Paradise Valley

by Dale Cramer

Read the Back:

“I would do a great many things for you.” Even at sixteen, Jake’s handsome features hold the calm certainty and patient confidence of a man, and Rachel Bender knows – Jake Weaver is the one.

Rachel will grow into a strong young woman with powerful gifts – but in a faraway country, without her Jake. In 1921, Ohio’s new law forces Caleb Bender’s family to seek sanctuary in the wilds of Mexico, where the government will not interfere with their Amish way of life or take their children from them. Nor will it protect them from the bandits terrorizing the countryside.

In an unfamiliar land where no one speaks their language or knows their ways, the Benders establish a homestead in exile. Sisters Emma, Rachel, and Miriam find strengths unimagined, gifts unexpected, and yearning beyond their deepest dreams. Even steadfast Caleb is compelled to wrestle with the demands of faith, only to discover that love has its own demands.

My Thoughts:

Gripping from the very start. Within the first 5 chapters of the book I was hooked! It’s rare that a book can grab me that quickly, but I’m glad it did. Dale Cramer’s book differs from most Amish books in that it adds an adventure side to it as well. There were parts of the book that were very suspenseful and parts where you could just soak up the emotions of each character.

I really love the character of Jake Weaver. He is the hopeless romantic type that most women can only dream of. Each character has their uniqueness to them and I really love that about Dale’s writing. You can vividly picture each character and the emotions they feel are raw and grip the reader.

I also found myself still learning new things about the Amish culture and language. I just love the way that the Amish dialect is peppered throughout the book and it intermittently reminds me that the characters are Amish as sometimes you can forget or your imagination can drift away from who the characters really are.

Thank you to Dale for writing such a beautiful piece of work. I recommend this book highly to anyone!

Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc. Available at your favourite bookseller from Bethany House, a division of Baker Publishing Group.