Crissa Chappell

3.5 stars.

Snowbirds by Crissa-Jean Chappell is an intriguing young adult novel about a teenager's disappearance following a party on a beach.

Sixteen year old Lucy Zimmer lives with her father in Pinecraft, FL and although they are members of the Mennonite church, she is close friends with Alice Yoder, an Old Order Amish girl from Maine. Lucy is eagerly awaiting the yearly arrival of Alice, who spends the winter in Pinecraft with her mom. Lucy is surprised at the differences in Alice whose rebellious behavior coincides with her "Rumspringa". Lucy is alarmed at Alice's plans to run away with her boyfriend Tobias and after the two girls have an argument at a party, Lucy leaves her friend at the party to view the sunrise on another beach with a "shunned" Amish young man, Faron Mast. The next morning, Lucy learns Alice is missing and she cannot help but blame herself for her friend's disappearance.

Although Lucy is a member of the less strict Mennonite Church, she and her father lead a fairly simple, technology free life. While she is aghast at some of Alice's choices, she is also a little jealous at her friend's brief period of freedom during Rumspringa. Lucy is chafing against her dad's expectations for her future and unable to go against his wishes, she is giving in without fighting for what she wants. After Alice vanishes without a trace, Lucy is determined to find out the truth about what that night, but will she ruin her relationship with her dad in the process?

The information Lucy uncovers about Alice's activities in the preceding months is rather shocking and since she has such a sheltered life, she does not fully grasp what her friend has been up to. This does not stop her from investigating Alice's disappearance but when she reaches a dead end in Florida, she knows she must go to Maine in order to find out as much as she can about what Alice was doing before she and her mom traveled to Pinecraft. She turns to Faron for assistance and the two embark on a somewhat perilous journey in order for her to discover what happened to her friend.

While the premise of the novel is quite interesting, some parts of the story are a little disjointed and repetitive. Lucy is somewhat impulsive and considering that she has no idea what happened to Alice, the decisions she makes are risky and lead her into dangerous situations. The truth about Alice's disappearance is quite unexpected and just the tiniest bit disappointing.

Snowbirds by Crissa-Jean Chappell offers a fascinating peek into the differences between the Amish and Mennonite religions. In spite of the very different worlds they live in, Alice and Lucy are typical teens as they begin to doubt their faith and struggle to escape parental expectations in favor of their choices. An engaging young adult novel that readers of the genre will enjoy.
… (plus d'informations)

This coming of age story set in Pinecraft, Florida peeks into the secretive world of the Amish whether Old Order or Beachy Amish-Mennonite. (Who even understood the difference?) It's told through the life and heart of a teen girl straining to be set free from religious and familial expectations. It has all the pathos, wonder, enchantment and tension of true teenage life with the secretive Amish element added to the mix.

The clipped sentence structure initially felt breathless but eventually, one grew accustomed to the rhythm of the prose.

I am grateful to author Crissa-Jean Chappell, publisher Merit Press and Goodreads First Reads for having provided a free copy of this book. Their generosity, however, did not influence this review - the words of which are mind alone.… (plus d'informations)

I grew up in Amish country in Northern New York, an area of both strict ordnungs more liberal Mennonites, so the topic of this book intrigued me the moment I read the back. The story is mainly set in Pinecraft, a community in Florida that consists of both Amish and Mennonite residents. "Snowbirds" are those Old Order Amish that come south for the winter, temporarily joining the Florida community.

The story is told by Lucy Zimmer, a young girl in the Mennonite community. Unlike the Mennonite communities I am familiar with, her group embraces the long dresses and prayer caps of stricter groups. But unlike the Amish, her dresses are pastel instead of dark blues and blacks. Her community is allowed more mainstream living, including electricity, phones, cars, etc. But unlike the Amish, they do not embrace rumspringa.

Lucy's best friend is Alice, a member of the Old Order community. She is in the middle of her rumspringa and that puts a bit of chasm between the two girls. Alice is embracing the freedom of rumspringa and Lucy is left trying to keep up. But after an argument, Lucy finds herself with a boy she should never be with, an Old Order boy who was shunned by his community. To make matters worse, while Lucy is with Faron, Alice disappears.

This is such an interesting story. On one hand, it is a bit of a coming-of-age story as Lucy struggles with her own ideology and dreams. She has been struggling for a long time, caught between wanting a life outside of Pinecraft and the beliefs she has grown up with. Her quest to find Alice teaches her so much about the outside world and about herself. In the end, it has been an eye-opening experience that Lucy probably needed in order to find her place in the world. On the other hand, the story is a mystery... what happened to Alice? No one else seems to care besides Lucy and she is loyal and brave, determined to find answers, even if those answers may change how she looks at the world.… (plus d'informations)