A Widow's Hope

The popularity of Christian novels set in the Amish culture knows no bounds, so Ellis's tale should be a sure-fire hit for eager readers. Hannah Brown, childless and widowed after six years of marriage, seeks and needs a change. She sells her farm to her brother, puts her sheep on a truck and heads from Pennsylvania to Ohio to live with her beloved sister. Hannah's transition, however, is anything but smooth. Her brother-in-law, Simon, doesn't seem to like her, her sheep cause trouble, and her equilibrium is shattered thanks to handsome widower Seth Miller and his daughter, Phoebe. This is a gentle tale of renewed hope that puts readers in the middle of Amish life, and genre fans will certainly love it. Ellis offers a bit of originality in that Hannah owns a herd of sheep, but the book as a whole is more of the same in the huge, warm kitchen of Amish fiction. (Mar. 1)