Mary Christner Borntrager

This is a short, wholesome book that takes place in an Amish community. An “English” (not Amish) girl has been left in the care of a sweet Amish family while her mother goes out of town for personal reasons. During the trip, her mother passed away, and Pearlie Mae is left to stay at the Amish family’s home. They change her name to be more Amish, and the book follows Annie through the next few years of her life on this community.

Apparently, this series, “Ellie’s People” is quite popular in Amish and Mennonite communities. I can see why! It’s completely appropriate for all ages, teaches some life lessons without being over preachy, and describes daily life ok an average Amish dairy farm.

I recommend this to anyone who likes simple stories with solid morals, and appreciates an author who can pull this off without being over-bearingly preachy about such topics. I would actually like to read more from this series if I ever had a chance to.

I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway.… (plus d'informations)

I find it hard to read Borntrager's books because she inserts so much Pennsylvania Dutch (and its translation). I admire her desire to keep true to Amish life and have no doubt that these phrases are commonly used in Amish family life, but the excessive usage breaks up the story for me.

Amish youth have a time of running around during which they can experience worldly ways before deciding if they will officially join the church. Polly and her brother Ben reach this age while their family is living in Texas, away from Amish youngsters their age. Having no Amish to cavort with, Polly is drawn to worldly ways more strongly--with almost disastrous results.… (plus d'informations)

There are stories. Then there are stories about stories.

I felt like "Daniel" by Mary Christner Borntrager was a story about a story. It seemed like someone was telling about a story that was heard rather than one that was experienced. The characters were not well developed. There were long sections where the story moved too quickly (not enough detail), and other places that felt draggy. Many of the conversations in the book felt artificial, almost like someone had said, "This book needs more dialogue", so the author tried to insert some.

Still it was a sweet story. I enjoy stories of the Amish, and I truly liked the family that this story was about. It was a very quick read -- no more than a couple of hours. I would have preferred the book to be longer, and to include more depth of character.

The author has written several other books, and I would be willing to give them a try. If I had to choose, though, between this author and other authors known for their Amish writings, I would read the other authors first.… (plus d'informations)