The Ebb Tide by Beverly Lewis is the newest book by this author. Ms Lewis' next Amish love story centers on the last summer of Sallie Ruehl before studying for her baptism and joining The People of her Amish community. Sallie has been planning this last summer for years and has saved up for her trip to Australia. Then she hears that her beloved nephew needs an important surgery she feels pulled by God to donate the trip money to his fund to pay for the needed surgery. Just afterwards she finds an opportunity to be the nanny for the summer for a well to do family while they vacation on the beach at Cape May in New Jersey. She would be spending the summer caring for their daughter Autumn while the mother cares for her new infant son. She feels that this might be Providence that this happened right after donating her trip money to the fund. Her aunt, Essie, feels much the same way but her mother on the other hand is obviously disappointed that Sallie won't be taking her lessons on her baptism this summer as she had hoped. Sallie knows that she won't be going without her father's blessing but he surprises her by okaying the trip. In no time at all Monique Logan shows up in her car to whisk her away to the Jersey beach. Sallie loves the beach as she expected and she loves working for the family as she expected, she is even learning all the workings of the thoroughly modern cabin that the Logans are letting her stay in during the summer---but what she didn't expect is to fall for the Mennonite boy, Kevin, she met on the beach who is a summer intern working on a boat as a tour guide. Sallie is torn by her growing feelings for Kevin and her guilt about Perry who is waiting for her at home. What will she do? Can she put off her baptism again? She is not baptized so the church won't shun her but can she live happily outside of The People. Read this book to find out Sallie's solution to this dilemma.
I loved this book about the Jersey shore. This book brings out the importance of baptism in the Amish church but also the love that the families still have for each other even when choosing life outside the fold of the church. It brings out some of the decisions that the young Amish must make in order to either stay in the church or the shunning that occurs if the decision to stray from the church is made after the baptism. Timing is everything in all communities and the Amish are no different. It also tells of how one may straddle the fence so to speak in order to avoid irritating the family and avoiding the shunning while still staying our of the church membership.
I received this book from BethanyHouse for this review.
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