This is not your typical Amish love story book! I loved this book! Why? Because I had to keep turning pages to see what happened next and there was always something happening! I was never a fan of books with a war theme but this book was totally different.
Jude Whetstone and his family are converts to the Amish faith and have been part of the faith for about 10 years. He has fallen in love with two things - Lyyndaya Kurtz, also an Amish convert, and the aeroplane. His love of flying gets him in a bit of hot water with the elders but since a decision whether or not to ban the Lapp Amish from flying in them has not been made yet, Jude decides to fly as long as is permitted. Unfortunately for him, he is really good at what he does and the military soon takes notice. After being asked to join the Army and fly and refusing on religious grounds he and several other young men from his community are arrested for being objectors. They, being of German descent are put into horrible conditions and forced to do unthinkable things. Jude is told by an unsavory commander that if he will just agree to fly his buddies can go home or they can die in the conditions they are in if he says no. So he agrees against his will.
Mr. Pura does a wonderful job of getting across the conflict within Jude. He is Amish and does not kill but he is being asked to go to war and kill. How he handles this is the main focus of this book and it is amazing to read. And what about Lyyndaya? She, too loves to fly but not like Jude. And what of their community? They have put a baan on Jude for enlisting and Lyyndaya is forbidden from communication with him. No one understands, except the other boys who were with him, why he did what he did, but Lyyndaya is going to stand by him, no matter what. Will she be shunned too? What if he doesn't come home?
This book had such a good feeling to it amid the conflict and I really enjoyed reading it. I look forward to Mr. Pura's next book. This one is not to be missed!
No comments:
Post a Comment