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Home > Books > Amish Fiction Books > A Life of Joy > Reviews for A Life of Joy
Reviews for A Life of Joy
Christian Fiction review section in Library Journal, February 15, 2012.
Clipston, Amy. A Life of Joy. Zondervan. (Kauffman Amish Bakery, Bk. 4). Feb. 2012. c.336p. ISBN 9780310319962. pap. $12.99. CF
Eighteen-year-old Lindsay Bedford has spent the last four years living with her aunt Rebecca in Bird-in-Hand, PA, but now she must decide whether to stay in the Amish community she has come to love or return to Virginia and her sister. An extended visit home renews Lindsay's family ties, but her friends back in Pennsylvania expect her to be baptized with them into the Amish faith. Adding to her worries is her aunt's failing health. VERDICT Series fans will enjoy this fourth contemporary Amish entry (after A Place of Peace) with its sense of place, well-drawn characters, and uplifting story. It should also earn Clipston new admirers among fans of Mary Ellis and Marta Perry.
Romantic Times Review
4 star rating
Clipston continues her Kauffman Amish Bakery series. Determining where one belongs, as well as learning to trust in the Lord (versus ourselves) are vital lessons. The ending paves the way for a sequel. Many delicious recipes are included.
Raised Englisch until the death of her parents, Lindsay Bedford feels at home in the Amish community, where she lives with her aunt and uncle. When her aunt in Virginia has an accident, Lindsay returns to care for her. While there, she reconnects with her Englisch friends and begins volunteering at a nursing home. Lindsay has wavered on whether or not she is ready to be baptized in the Amish church. Will the Englisch world draw her in, or will it help her decide where she truly belongs? (ZONDERVAN, Jan., 304 pp., $12.99)
Reviewed By: Leslie L. McKee
January 2, 2012
A Life Of Joy By Amy Clipston
I was really looking forward to this book! Ms. Clipston did not disappoint! It was worth waiting for and a must read! If you have read any of Ms. Clipston's Kauffman Amish Bakery series then you will love this one! This is Book #4 in the series and a wonderful addition to the Kauffman family story.
Lindsay Bedford and her sister were taken in 4 years ago, after the tragic death of their parents, by the Amish sister and her husband of their mother after spending the first 14 years of their life growing up in Virginia. While her sister did not like or want to adjust to the Amish way of life and soon went back to live with family friends in Virginia to attend college, Lindsay took to the Amish way of life and enjoyed living the simple life. Now that she has turned eighteen, the expectation that she will join the church is upon her. Her two best friends are taking the classes to join and can't understand why Lindsay has not signed up. She is just not sure if she is ready to make that commitment yet. She is also getting pressure from her sister who feels she knows what's best for Lindsay, to move back to Virginia and go to college with her after getting her GED. Lindsay sees no reason to go to college and doesn't like her sisters constant criticism of the Amish way of life.
Lindsay's days are filled with working at the Kauffman bakery where she is learning a lot, helping to care for her Aunt and Uncle's two small children, and spending time with her friends. One day she receives a call from her sister who has accepted an internship in New York and says their family friend in Virginia had an accident and broke her leg. Since she can't go because she doesn't want to give up her internship, would Lindsay go and help for the summer. Can Lindsay say no? Of course not. Besides, going home will give her a chance to see which world she really wants to live in, English or Amish.
The reader travels through the ups and downs and indecision that haunt Lindsay and we see her struggle to make the right decision. The time she spends in Virginia offers her the opportunity to not only help, but learn about herself and what she really wants, where she wants to be, and the desires of her heart. When I got to the end of this book I wanted more! I didn't want to see the story end! I can't wait for the next book! Ms. Clipston has done an amazing job of drawing the reader in and keeping them involved in the events of the very large Kauffman family.
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Amy has done it again...another great book in the Kauffman Amish Bakery Series.
Four years ago Jessica and Lindsey Bedford came to live with their Aunt and Uncle Rebecca and Daniel Kauffman, when their parents were tragically killed. Jessica is now in college and taking an internship in NY City and wants Lindsey to join her.
Lindsey has embraced the Amish way of life in all ways, except by joining the Church. She loves working in the bakery, helping Aentie Rebecca, caring and playing with her little cousins. She also is starting to have feelings for Matthew Luntz. She is searching her heart and in constant prayer for answers.
When a call comes that her Aunt Trisha has broken her leg, and Uncle Frank needs help. She decides to return to her former home in Virgina Beach. She leaves with some reluctance as her Aentie has not been feeling well, and just found out she is pregnant. Rebecca advises Lindsey to go!
You have to wonder will Lindsey now want to go back to her life as an English woman, or yearn for a quieter more peaceful life of the Amish?
This book does end in what I felt was a cliff hanger, need the next book in this series....soon!!
I was provided with a copy of this book by Netgalley and the Publisher Zondervan, and was not required to give a positive review.
November 5, 2011
My Review:
Lindsay Bedford couldn't decide whether to be baptized with her two best friends Katie and Lizzie Anne. She had lived in the English world before coming to live with her Aunt Rebecca and Uncle Daniel four years ago. Once she turned 18, there was more an expectation for her to be baptized into the Amish community. Lindsay did feel like the Amish world felt right for her, but something deep down in her heart was holding her back from making the final commitment. Lindsay felt that her friends were disappointed in her for her indecision.
Lindsay works at the Kauffman bakery and she notices that her Aunt Rachel seems to be unusually tired when she returns home from the bakery each day. She asks if she is feeling okay and Rachel tries to reassure Lindsay that she is just tired and needs to go to bed earlier at night. Looking after her 3-year-old son and 18-month-old daughter must be wearing her out more than she thought. Daniel too notices Rachel's tiredness and is worried about her and asks if she needs to see a doctor but Rachel refuses saying the pain in her stomach is from eating too much. She tells Daniel that he worries too much. Is Rachel suffering from indigestion or is it more serious than that?
I absolutely loved this book and felt as though I was with Lindsay wherever she went. I could picture in my mind's eye Bird-in-Hand, Pennsylvania where she lives with Rebecca and Daniel and Virginia Beach where she stayed for a while with good family friends Trish and Frank. Lindsay is a devoutly independent and mature girl for her age who remains true to her deepest beliefs. I'd recommend this book for everyone!!
February 7, 2012
Lindsay Bedford has settled in well with her aunt's family in the Amish community after losing her parents in a car crash. Her older sister Jessica has chosen to stay in the " English" world with her Godmother and pursue her dreams of higher education and developing a successful career, and can neither truly understand or accept that Lindsay is very happy working with her relatives in the bakery.
Although they live apart, there is a constant undercurrent of tension on this topic, added to which Lindsay is reaching an age where she has to make some important and life-changing decisions about whether she should accept baptism into the Amish faith at the same time as her friends and relatives. Jessica, meanwhile, is torn between wanting to maintain her relationship with her Mennonite boyfriend Jake, and pursuing her career dreams.
Uncertain of where God is leading her, Lindsay chooses to delay baptism for the time being and ends up being faced with even more decisions than she envisaged when she goes back to all the opportunities and temptations of the English world to care for her sister's Godmother who has had a serious accident and needs help.
What will each girl decide to do ?
It was possible to easily pick up the threads of the previous plots without having read the preceding books, and it has certainly whetted my appetite to "go back" and read the earlier books.
Added bonuses are the wonderful recipes, helpful Amish – English glossary and extended family tree so the reader can easily identify which member of the family is married to whom, very necessary when a series is set in a community where extended families are the norm and the series is entering its fourth book!
I thoroughly enjoyed the book and hope that there will be more stories about the Kauffman/Bedford family.
February 6, 2012
For the past four years, Lindsay Bedford has lived with her Amish aunt, Rebecca Kauffman, and her family. She and her sister, Jessica, moved to Bird-In-Hand, Pennsylvania after their parents died in a car accident. Lindsay is eighteen years old, an age where she can take classes so she can be baptized into the Amish faith. While her Amish friends are sure that they are ready to make the lifetime commitment, she's not. It doesn't help that Jessica, who no longer lives with the Kauffmans, seems to always be pushing her to do something more with her life. Lindsay has also started to notice how cute Matthew Glick is, but they can't date until she is baptized.
Lindsay really struggles with the decision of whether she should stay English or became Amish. She loves her life in Bird-In-Hand. She works at the Kaufman family bakery. She also helps Rebecca take care of her two younger children. Lindsay prays for God's guidance and gets an answer.
Her parent's best friends Frank and Trisha McCabe live in Virginia. When Trisha breaks her leg, they ask Lindsay to stay with them for several weeks to help out. Lindsay experiences living like the English again. She goes out with old friends and uses all the modern conveniences, like laptop computers. Lindsay soon realizes where she belongs. Is it in Bird-In-Hand, where she has spent the last four years of her life? Or is it back in the English world where she was born? Read A Life Of Joy to find out.
This story focuses mainly on Lindsay's decision but there are smaller stories going on. Rebecca is having health issues, Jessica is living the life she always wanted, and Matthew and Lindsay develop a friendship. I really enjoyed this book. Lindsay wanted to do what God wants for her life, she's just not sure what that is. Her friends and family are very supportive of her not getting baptized with the rest of her friends. The McCabes aren't pushing her to stay English, the Kaufman's aren't pushing her to become Amish. She has to figure out on her own what to do. This book shows us to trust God for His guidance in our lives.
This is book 4 in the Kauffman Amish Bakery Series. I didn't read the first three books and think this could be a stand alone book. I wasn't lost or confused about the characters as I read through the book.
I received this free e-book from NetGalley for honest review.
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