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23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Highly recommended, June 1, 2006
From the first page to the last, Sawyer's ability as a word weaver captured me and immersed me in the world she creates. With an obvious gift for story-telling, none of her characters are stereotype or predictable. The grossmutter's slow acceptance of Summer rang true with none of the expected shenanigans. The boy, Thomas, watched his new teacher with a child's curiosity and the wary prejudice of the sect's teachings about outsiders. Sawyer portrays him with insight, making him come alive. The Mennonites within the community who don't want Summer in their midst are not over-written, but presented with an honesty that displays their tribulations and traditions. I found the evolution of Summer's faith to be guileless, without preaching or manipulation. I applaud Sawyer for not detailing the conversion of Summer's mother-in-law which in this reviewer's humble opinion, kept it from being too tidy a package. We've all heard the words before, but in this case they're true. The character's literally lodge themselves in the reader's heart. Tender and poignant, this book receives a high recommendation.
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14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Superb Debut - Engrossing, April 10, 2006
Traveling with her family from Boston to a new life in Oklahoma, Summer Steadman lived a woman's worst nightmare. Fate slammed her dream shut in Gaeddert, Kansas when typhoid fever claimed not only the life of her husband, but all four of her children. Wanting to remain near the graves of her family she sought work-- finding little in the way of employment from the small tightly bound Mennonite community. Hope came in the form of widower Peter Ollenberger, the local gristmill operator whose young son had been injured and needed a tutor to keep from falling behind in his studies. Though Summer was an `outsider' Peter was singularly devoted to providing his son the best education he could provide. Peter would brave the censure from his religious community by offering the Summer room and board for her tutoring services. With little desire to go on living, Peter slowly gave Summer a reason to believe again in the joy of life and by his example, his love of God gave her the inclination to reexamine her relationship with the almighty. While Peter's son Thomas grew attached to Summer, Peter had to determine whether he should marry again for his son's sake or for love. Summer would battle her feelings of guilt over loving another child when hers had died, and rejoice over discovering the joy of truly opening her mind and heart to God. *** Ms. Sawyer debuts with a powerful story of a mothers greatest heartbreak and search to re-discover God after he deserted her and her most fervent prayers. With the help of the widower Peter, his son Thomas, and their Grossmutter, Summer was led back to the land of living with patience and purpose in a moving and deeply emotional journey by discovering the joy of inviting Christ into her barren heart. Sawyer's depiction of the tight knit Mennonite community, their customs, living conditions, and fear of `outsiders' was all skillfully integrated into a fast paced story. This debut author hooked me from the very beginning by breathing the very life and soul into her characterizations in an engrossing and superb debut that I highly recommend. Brava! Marilyn Rondeau, member of Reviewers International Organization (RIO)
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Beautiful Story, October 25, 2006
Kim Vogel Sawyer created a believable story of a mother and wife suffering the pangs of grief after the loss of her four children and husband. Summer Steadman finds herself alone in a small Mennonite community in Gaeddart, Kansas during the fall of 1894. So deep in mourning that she finds food repugnant, she has allowed her body to become weakened. Her soul has become as emaciated as her body. No longer sure that God loves her or anyone else, Summer's only real wish is to join her family in death. It seems God has other plans for her, though. Peter Ollenburger, a local gristmill owner, is in need of a teacher for his son, Thomas. Since the young boy is housebound after an accident resulting in broken ribs and can't ride his horse to school, he is falling behind in his studies. Peter's wife, Elsa, would be the logical choice to be his teacher, but she died six years earlier. Peter needs someone to live on his property and give the boy his lessons until he is fully recovered. After learning that Summer Steadman has lost her family to illness and has need of a position, he proposes that she come live in his home as Thomas's teacher. When objections to the impropriety of the situation are brought to his attention, Peter agrees that Summer could live in his shariah rather than in the house with the family. Wanting only to be close to the graves of her family, Summer accepts Peter's proposition and moves to his property. What awaits the reader of Waiting for Summer's Return is a journey of relationship renewals. Summer and Peter both travel the path toward new knowledge of people and God. The trip is filled with bumps and ruts much like the road to the town of Gaeddart. As Thomas grows to know his temporary teacher, his affection for her grows to become the love of a child for a mother. Neither Summer nor Peter had planned on this complication. What are they to do? How will God orchestrate the symphony of their lives? Kim Vogel Sawyer's writing is a joy to read. Her characters catch the reader's heart. It is hard to put the book down in order to carry on with life. Waiting for Summer's Return is one of those books you will want to keep reading to the point where the dishes will stack up in the sink and the laundry will go unwashed because you have to read just one more chapter. And that chapter leads to another and then another. Go ahead read those chapters. The dishes and the laundry will be there when you finish the book.
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