The Sacrifice - Beverly Lewis

Abram's Daughters book 3, the sequel to the bestselling The Betrayal. This powerful family saga features four Amish courting-age sisters growing up in Lancaster County Pennsylvania, beginning in the 1940s. Life in Gobble's Knob was all Leah Ebersol ever wanted until her older sister Sadie abandoned faith and family, leaving Leah no choice but to believe the worst, that Sadie-and her own beloved Jonas-had betrayed her. Now, two years later, Leah still misses both Sadie and Jonas keenly. Because of her sister's shunning, she cannot contact either of them but hears through the grapevine that they are married. Loyal neighbor Gid is still biding his time, but on the verge of accepting his courting invitation, tragedy befalls the Ebersols and Leah must again choose between her own happiness and her family. Mary Ruth dreams of becoming a teacher, but it has gotten pushed to the back of her thinking when a nice young Amish boy comes courting. Twin Hannah yearns for her sister to attend baptismal classes with her, but Mary Ruth is not ready to take her vows. How will this family in turmoil find peace? 

I'm fairly eating these books up! Can't get enough of this series. I've come to accept that some sort of tragedy is going to befall the Ebersol family in each book and that Leah is going to suffer many trials, but that doesn't make these books any less engaging or compelling. Lewis's writing gets better with each installment and she makes it possible for us to truly get inside the heads of her characters and understand their feelings and emotions. It was great to finally see more focus on Hannah and Mary Ruth and their decisions as to their futures. As a result of Mary Ruth's quest for higher education, Lewis delves into the intricacies of the Amish way of life and their theology. She discusses Amish culture and beliefs in The Parting but this book dealt with it in a far more accessible way. I also appreciated the development of the father's character and his relationships with his family. All in all, a great new addition to this series and I'm looking forward to getting hold of the fourth book in the series. I do hope that Leah is able to find happiness in the next couple of books! 10/10