Grace’s Forgiveness – Jebber Jabber
When Molly Jebber’s first book in her Keepsake Pocket Quilt series came out, I was less than enthused. The storyline was fine, but it could have been used for any people group – and in actuality, did not measure up when it came to the Amish genre. My hope was that Book Two – Grace’s Forgiveness – would show marked improvement (and perhaps some actual knowledge of the Amish.) Unfortunately, that is not the case.
In my review of Book One, I mentioned that authors trying to hop on the Amish gravy train, as it were, needed to really do their research (and not just throw in an occasional prayer kapp or danki to make it seem Amish.) Grace’s Forgiveness not only drops Pennsylvania Dutch at will, it uses very simple sentence structure, and most of all, Jabber has not done her homework. Need examples? 1.) One character is handed a booklet that has the local Ordnung in it (the Ordnung is unwritten.) 2.) The Amish meet in a barn that had been constructed as a sort of meetinghouse for the church (the Amish meet in one another’s homes to create community.) 3.) The Ordnung is constantly referred to as “the law” (if anything, they are “rules”, or in most cases, just the way things are in their community.) 4.) Everyone (both male and female) eats together after church (normally, the men are served first and then the women eat last.) 5.) One character sits with her parents during the church service (in an Amish church service, men and women enter separately, and sit separately.) 6.) The bishop prays aloud before the meal – indeed almost all of the prayers are said aloud (in group settings especially, the Amish pray silently.) Additionally, there are moments where a scene is thrown in out of nowhere. They are superfluous and create unrealistic and unnecessary tension.
I really had high hopes for Grace’s Forgiveness. Unfortunately, its lack of a good storyline, incorrect Amish details, and unneeded “filler” just added up to a bunch of “Jebber Jabber.” I was given this book in exchange for my honest review.
Susan Ferrell and her husband make their home in the Atlanta Metro area. Although Susan struggles with chronic migraine headaches, she stays very busy as a stay-at-home mom to one very precocious little girl. While catching her breath, she feeds her Amishaholic tendencies by reading vast amounts of Amish literature!