rhoda should have; so I assume the next book will resolve the triangle love
situation in this one.
I received this e-book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah
Publishing Group for my honest review.
