Anne Kemerer Jones
The Preacher’s Daughter
Patricia Johns. Zebra, $8.99 (352p) ISBN 978-1-4201-5237-1
Fans of Johns will find the second of this series set in the Amish community of Bountiful, PA, to be even better than the first as the tale of disgraced preacher Abe Yoder and his young adult children continues with the story of Elizabeth, Abe’s eldest daughter [p. 10 ff]. Elizabeth is devastated after learning her father, whom she idolized as a child, was sent to prison for fraud [p. 10 ff]. Her heart is further broken when her younger sister, Lovina, leaves the Amish life [p. 13]. Struggling to make sense of her family’s betrayals, Elizabeth goes to live and help care for elderly widow Bridget Lantz [p. 6 ff]. Bridget secretly knows that her grandson, Solomon, is returning home after his own release from prison [p. 16]. She hopes that Elizabeth will be able to help Solomon by offering him forgiveness and a fresh start, which Bridget believes Elizabeth also wants as the community has unfairly judged her for her father’s crimes [p. 16 ff]. Elizabeth, however, has always sought perfection, in both herself and a potential mate [p. 32 ff]. She wrestles with coming to terms with the complexities of life, realizing that people are not all good or bad, and that love isn’t perfect [p. 163, 188, etc.]. Solomon proves to her that people can make poor choices but learn from them and grow in maturity and faith [p. 306, eg]. Their unlikely romance helps them both heal their familial relationships and become closer to God [p. 187, 306, 328]. A poignant and true to life story that will resonate deeply with readers. [June 2021].