Reviews for Naomi's Gift

Library Journal 9/15/11

Clipston, Amy. Naomi's Gift: An Amish Christmas Story. Zondervan. Sept. 2011. c.192p. ISBN 9780310327356. $14.99. CF

Ever since she practically threw herself at two young bachelors in her Amish community of Bird-in-Hand, PA, 24-year-old Naomi King has sworn off getting married. When a sad young girl shows up at her mother's quilting booth, Naomi aches to help her, even more so when the girl's widowed father appears with that same sad look. Caleb has returned home for the first time in many years and finds himself attracted to the young woman his daughter finds so appealing. But is Naomi willing to try love again? VERDICT This novella is full of warmth and love, just what you want at Christmastime. Fans of Clipston's "Kauffman Amish Bakery" series will enjoy getting reacquainted with favorite characters. Fans of Beverly Lewis and Wanda E. Brunstetter will also find this title delightful.

Harriet Klausner from Merry Genre Go Round Reviews

Widower Caleb Schmucker accompanied by his eight year old daughter Susie leaves Ohio to spend time with his sister Sadie Kauffman and her family in Bird-in-Hand, Pennsylvania on the anniversary of his wife Barbara’s death in a horrid accident. His daughter asks him to stop at a farmer’s market so they can pick up a pie for her Aenti Sadie. Inside the market, Susie vanishes from Caleb’s sight giving him a heart attack until he finds her discussing quilts with Naomi King. He likes how kind the woman is with his daughter whose late mom was into quilting.

His family and friends want the buggy maker to stay. His sibling tries to hook him up with Irene Wagler whose father owns Wagler’s Buggies in Intercourse. However, he is attracted to Naomi whose reputation for chasing after men (Timothy Kauffman in A Place of Peace) and Luke Troyer in A Promise of Hope) makes her unacceptable to his sister. However, it is the way Naomi treats Susie that has him willing to take a second chance on love.

With ties through the secondary characters to the Kauffman Amish Bakery series, Naomi’s Gift is a warm second and third chance at love Amish romance. The secondary characters are critical to the delightful story line with Sadie interfering, Susie “choosing” and Irene uninterested in the daughter. Readers will enjoy this Amish Christmas Story as the way to a widower’s heart is through loving his daughter too.

The Book BagLady

Book Description

Take a trip to Bird-in-Hand, Pennsylvania, where you'll meet the women of the Kauffman Amish Bakery in Lancaster County. As each woman's story unfolds, you will share in her heartaches, trials, joys, dreams ... and secrets. You'll discover how the simplicity of the Amish lifestyle can clash with the "English" way of life-and the decisions and consequences that follow. Most importantly, you will be encouraged by the hope and faith of these women, and the importance they place on their families.

Naomi's Gift re-introduces twenty-four-year-old Naomi King, who has been burned twice by love and has all but given up on marriage and children. As Christmas approaches-a time of family, faith, and hope for many others-Naomi is more certain than ever her life will be spent as an old maid, helping with the family's quilting business and taking care of her eight siblings. Then she meets Caleb, a young widower with a 7-year-old daughter, and her world is once again turned upside-down.

Naomi's story of romantic trial and error and youthful insecurities has universal appeal. Author Amy Clipston artfully paints a panorama of simple lives full of complex relationships, and she carefully explores cultural differences and human similarities, with inspirational results.

Naomi's Gift includes all the details of Amish life that Clipston's fans enjoy, while delivering the compelling stories and strong characters that continue to draw legions of new readers.

My Review

Caleb Schmucker and his eight-year-old daughter, Susie, return home from Ohio to Bird-in-Hand, Pennsylvannia for the Christmas holidays. Caleb’s wife, Barbara, who he’d been married to for 10 years had passed away two years ago from an accident.

Susie is such precocious and vivacious little girl and she enjoys befriending people and she did just that at the mall she and her Dad went to. Susie saw some Amish quilts she liked and ran over to the display and struck up a conversation with a woman named Naomi who was quite attractive and had beautiful eyes. Naomi, even in those few moments that she spoke with Susie, adored the child. Susie had told Naomi that her Mamma was going to teach her how to quilt one day but she died and was now in Heaven. Naomi was deeply saddened for Susie and the news tugged at her heartstrings.

A few days’ later Caleb runs into Naomi at a family function and they struck up a friendly conversation but Caleb’s nosy and interfering sister, Sadie, had other plans for Caleb. She wanted Caleb to strike up a conversation with Irene Wagler and perhaps end up courting and marrying her one day as she felt that he was too young to stay a widow forever and little Susie needed a Mom. However, Caleb made it quite clear to Sadie that he was not in the market for a new wife and couldn’t betray his beloved Barbara.

Naomi had lost two previous loves and now believed God meant for her to take care of her parents and never find love again.

Both Caleb and Naomi are struggling with different aspects of love. Caleb doesn’t feel he can love someone else after Barbara and Naomi feels she’s already been given two chances and failed at both so there was no further hope for her. Perhaps they both need to give it up to God and let Him decide what is right for these two lost souls.

I enjoyed the characters in this novella and delighted in the traditions of the Amish, but one thing stuck out for me in this story and that was “gossip”. In my opinion, Christians in general believe that the Amish with their strict orders are immune to gossip and rumour but that is apparently not true. They are just as susceptible to gossip as the rest of us Christians. Christian or not, none of us are exempt from this unappreciated quality and it unfortunately harms and hurts people, congregations, and communities, but we’re not a perfect society.

Amy Clipston has written a lovely novella that will tug at your heart strings and make you realize that our life doesn’t always go the way we want it to go because there is a higher power at work. I would definitely recommend this to everyone.