A Wedding Quilt for Ella

This is a dark novel, a study in grief, rather than the Amish romance that its title implies, in which the first of several tragedies ends Ella's wedding plans. Eicher (Rebecca's Promise), who has lived among the Amish, captures the tranquil pace of their life and their abiding desire to conform to God's will. But many aspects of the community he creates seem contrived. The plot turns partly on a rule that no one can marry before age 21, while most Amish encourage early marriage to discourage earlier sex. Nor is any otherwise sane Amish man likely to refuse an ambulance for his critically injured child because he considers its lights too flashy. A minister seems strangely arrogant for a faith whose signature virtue is humility, and an effort to push Ella into a hasty marriage also rings false. But Ella is a convincingly compassionate woman who will hold readers' interest as she struggles to find God's hand in her loss. The story ends with a chance for a new start and a gentle cliffhanger to be resolved in the next book in Eicher's Little Valley series. (Feb.)