November 15, 2012
Young Isaac is a kind soul, even though he is easily irritated by adults and thinks his mother talks too much. When a classmate, Ruthie, stutters while practicing her poem for the pageant, Isaac helps out. He also decides to take matters into his own hands and assist his shy older brother Simon, who is attracted to Isaac's teacher but won't do anything about it. VERDICT Amish author Byler's (Keeping Secrets; The Disappearances, reviewed above) first holiday novella is a character-driven, leisurely paced tale that will appeal to readers who enjoy titles by Jan Karon and Lynne Hinton.
Copyright 2012 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
September 15, 2012
Renowned Amish romance-novelist Byler has deviated from her traditional trilogies to provide readers with a morsel of holiday goodness. Narrator Isaac Stoltzfus is a seventh-grader at the schoolhouse in his Amish community. Like most adolescents, Isaac thinks adults make the world too complicated. This especially applies to his older brother, Simon, who can't muster up the courage to ask Isaac's pretty teacher, Catherine, on a date. Despite preoccupation with chores and helping a friend overcome her anxiety about the impending school Christmas program, Isaac finds time to plot an encounter between Simon and Catherine. As Christmas draws closer and Simon still hasn't acted, Isaac finds himself hoping for a miracle. The true charm of the novel lies in the tension an adult reader can detect between Isaac's self-assured narration and the reality of the world around him, which is often different than he assumes. Byler's tactile evocation of Amish life, and Isaac's innocent yet revealing ponderings about tradition versus modernity, will satisfy any reader interested in the nuances of Amish culture and emotionally rich love stories.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)