The Fiddler

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY 13 FEB. 2012

Amelia Devries finds herself living an artistic double life: she's a talented concert violinist who's also very good at fiddling. But fiddling doesn't fit into the plans of her musician boyfriend, her violinist father, or her agent. When a severe thunderstorm strands her in the rural mountains of Pennsylvania, she takes refuge at a cabin inhabited by Michael Hostetler, a young fence-sitting Amish man who can't decide whether to take the formal vows to join the Amish community. Her chance connection with Michael allows Amelia an opening into his community, while Michael finds himself increasingly attracted to the outsider. Lewis's presentation of Amish life portrays the advantages and disadvantages of a community with definite rules and a solidarity that can be both enviable and constraining. The musical motifs offer welcome variation on very familiar Amish themes that Lewis renders in virtuoso style. This opens the Home to Hickory Hollow series, but stands alone nicely.