Hope Deferred
An Amish Romance
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4.1 • 43 Ratings
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- $10.99
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- $10.99
Publisher Description
Will Daniel and Anna be able to reconcile their faith struggles and their love for each other? Beloved Amish novelist Linda Byler once again writes a compelling and surprising love story, showing that even the Plain People struggle with complex feelings, questions, and relationships.
David Stolzfus and Anna Fisher have been best friends as long as they can remember. Sure, it was a bit unusual in the Amish community for a boy and a girl to be so close, but nobody questions it with David and Anna—it has just always been that way. They live on neighboring farms in Lancaster County, they walk to school together (with all their siblings) every day, and when David learns to drive a pony, Anna is the first one to ride with him. Their lives are intertwined, the way the borders of their properties are joined by the Pequea Creek.
As they approach their teen years, David and Anna's friendship turns quickly to deep love and attraction. But David is headstrong and full of an insatiable hunger for knowledge and new experiences. When Anna's conservative parents require that he join the church before the two can begin dating, he rebels, eventually taking off to Australia for the adventure of a lifetime, leaving Anna to sort through her feelings alone.
When Anna receives a letter from Leon Beiler, a young man she can't deny she has feelings for, everything changes again. How can she reconcile a lifetime of love for David with this new potential romance? And what will happen when David returns home?
Customer Reviews
Loved this book!
Deferred Hope is Linda Byler's novel about several Amish couples and famllies. Linda manages to keep the storylines of all of them going without totally confusing the reader. Two of the young adults are star-crossed lovers. She must choose between her rigid parents and her rebellious boyfriend.
I loved that Byler legitimizes Christian counseling and includes bipolar disorder. But I would have loved to see extended info explaining that counseling can help to a point, but that mental illnesses like bi-polar are a physiological illnesses like diabetes, and that there is a place for believing that God provides the medications that will help with the illness.
I also appreciatedr hearing about the disaster assistance, and would love to hear more storylines of both the volunteers and the recipients of the assitance of Amish and Mennonite disaster relief!
As always, Linda excels at bring Amish people down to earth, reminding us that like the rest of us, they are very human - and that is endearing! I appreciated such frankness as the common sense of Rachel about relationships being more important than the "right" way of using celery soup, and even the frank frustrations of impatient and immature Dave were sometimes refreshing, as I was losing patience with Anna's parents, myself! I respect their beliefs, but they did seem awfully judgemental and not willing to allow her to develop into an adult accountable ultimately to God and her future husband.
This author seems to have a natural gift for character development, and she always has a "way with words" that cause her quotes to remain in your mind. For this book, my personal favorite was "she read like a starved person eats food - voraciously." Every time I read another of Byler's books about Amish families, I learn something new. It helps to know that it will be authentic since Linda herself is still an active Amish believer!