Beverly Lewis
The Sacrifice (2004)
Author: Beverly Lewis
Genre (and Subgenre): Historical/Christian (Amish)
Plot Summary:
This, the third release in the Abram’s Daughters saga, continues following
the lives of the Ebersol family. Many characters are portrayed over many
years. At the story’s outset Leah’s sister Sadie has been banned from the
community and no community members are allowed to say her name. Ida, the
mother, has just become pregnant. Leah is mourning the loss of her former
fiancé, Jonas, who was also banned from the community. It seems that Sadie
and Jonas may have ended up together, and they may be in an English
community as well. Hannah has began bible training and is upset that her
twin, Mary Ruth, refuses to join with her. Mary Ruth insists on continuing
her rumspringe for another year and wishes to go to an English high school.
Abram, the father, insists on enforcing the Old Order ways as they pertain
to his daughters. Hannah and Mary Ruth are being courted two young brothers
in the community. Gid, a neighbor, shows interest in Leah and soon they
begin courting toward marriage. The young boy courting Mary Ruth then gets
killed in a car-buggy accident and this causes Mary Ruth to examine her
commitment to the Amish faith. Abram is concerned that Mary Ruth will go the
way of Sadie and get herself banned from the community. Mary Ruth finds
faith in the local Mennonite church and eventually goes to live with some
English neighbors. All this happens while Ida is having problems with her
pregnancy. Will Mary Ruth move back home? Will Sadie ever repent and come
back to the church? Will Ida’s new son be ok? Will Leah and Gid get married
and start their life together?
Geographical Setting: Gobblers Knob, PA, an Old Order Amish community
in Lancaster County, PA
Time Period: 1950’s
Series: The third release in the Abram’s Daughters saga
Appeal Characteristics:
This is an Amish family saga. Emphasis is on family relationships, following
three generations of women in a conservative Amish community and eight years
in the life of a family. Written in the third person, the reader is privy to
each character’s point of view. The writing is fairly dense and follows at a
leisurely pace. Most of the characters are women and the drama surrounds
women’s issues such as courting, finding a mate, marriage, having babies,
the loss of one’s mate, the loss of a child, a sisters’ betrayal, and the
examination of one’s faith. Deeply religious readers will enjoy that the
conservative religious tone permeates the expansive story.
Read-alikes: A reader who wants to experience more of the Ebersol
family can start at the beginning of the Abram’s Daughters saga, with The
Covenant and The Betrayal. Those who like seeing Amish life from the point
of view of a young woman should try Carrie Bender’s Lilac Blossom Time;
readers will follow Dora Kauffman as she makes decisions on marriage, work
and family life concerning her strict Amish faith. Readers who like the
themes of salvation through sacrifice and the reunification of family
members back into the Amish faith will enjoy Annette Blair’s Lancaster
County title, The I Love. Readers who want to more fully explore the break
between the Amish and Mennonite faith should try Mary Christner Borntrager’s
Ellie's People Series, Annie being the latest title. A reader who wants a
gentle religious tale about family life and upcoming marriage, might try
Daisy Newman’s quaker novel I Take Thee, Serenity, the third entry in the
Kendall Trilogy.
Red Flags: Less religious readers may be put off by the strong
religious overtones. More progressive readers may be offended by the limited
role of women characters.
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