Customer Reviews

Naomi's Gift: An Amish Christmas Story

5 star:		(33)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

A lovely 24-year-old Amish gal meets handsome widower with an adorable child; also Amish. Amish avoidance of electricity doesn't foil the spark of this love-at-first-sight affair. `Twas the week before Christmas and all through the house there is romance to bridle. All Amish--All Christmas--a novella that is all Amy Clipston writing style--which means home-spun visions of sugarplums.

It's a fast read (one day if you are retired like me) but about plain, slower ways of an Amish Christmas holiday. A Christmas in the Lancaster Co., PA community is slow-paced and family-friendly. Ya, perhaps that's the lesson to be "learnt" from this "wounderbaar" book. Christmas miracles come in new, second beginnings. A feel-good book for a feel-good holiday.

This cozy, snowy story, takes the reader at a horse's trot pace, total story time-line is but a single week including Christmas. First it offers you a glossary page of Amish terms/words (wounderbaar), and then a couple of pages of the large Amish family genealogy charts that represent the characters of the story. What a nice gift to begin with. Saves much confusion. The book ends with a Raspberry Dream Torte recipe, group discussion questions, acknowledgements including contact info for an Inn to visit in Lancaster Co. (hopefully on the Christ Child's Birthday there WILL be room in the inn.)

The book is not indicated to be one of the Kauffman Amish Bakery Series, but the Kauffman's, Shumucker's, King's, and Lapp's are all there in Bird-In-Hand just like the series. Promos in the book's endpages refer to the 4th series book coming in Feb. 2012; "A Life of Joy". In the meantime, find joy in this shorter Amish novella.

Another reviewer referred to errors found in the e-book variation. I found no errors in the HC I purchased. Cyberspace is not all it's cracked up to be? And isn't there something just morally wrong with reading an AMISH tale on an ELECTRONIC device? (Asked with tongue-in-whiskered-cheek. :)

Frehlicher Grischtdaag! - Merry Christmas!

As fall is beginning to peak around the corner, some of the best books are just beginning to hit the bookshelves in time to get us in the Christmas spirit, and one of the best I've read belongs to Amy Clipston, who wrote, Naomi's Gift, An Amish Christmas Story. I've yet to read an Amish book, I didn't like and this one was such a true pleasure to read.

I could imagine life at Bird-In-Hand Pennsylvania, the crisp cold chill of snow in the air, settling under thick, gray clouds. Just in time to make it for Christmas, widower Caleb Schmucker and his young daughter, Susie come to visit his sister Sadie and her family. Just before arriving at their house, Susie reminds Caleb that it isn't proper to show up for a visit, without bringing something, and insists on visiting a local Farmer's Market to pick up a homemade pie.

Once they arrive inside the busy indoor market they both head for a small bakery and try to decide if they should buy apple or pumpkin pie. Just when Caleb looks down to ask Susie for her opinion, she is gone. Lost in the hustle and bustle of a busy market place, Susie is drawn to a quilt stand operated by Naomi King. She tells her that the quilts remind her of her own mother who died. Feeling a connection beyond sympathy with Susie, a friendly conversation begins between the two, as Caleb suddenly rushes up, grabbing Susie. He reminds her that she can't leave like that because he was so worried. Susie introduces him to Naomi and a warm connection flows between the two.

Now struggling to face his own personal feelings of getting over his grief for his wife Barbara, he is pulled in two directions. One by his sister Sadie's interference in finding him a "suitable" wife and the connection he feels whenever Susie and Naomi get together at their family home. This love story will warm your heart as you find yourself hoping that Caleb and Naomi will find true love, but will Caleb be able to leave the memories of his first love behind in Ohio to make a fresh start in Pennsylvania?

You'll have to read, Naomi's Gift to find out how this holiday story will end. One thing is certain is their faith in God has helped them weather their storms up to this point and they both know with God anything is possible, even the potential of a widower finding love again. I received this book compliments of Christian Fiction Blog Alliance for my honest review. If you are an Amish fan or a lover of great Christmas stories, than this one will need to be placed at the top of your wish list. I personally rate it a 5 out of 5 stars and will be reading this each year during Christmas!

I can't believe that it's time to break out the Christmas books already. I mean technically summer JUST ended! I guess it's never too early though to get into the holiday spirit. And if you're into Amish books that have a romance in them this will be the type of combination that you will be looking forward to reading.

I felt horribly bad for Naomi when she tries to strike a friendship with Caleb and everyone keeps lambasting her for chasing the guy. They aren't concerned with her having her heart broken again. No, they are worried about how bad it's going to look for her to keep going after single guys. I was a bit appalled at how worrisome these Amish folks were on what other people were thinking. Caleb seems like a good guy and it's evident that he love his daughter very much. I was pleased to see him stand up to his sister.

I didn't find much Christmas in this story. It takes place in winter and it's around the holiday season but other than a few brief mentions, there's not too much of it in the actual story. I don't even think the Amish really participate in many Christmas-y activities to begin with so it doesn't really feel like there's much holiday joy in the air. Let's just say I didn't get excited for Christmas while reading this book. I also didn't really learn anything new about the Amish either in this book.

If you're into Amish books, you will probably enjoy this story. If you're looking for something to get you in the holiday spirit, this probably isn't the best book for that purpose. As a novella, it's a short story with the sole purpose of having two people come together to find love. Therefore it fulfills it's purpose with an Amish twist to it. If you're into that, you'll be very happy.

I'm still working my way through this but just had to comment on the editing errors. I have the Kindle version and I'm not sure if this was double checked before being released but... . Someone desparetely needs to go in and recheck this for errors. I stayed up to midnight just so I could have one of the first ones for my time zone.

Please fix the errors so I can redownload a copy that I can read!

8 Nov 2011

Thanks for letting me that this was fixed. I was just able to redownload it. After checking it over rather quickly I'll go ahead and give it 5 stars.

I love the Kaufman series. I won't go into the details of the story since it's all in the summary detailed above, but I will say, she has certainly done it again! I am looking forward to the next one.

This journey begins with Caleb and his daughter Susie taking a trip home for Christmas. You see, Caleb lost his wife and unborn child in a freak accident 2 years prior. Caleb blames himself for the death of his wife. He feels as that he will not have another chance at love. That is until, his daughter runs into a woman at a flea market. Susie immediately takes to this woman. Caleb's sister however, has other plans for his brother. She tells Caleb to stay away from a woman named Naomi King explaining that she is very eager to find herself a husband. She herself has been burned by love in the past and fears she is meant to take care of her siblings. Sadie tries playing match maker with a woman named Irene. However, when Caleb finds out his mystery woman is in fact Naomi; he decides to get to know her. What will happen for Caleb and Naomi? Will they both get another chance at love this holiday season?

I am very thankful that I had the opportunity to review this book through Zondervan. I love the holiday season and what better way to celebrate this season but read some holiday books?! This one in particular drew me in. I felt like I could relate to Naomi King. I wasn't too fond of Sadie; however I can see that she was only trying to protect her brother from getting hurt again. I completely fell in love with Susie! I loved the way she took to Naomi from the get go. You know what they say; kids have good intuition with regards to adults. Naomi's gift, in fact turned out to be her love for Caleb and his daughter. I would even go as far to say that Naomi's gift was being loved in return. The man upstairs is the only one who can tell us how many chances we get at love, how many chances we get in life period. Mistakes are going to be made, we are only human. While this book portrays more of the "love and first sight" theme, I think it goes even deeper than that. It shows that we can overcome tragedy. Caleb realized that he could in fact, still love his wife and move on with his life. Moving on doesn't have to mean forgetting the times he had with her. In his case, it means forgiving himself and letting go of the past.

I rate this book 5/5

Posted on November 30, 2011 to my blog:[...] ,to Facebook: [...], to Amazon, & Goodreads.

i enjoy each and every book you have writen thank you for what you do! I llove being able to sit and rean one of your book and feel as if i am there and part of the book , its so easy to get lost in time while reading :)It will be great to read this one i love christmas and the amish.

This book is a must read for anyone that loves Amish fiction and Christmas stories. She does a wonderful job portraying the characters in the story,and a book the you wouldn't want to put down once you opened the front page.I would recommend to grab a steaming hot cup of cocoa,a cozy blanket, and some quiet time to enjoy this authors book.You will be glad you did.

I enjoyed this one as I do all of her books. She is an awesome writer and gets the facts about the Amish just right. I live in Amish country and have ancestorial background of Amish and mennonite and find her books so enjoyable. Ellen K

This is a short Christmas story that mentions several characters from Clipston's other novels,but it reads well as a stand-alone. Like most Christmas books it has a predictable plot and a heartwarming ending. Fans of Amish fiction will enjoy the details about how these people celebrate Christmas.

I'd like to thank the publisher for making a review copy available via NetGalley. Grade: B- (nice story but very predictable and short).