Title: A CHRISTMAS GIFT FOR ROSE
Author: Tricia Goyer
Publisher: Zondervan
September 2013
ISBN: 978-0310336785
Genre: Amish/Christmas

Rose grew up in Berlin, Ohio, in the arms of a loving Amish family. But she is overwhelmed by self-doubt when she learns the truth of her birth. She was born English and abandoned when her family moved West in search of work. I felt some of the story was predictable and some was not. I would have liked to have seen a little more character history on Jonathon and Rose's brother.


All in all, I really enjoyed "A Christmas Gift for Rose". ( )

I typically avoid books about war but a book about what war is doing to those left behind, well... those are fair game. And I'm really glad I picked this one to read! I love Christmas stories and this will be a welcome addition to my collection.

All of that aside, this is the first book of it's kind that I have read. An Amish historical novel dealing with fallout from World War 2... Well, that would be hard to miss. And I'm so glad I didn't (miss it... that is)! I will read this book again and again and recommend it to all of my friends!

It's such a wonderful story. Don't get me wrong, there's conflict. There's always conflict. But it's not ridiculous and it's not nonsense. There is genuine conflict and genuine resolution. The characters are very deep and the story is completely believable.

Usually when you have this many things going on in a story, it's too much or it feels like the author is trying to pad the story but everything going on in this story fits together to make the story work.

It took so many twists and turns that I did not see coming. That's always a good thing. Too many books these days are absolutely predictable. This one is not. It's great!

And you can really tell Tricia did her homework for this one. She tells us just enough about certain things without it being too much and, from what I remember (granted I wasn't great with History in school), they're incredibly accurate.

This is a must read for anyone! Especially if you like a good heartwarming story about the Amish community. In fact, that's one of the great things about the Amish community, I think. Take away all mention of a date and it's usually pretty hard to tell exactly when the story takes place. They're so unchanging.

Clearly a FIVE star book! Great job Tricia!

Disclaimer: I received this book free in exchange for an honest review. ( )

A Christmas Gift for Rose
Tricia Goyer

Book Summary: Award-winning author Tricia Goyer writes a heartwarming novel of faith and family in her first Christmas novella. Born in the midst of the hardships of The Great Depression, Rose grew up in Berlin, Ohio, in the arms of a loving Amish family. But she is overwhelmed by self-doubt when she learns the truth of her birth. She was born Englisch and abandoned when her family moved West in search of work. Was she meant to be Amish, or would she have been better off growing up with her own kind---Englischers? And was her intended's gift of discovering her birth family given out of love or fear? Inspired by a true story, A Christmas Gift for Rose is a heartwarming novella of sacrifice and deep love.

Review: This was a sweet and wonderfully written story about family, faith and love. A love that transcends our earthly relationships and shine on the love of God. It was inspiring and gave me much to ponder. Rose and her Amish parents were so well written that I felt like the room cam alive with them and their home. The landscape and events were so vivid that it was very real. Rose’s struggle and those of the other characters was very moving. It celebrating the true spirit of Christmas self sacrificial love.
I would like to thank Net Galley and Zondervan Fiction for allowing me to read and review this book in return for a free copy and I was never asked to write a favorable review by anyone. ( )

Rose has grown up in the Amish community of Holmes County, Ohio. She was upset when her beloved Jonathan enlisted in World War II to serve as a medic. How could she forgive him for participating in a war, even if he never fired a shot? She discovers that she was born English and that the Yoders adopted her when her parents, struggling in the Great Depression, could not support all their children and moved to California to be near other family members. They left her with the Yoders, knowing she would have a better life. How can Jonathan accept her? This is a touching story which should appeal to fans of Amish fiction. Although this is marketed as a Christmas book, it can be enjoyed any time of year. I received an advance electronic galley of this from the publisher through NetGalley with the expectation that a review would be written. ( )

I loved everything this book and the story. I have to say I would have been more shocked if I didn't like it at all because I love all of Tricia Goyer's books. In this book you get to follow along with Rose and she finds out things about her past and tries to figure out what is going to do with the man she fell in love with. This book takes place during WWII and her boyfriend joined and served in the army even though he was amish and they are pacifist. I am not going to give anything away because I really loved the twists and turns that the story took. ( )