Books, Movies, and Chinese Food

Summary from BN.com: It is 1844 and Lacey Bishop's life is a tangled mess. Estranged from her own family, at age 16 she went to work for a preacher and his wife. When his wife died, the preacher convinced Lacey that the only decent thing to do was to marry him. That way she could continue to act as mother to the little girl who was left on his doorstop. But Lacey never expected he would decide to take them all off to a Shaker village. There she's still married but living in a community that believes marriage is a sin. And to make matters worse, she finds herself drawn to Isaac Kingston, a man who came to the Shakers after his young bride died. But of course any notion of love between them is only a forbidden dream. How will Lacey ever find true happiness? Books about the Shakers are a genre that I have difficulty reading about. I highly disagree with their theology. Everything that they believe is something that I find fault with. I feel that they took words from the Bible a...

Summary from BN.com: It is 1936 and Kate Merritt, the middle child of Victor and Nadine, works hard to keep her family together. Her father slowly slips into alcoholism and his business suffers during the Great Depression. As her mother tries to come to grips with their situation and her sisters seem to remain blissfully oblivious to it, it is Kate who must shoulder the emotional load. Who could imagine that a dirty, abandoned little girl named Lorena Birdsong would be just what the Merritts need? When I first picked up this book, I thought the plot was just going to be about a teen girl and the new sister she found along the way. I did not expect such a rich, deep and beautiful story about forgiveness and how bitterness can take a hold of oneself for years. The words in this story are so moving and powerful. I got swept into the lives of these characters and I did not want to leave. This book was absolutely a joy to read. The frame of the story deals with Kate, a young teen durin...

Charlotte Vance is a young woman who knows what she wants. But when the man she planned to marry joins the Shakers—a religious group that does not marry—she is left dumbfounded. And when her father brings home a new wife who is young enough to be Charlotte's sister, it is more than she can bear. With the country—and her own household—on the brink of civil war, this pampered gentlewoman hatches a plan to avoid her new stepmother and win back her man by joining the Shaker community at Harmony Hill. Little does she know that this decision will lead her down a road toward unforeseen peace—and a very unexpected love. This book starts off with your typical evil stepmother story, where the father is clueless and bewitched by his younger new wife. He seems ignorant to his adult daughter's feelings and doesn't seem to realize that his new wife is trying to get rid of anything from the old household including his own daughter. Charlotte is caught between her devotion for he...

Elizabeth Duncan has nowhere to turn. In charge of her younger brother and sister after their parents die, her options are limited. When she hears that the Shaker community in the next county takes in orphans, she presents herself and her siblings at Harmony Hill. Despite the hard work and strange new beliefs around her, Elizabeth is relieved to have a roof overhead and food to eat. But when she feels a strong attachment to a handsome young Believer named Ethan, life gets complicated. Ethan has never looked on the opposite sex as anything but sisters, but he can't shake the new feelings that Elizabeth has awakened in him. Will Elizabeth be forced to leave the village to keep Ethan from stumbling? Or will Ethan's love for her change their lives forever? Following on the heels of the successful book The Outsider, The Believer is Ann H. Gabhart's newest exploration of love and devotion in this quiet Shaker community. I will admit I was a bit wary when I picked up this book ini...

Learning about the Shaker way of Life Gabrielle is a member of the religious group, The Shakers. Since a small child, she has been a part of this community and has not experienced the outside world. Then one day an incident brings a doctor from the outside into the community and suddenly Gabrielle's world is shaken. She feels drawn to Dr. Brice Scott yet it means giving up everything she's ever known. However she starts to question the beliefs and practices of the Shakers and wonders if this is truly the right path for her. Looking at the cover of this book, one might think "Oh, it's another Amish book." Well then the reader is in for a surprise as the story is about another lesser known historical religious group, The Shakers. Gabrielle's story brings to life the daily life of the Shakers and gives the reader a glimpse of what life was like for someone who did not truly belong. It was interesting to see how they dealt with the outside world and how they ...