I probably only read this book because I liked the author's "The Outcast." I'm not one to read books that seem like Sci-fi crossed with modern day fiction. Although, Leora's people were Old Order Mennonite, I didn't feel like the book was overtly Christian. Although, I read the preview for the sequel, I probably won't read the book. ( )

I was excited about this because I needed to read a Christian Fiction title for a class, and I was worried about finding something I’d like in a genre I never read. The Alliance is such a neat idea: a post-apocalyptic story set in a Mennonite community. It was so creative to focus on people already used to a low-tech, self-sustaining lifestyle and team them up with outsiders to their community, Englischers, to work together for survival after an EMP attack. I hadn’t even considered the complication that most of the characters were pacifists, and how that would figure into a survival story, until I started reading. That angle intrigued me too.
I started feeling lukewarm about it around 65% of the way through. Leora’s internal struggles were getting repetitive, and the love triangle was irksome too. The book ended on a cliffhanger, a guaranteed star-dropper in my book, unless you’re Laini Taylor. The drug element introduced toward the end was one plotline too many, and I didn’t buy it. I liked Moses the most, but I didn’t think his faith journey was developed enough. It felt very sudden when he started making with the God talk. The faith of the community wasn’t delved into as deeply as I would have liked, and that made it feel sort of hollow to me.
Being a longtime Walking Dead fan, and watching the protagonists in that series move farther and farther from their pre-apocalypse moral compass, this book was an interesting contrast. I liked the ideas she was playing with, and I wish I had liked the execution of them more. ( )

Sale alert! $1.99 paperback on Christianbook right now!

https://www.christianbook.com/the-alliance-1-jolina-petersheim/9781496402219/pd/...

Was shocked that it was an apocalyptic book that involved the Amish. Never expected it.. ( )

Leora Ebersole lives in an Old Order Mennonite Community in Montana. Both of her parents are gone so she is responsible for her younger brother and sister. Life suddenly changes for Leora, the entire community and thousands of other people when an EMP bomb takes out all technology. Anything with computer components instantly stops working -- cell phones, newer vehicles, airplanes, appliances...most of modern technology. Poof! All gone in an instant. A pilot, Moses Hughes, crashes near their community but survives. Hughes and other Englishers who were visiting the Mennonite community join with the community to protect its residents, food supplies and buildings from the hordes of survivors they all know will be coming soon. Thousands of people will be streaming out of cities, looking for food and shelter, desperate to survive. Can the Mennonite Community stay true to its Christian beliefs of non-violence and kindness in the midst of a large-scale disaster?

I'm on a bit of a disaster story kick at the moment. This book sounded interesting, and I wasn't disappointed. It's definitely Christian fiction, but it's not preachy or overdone. The story really brought out the fact that everyone would be effected by a disaster that nullifies technology, even communities that shun modern conveniences. The Mennonites have to deal with dwindling food supplies, waste disposal, clean water, and safety just like everyone else. They have to revert to old ways of farming, building and cooking, and bend their beliefs a bit to protect themselves from violent gangs, thieves and hordes of desperate survivors.

I liked how the characters are thrown together with no warning and have to learn to work together, despite very different views. They learn to compromise for the good of the entire group.

There is a second book in this series, The Divide. I can't wait to read it so I can find out what happens next!

To find out more about the author, check out her website: http://www.jolinapetersheim.com/

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