Book Review - The Memory Jar

ABOUT THE BOOK: 

Book One in the Seven Brides for Seven Bachelors series

Every year, 30-40 young Amish men descend on the cozy little town of West Kootenai, Montana, arriving in the spring to live there for six months and receive 'resident' status for the hunting season in the fall. They arrive as bachelors, but go home with brides! Sarah Shelter has lived in West Kootenai for the last ten years and wonders if she will ever fall in love.andnbsp;Since the tragic death of her best friend, she carries her memories in a jar along with the small items connected to them. For just as long, she's also been carrying around her emotions instead of allowing them to penetrate deep into her heart. Now she's met a kind and gentle man who may be able to break down the wall. But can Sarah risk her heart to finally achieve her dreams?

 

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

 

Tricia Goyer is the award winning author of over thirty books including Beside Still Waters, Remembering You, and the mommy memoir, Blue Like Play Dough. Tricia is a regular speaker at conventions and conferences and is the host of Living Inspired. She and her family make their home in Little Rock, Arkansas where they are part of the ministry of FamilyLife.

Find out more about Tricia at http://triciagoyer.com

 

MY REVIEW:

 

I really enjoyed this book. I think it spoke to me because one of the main themes of the book was using your gifts that God gives you regardless of what other's think.

 

This book is about Sarah, a young woman who has a heartache that is deep and, because of this heartache, she has a wall around her heart. She's a creative young woman who isn't readily understood by those around her. 

 

Along comes Jathan and he, too, has a longing like Sarah that is looked down upon in his Amish community. There is a judgement about anything that doesn't fit with the standard Amish ways. Fortunately for both Sarah and Jathan, they meet and become fast friends.

 

Through a series of evens, Sarah is led to help Jathan and his family, using her creative skills. Unfortunately, not everyone understands her creative ways and a lot want to cling to the "plain" way of doing things. This drives a wedge between Jathan and Sarah as he struggles to please his family and her.

 

I liked how there were scenes from Sarah's childhood and her times with her good friend, Patty, woven through the book. It gives us a glimpse of who Patty was and how she shaped her best friend, Sarah. I also loved Sarah's Memory Jars and how she keeps something simple from the days that are worth remembering. 

 

One sentence in the book that just popped out at me was this, "God created you with special talents for a purpose, and sometimes those we love most don't understand that. Don't let the doubts of others ring louder than God's whispers to your spirit. Sometimes God's whispers are harder to hear, but they're to be trusted the most." I could relate to this and Sarah's story so much. I could do a whole blog post on how our loved ones can put doubts in our head above all else. That's for another day, however.

 

I loved this book. It was very enjoyable and definitely a page turner! 

 

*This book was provided to me for my honest review from LitFuse Publicity Group

 

You can purchase this book HERE

 

You can read more reviews of this book HERE

Blessings - Julie