The Guardian by Beverly Lewis

The Guardian is the story of a little girl who just seems to have appeared out of no-where! But children don't just come from nowhere at all, so where did this little one come from, and why? Jodi was just "happily" jogging when this child's appearance radically changes her life. One glimpse of a little body curled up under a tree, next to a road, in nothing but underclothing has Jodi very worried. When her bright blue eyes open up and she clings to Jodi for dear life, well, she didn't have a choice but to take her to her cousin's house where she is house and cat sitting. This beautiful child has some minor injuries, but she can't speak English!

Meanwhile, back with the Plain folks, Marryann is beyond distraught  She is even beating herself up in case she put love of her last daughter ahead of her love for God. Her husband is dead, killed in an accident, and she is VERY  hardworking single Amish woman, raising 4 children. Little Sarah that went missing is her youngest. She is begging God to send home her baby girl, about the time that Jodi's job as a teacher is dumped. Jodi was close to tenure, but now she is jobless. Her fiancee is gone for a year, and life seems to be falling apart, excecpt for her new connection to little Sarah and Sarah's family. Something that is so unlike Jodi's world, or is it really that different? Can God use a missing little girl reunited with her family to heal Jodi's deepest wounds and re-connect her with the life He wants her to have?

The plot was a bit predictable in places, but I liked it anyway. Sarah is a wonderful way to warm up and let the others sort of revolve around her in this book. The people in this book all have deep hurts, and it is nice to see how Beverly Lewis worked it to show God working in their lives for their good and His purpose.

Carol :) 

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing The Guardian Bethany House Publishers (March 26, 2013) by Beverly Lewis

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Beverly's first venture into adult fiction is the best-selling trilogy, The Heritage of Lancaster County, including The Shunning, a suspenseful saga of Katie Lapp, a young Amish woman drawn to the modern world by secrets from her past. The book is loosely based on the author's maternal grandmother, Ada Ranck Buchwalter, who left her Old Order Mennonite upbringing to marry a Bible College student. One Amish-country newspaper claimed Beverly's work to be "a primer on Lancaster County folklore" and offers "an insider's view of Amish life."

Booksellers across the country, and around the world, have spread the word of Beverly's tender tales of Plain country life. A clerk in a Virginia bookstore wrote, "Beverly's books have a compelling freshness and spark. You just don't run across writing like that every day. I hope she'll keep writing stories about the Plain people for a long, long time."

A member of the National League of American Pen Women, as well as a Distinguished Alumnus of Evangel University, Lewis has written over 80 books for children, youth, and adults, many of them award-winning. She and her husband, David, make their home in Colorado, where they enjoy hiking, biking, and spending time with their family. They are also avid musicians and fiction "book worms."

ABOUT THE BOOK

When schoolteacher Jodi Winfield goes for a morning run, the last thing she expects is to find a disheveled little girl all alone on the side of the Pennsylvania road, clad only in her undergarments, her chubby cheeks streaked with tears. Jodi takes the preschooler home with her, intending to find out where she belongs. But Jodi is mystified when no one seems to know of a missing child, and the girl herself is no help, since she can't speak a word of English. It's as if the child appeared out of nowhere.

As the days pass, Jodi becomes increasingly attached to the mysterious girl, yet she is no closer to learning her identity. Then an unexpected opportunity brings Jodi to Hickory Hollow--and into the cloistered world of the Lancaster Old Order Amish. Might the answers lie there?

If you would like to read the first chapter of The Guardian, go HERE.

Beverly can be reached through the Contact link on her Website 

The book link is: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/ 0764209795