A BOOK REVIEW OF FIRST IMPRESSIONS BY SARAH PRICE
Sarah Price takes the
themes from the classic novel Pride and
Prejudice to write a superb Amish romance, First Impressions (Realms). First Impressions is the first book in a
new series by Sarah entitled The Amish
Classics Series. In the series, the
author will be taking novels by the famed writer Jane Austen and recreating
them in current day Amish settings.
Our protagonist is Lizzy who
has a strong, clear voice in the book.
She is the second oldest of five marriage-aged daughters living in
Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Her Maem
(Mother) is constantly plotting to find suitors for her girls and is thrilled
to find out that three eligible bachelors from Holmes County, Ohio have arrived
in town to begin farming. Lizzy’s Daed
(Father) is a sweet, tenderhearted man who tries to tame his wife’s plotting
and favors Lizzy when her Maem gets too out of control.
Two of the new young men,
Charles and George, make a good first impression. Both are charming and good looking. But the third man, Frederick, is immediately
labeled proud and haughty. And that
first impression sticks to Frederick without regard to whether there is any
truth behind the label.
Lizzy’s older sister Jane
begins to consider Charles as her special friend. All are expecting a wedding and Maem is
thrilled beyond belief to be marrying off one of her daughters.
Meanwhile a distant widower
cousin, Wilmer, arrives trying to force Lizzy to become his wife. Lizzy clearly tells Wilmer she has no
interest in becoming his wife and that she will only marry for love, not for
convenience. Lizzy’s Maem is furious
that she turned down Wilmer and is convinced that Lizzy will end up as a “maedel”
– an older unmarried woman. Thankfully,
her Daed, agrees with Lizzy and insists that she does not need to marry Wilmer.
To make matters worse, unexpectedly
Charles is called back to Holmes County due to a family illness, but he doesn’t
write or attempt to contact Jane. Jane
eventually receives a letter from his sister stating Charles is considering
marriage to another woman from Holmes County.
Such bad news throws the whole household into a depression.
At this point it is hard
to think that there can be a happy ending for all of the characters. But as the book so eloquently states, “Different
perspectives engender different realities.”
Such a deep thought, but so true.
When Lizzy figures out that her own pride and prejudices have caused her
to misjudge others, she decides to embrace God’s plans. The
author has included a beautiful Bible verse, “’For I know the plans I have for
you’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to
give you hope and a future.’” Such glorious
words of hope for Lizzy!
First Impressions is a book to be treasured. It
has a thought-provoking message on the foolishness of letting pride get in the way
of our relationships, wrapped in an exciting and fast paced, very readable
novel. First Impressions will be released May 6, 2014.
I would read it! Yes it's a winner.
ReplyDeleteThanks Teresa! I totally agree, it is a great book. Anyone who loves Amish fiction will love it! Thank you for your comments!
ReplyDeleteI am excited and can't wait to read this one.
ReplyDelete