The Thorn- Beverly Lewis

I was given the opportunity by Bethany House Publishers to review a copy of The Thorn by Beverly Lewis.  This book is the first in the newest trilogy by the author.  To be honest, other than a made for tv movie adapted by one of her books, I really have never read anything by Beverly Lewis.  I am fascinated by the Amish but never have picked up any fiction about their lives.  The story switches narrators between two sisters Rose and Hen (short for Hannah). One sister is broken away from the Amish community and is finding herself drawn back into it and away from her "Englisher" husband.  The youngest is maturing and reaching the age of courtship. The book talks a great deal about the relationships between the Amish people and those who are not Amish.

It was a slow start for me- I felt as though the pacing was too slow.  I really think the author oculd have used Hen's story for the first book and Rose's for the second.  I felt as though she tried to do too much in too short of a time- and leaving many characters undeveloped.  The end of the story was pretty decent and made it pretty obvious there was going to be a sequel.  The story literally cut off completely.  I found it frustrating that none of the storylines were even close to being tied up at the end of the story- there was no closure in any of the story lines.

I doubt that I will pick up the next two books, unless I check them out of the library.  This was a decent book, but I am guessing it isn't her best.