An Amish Courtship on Ice Mountain

Long’s fourth Ice Mountain 1950s Amish romance (after The Amish Heart of Ice Mountain) has a touch of the supernatural. Twenty-year-old Joel Umble and 19-year-old Martha Yoder are part of the Amish community living on Ice Mountain in northern Pennsylvania. When a chance encounter at a creek turns into their first kiss, Joel begins courting Martha; the innocence and simplicity of their courtship is heartwarming, and its depth is revealed in their small kindnesses toward each other. But there are complications: Joel’s brother Judah claims that Martha hexed him (seemingly due to his association with the evil Bishop Loftus), and Joel’s second sight causes him to try to distance himself from Martha for fear that she may come to harm if his visions are true. Long brings insight into the lives of a young Amish couple and their moving, intense romance. Agent: Natasha Kern, Natasha Kern Literary. (Dec.)