Jolina Petersheim

Dear Readers,

I was drawn to the cover from The Outcast by Jolina Petersheim the minute I saw it.  I thought I would like to get a chance to read it, but this quiet little book surprised not only me, but the publisher as well on how quickly it would sell.  It was unavailable for a bit because the first group was sold out so quickly.

The subtitle is "a modern retelling of the Scarlet Letter."  It is easy to see the parallel to that book, but there are shades of the Rachel and Leah story in the Bible also, and that is what I found so fascinating.

In a quiet and gentle manner, Jolina is able to tell the very intense story of Rachel, a young Amish woman who finds herself in a community far from home.  She moved there to help her twin sister who was having a difficult pregnancy.  While there, Rachel becomes pregnant herself and refuses to name the father, which causes all kinds of uproar in the community.

When the Bishop of the church forces her to leave the community, she ends up living at Ida Mae's house. Ida Mae has her own secrets that she guards.  It puts Ida Mae in a special position to help Rachel in ways no one else probably could. 

The characters are portrayed in a rich and wonderful way, such that at one point I think I was mad or frustrated with all of them.  Which to me means that is a good story.  I became involved in their stories and cared whether or not if they were doing the right thing.

The storyline is not a great mystery and I am sure you can figure out who the father is quickly, but the back story of it is what makes this book so interesting.  I am looking forward to Jolina's next book which is scheduled to come out in 2014.

Happy Reading