Alongside her cousins who have booths of their own,
Bethany Gingerich runs a busy and successful coffee and donut stand at the
Amish market. Since she has café-style tables and chairs, her regular customers
enjoy purchasing a morning treat so they can sit and talk to their friends.
Micah Zook and his grandfather, Enos, visit Bethany every
Saturday morning to purchase coffee and donuts before going to work at Enos's
custom outdoor furniture shop. Bethany enjoys talking to Micah and Enos, and
she's always thought Micah was handsome -- but she doesn't think her crush will
ever result in anything more.
When Micah and his grandfather don't come to see her one
Saturday morning, Bethany begins to worry. And when she learns that tragedy has
struck, she wonders how to help Micah in his time of need. Turns out he needs a
friend now more than ever, and Bethany may be just the kind of friend that God
has provided for him.
Good book. This is the third in the Amish Marketplace
series, about four female cousins. Each one has a booth at the Marketplace
where they sell their goods to Amish and non-Amish customers. Bethany runs The
Coffee Corner, a coffee and donut shop with an ever-changing variety of
flavored coffees. This is her story.
Bethany is a cheerful young woman who makes all visitors
to her booth feel welcome. She and her three cousins are very close and used to
eat lunch together on the days they worked at the Marketplace. But two of those
cousins, Christina and Salina, found boyfriends and married recently and
haven't been as available for their visits. Bethany is happy for them but
wonders if she'll ever find a love of her own. I liked Bethany a lot. Her kind
heart shines through in everything she does. She also frequently frustrated me
because she is so pessimistic about her appeal as a possible wife and mother.
Micah and his grandfather, Enos, come to Bethany's booth
every Saturday morning. Micah came to live with Enos to help his grandfather
and also learn the carpentry business. He also wanted to get away from his
father, who was constantly critical of Micah and his desire to be a carpenter
rather than a farmer. His father's lack of sympathy over the death of Micah's fiancée
was the final blow to Micah's relationship with his family. His father's
attitude affected Micah's belief in himself, and his grief over his fiancée's
death left him unwilling to risk his heart again.
I enjoyed the development of the relationship between Bethany
and Micah. Over the months that Micah visits the Coffee Corner, Bethany
developed quite the crush on him. Lost in his grief, Micah remains oblivious to
her for the longest time, reinforcing Bethany's belief in her lack of appeal. Unfortunately,
once he does begin to notice her, his shyness and lack of confidence prevent
him from doing anything about it. Bethany believes she'll have to settle for
friendship, though her cousins encourage her to be more proactive. Just when
things start to look up a little, a more brazen Amish woman makes a play for
Micah. Sara Ann knows just what kind of sly digs will hurt Bethany, and she
uses them to great effect. Meanwhile, Micah doesn't know how to handle Sara
Ann's aggressiveness, complicating his growing interest in Bethany.
Then tragedy strikes and Enos's death leaves Micah
feeling adrift and alone. Besides their family relationship, Enos was Micah's
best friend. Micah's grief overwhelms him; then, he discovers that their
business was in serious financial trouble. I ached for Micah, who saw no way
out of the mess other than selling everything and leaving. Meanwhile, Bethany
seems to be the only person in the community who worries about Micah. I loved
seeing her try to get him to open up to her, share his grief and worries, and
ached for her when he pushed her away. When Micah's despair carries him down a
destructive path, it is up to Bethany to find a way to bring him back. I loved
the way she did it, enlisting the kind of help that would be hard to turn down.
Once Micah sees hope for his future, he's more willing to offer Bethany his
heart. Her happiness when she discovered he returned her feelings was a joy to
see.
No comments:
Post a Comment