BOOK REVIEW: A Season for Tending

By:  Cindy Woodsmall
Published September 2012
Book One in the Amish Vines and Orchards Series

Once again Cindy Woodsmall has written a book that I could not put down. She left me hanging!!  Now I have to read books two and three, or however many she will write in this series.  Exasperating sometimes.

Rhoda Byler is a young Amish woman who is still single, and she prefers it that way.  Although she lives in the home of her parents, along with her two brothers and their growing families, she has her own profitable business.  She is also considered by those outside her family as being peculiar and someone to stay away from.  It's been said that she gets premonitions of things that are going to happen.  She even knew her younger sister Emma was going to die.  And she couldn't save her. 

This sense of impending doom is not something Rhoda wants to be known for or deal with.  How can she cope, knowing she was unable to save her sister Emma?  Understandably Rhoda tends to keep to herself so she won't stir up conflict.

Another Amish family is going through their own problems.  The weight of the family business, an apple orchard, rests on the shoulders of a young man named Samuel King.  He is embroiled in a relationship with a young woman who wants more of his time than he is willing to give.  His younger sister Leah is going through her wild, running around years, and his brother Jacob has come home from the outside world and will not talk about his problems.  Plus he has other sisters and his younger brother Eli to deal with.

The lives of these two families become entwined when Rhoda finds Leah hiding in her garden after a late night out on the town.  Rhoda butts heads with Samuel over Leah, but also over the proposition Samuel offers concerning utilizing her services with his orchard.  Along the way a romance blossoms between Rhoda and Jacob.

The story concludes with a cliffhanger.  The families are working together, and now they must make a decision that will change their lives forever.  What choices will they make, and how will those choices impact the lives of the younger generation?  Will they allow God to guide their lives, turn over their problems to Him?

In order to comply with new Federal Trade Commission regulations, please note that this book was provided compliments of  the WaterBrook Multnomah book review program.