There just seems to
be something about the Amish folk that intrigues normal citizens.
Consider just how many authors have written about the Amish, for one
thing; and for another, I’ll bet a greater portion of the Christian
girls who are reading this have sat down with a Beverly Lewis novel.
If you happen to be one of these fans, then you might want to try and
find Love Finds You In Paradise, Pennsylvania, by Loree Lough,
published by Summerside Press in 2009. Its characters, plot, and
grade of Christianity combine to make it an appealing, if slightly
questionable for Miss Critique(ing) Novel(ist), read.
Julia Spencer is a
gorgeous auburn-headed five-foot-two public defendant whose beloved
grandparents left her a delightful house, a nice amount of money in
the bank, and stocks and bonds—as well as most of their other
possessions. Yet surviving years in the state’s foster care system
with all its horrors, and living with the knowledge of her parents’
drug records, has blemished her mind into believing she is not worthy
of love, and not worthy of motherhood. Doctor Simon Thomas, a
veterinarian of Paradise who also happens to be extraordinarily
handsome with luscious green eyes and a blonde wavy head, adores puns
and has been trying to find the right girl for forever. When
the two meet, it creates a firestorm.
Simon and Julia’s
relationship starts with a bang. Simon, however, has dreamt of having
children since his before his first marriage, but Julia thinks her
parents’ mistakes could have been passed down to her. She is
unwilling to risk such inflictions on her own (prospective) children,
so she knows she ought to pull away from Simon. However, their
relationship only deepens, and she can’t bring herself to tell him
that she should quit pretending . . . she would rather that he never
found out her horrible past and her horrible heritage. In spite of
that, an Amish family, the Gundens, serve to bring them together
still further. However, a grisly accident involving one of the
members of the Gunden family creates havoc within the Simon-Julia
hemisphere, as Julia is called upon to defend the criminal in the
Gunden case, whom Simon passionately hates.
In any professed
“Christian” book, a Christian person will look for evidences of
the faith. Paradise is a pretty good experience, I must admit,
for most Christians. While Simon’s prayers and his maturity as a
Christian could be questioned (maybe I’ve just been spoiled by
Elsie Dinsmore. . . .), and Julia’s true repentance might
also be a head-scratcher, there is a lot of praying and Scripture
throughout the book. The Amish, of course, are the true examples of
godliness, forgiveness, and humility, even though the Old Order
believed that in order to go to Heaven one must only be baptized, and
thus they appear much like the Mormons to me.
The problems with
this novel? Julia’s emotions over her parents and her unworthiness
seem a little cliché and overwrought. The relationship
with Simon and Julia begins too quickly—the day they meet, in fact
(love at first sight, anyone?), and progresses to physicality—kissing
and putting arms around each other—immediately, despite Julia’s
hesitancy. Ditto with joking and compliments. Ladies and gentlemen,
don’t you believe that compliments should be saved until the lord and lady know each other well,
that kissing and nearly all other forms of physicality should be
banned until the girl and boy are either married or (almost completely) sure
that they will be? And besides these, Simon shamelessly loathes the
criminal Michael Josephs who caused the Amish accident. Even if he
does repent of this, it doesn’t seem like he’s sorry that he
hates the boy, just that he’s been a grouchy, bitter monster.
It is, however,
apparent that Love Finds You In Paradise, Pennsylvania,
deserves a good praise and maybe even an order from the library. It
was refreshing to actually be able to meet the hero in
Paradise, which is not the case in Love Finds You In Sisters, Oregon. The plot is fairly deep and
interesting, and even provoked me to tears on one occasion. Christianity is easy to see, as prayer and Scripture and morals
run around throughout the book, but there is no Gospel message. (Though “conversion scenes” are very difficult to
execute.) You may want to put in an order to your local library or,
if you feel confident enough, spend some money on your own paperback
edition.
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