The Forgiving Jar by Wanda Brunstetter

Amish fiction is one of my favorite genres.  The Amish seem to live their lives for God and family.  Doesn’t that sound perfect?  A simple, idealistic life, but it is no different than ours.  Their lives have troubles and conflicts, too, I’m sure.

Author Wanda Brunstetter has penned a multitude of books, the majority of them being Amish.  She knows what she’s doing and does it exemplary.  “The Forgiving Jar” is Book Two in her The Prayer Jars Series.  It could be read as a stand alone but I highly encourage you to read book one first.  It is fantastic.

Brunstetter has come up with an amazing story with this series.  She is so gifted!  I was captivated quickly in Book One.  The characters have been well thought and described.  It was easy to visualize each one and befriend them.   Becoming invested in their lives happened in Book One and continued with this one.

Some of the things I enjoy about the author’s writing are the cooking and kitchen scenes.  It is a family tale and families gather in the kitchen cooking and eating.  She also has a strong Christian message along with scripture.  There is no doubt that Mrs. Brunstetter is a Christian writer.  This book has plenty of all of the above.

Forgiveness is the major topic of the book.  This is something we all deal with, and  Amish seem to do a very good job forgiving.  Other issues such as jealousy, acceptance, lying, and acceptance are broached.  Deepening our walk with God and trusting Him are also in the book.

At the end of the book were two recipes.  I am getting spoiled and was hoping for more.  There is also a section with discussion questions.  Yes!  Questions for deeper study are so important and make it nice for a reader’s group.  This is an encouraging novel.

I enjoyed this book and found I did not want to put it down.  There are a few cliff hangers such as unknown identities that hopefully will be revealed.  This book did have a twist or two making it fun.

Everyone will enjoy this delightful book.  Whether you related to Grandma, Grandpa, Sara, Michelle, or someone else, you will find a friend in this book.  Readers that like Christian, contemporary, Amish, encouraging books will devour it like this reader did.  It is highly recommended along with book one.  I give it a five out of five stars!

About the Book

Sara Murray had never met her mother’s parents and was surprised to learn after her death that they were Amish living in Pennsylvania. When she is finally able to make the trip to meet them, she is shocked to learn someone else has been living with them and pretending to be Sara. Sara can’t understand how quickly her grandparents are willing to forgive the imposter.

Secrets and deceit seem to follow Sara, and she is so tired of it. Though soon she meets Brad Fuller who is visiting her grandparents for during Christmas. She likes him a lot, but even he seems to pull away from her, not being totally honest.

Struggling, Sara finds an old canning jar hidden in the barn that is full of encouraging prayers. Can Sara find a way to forgive the past and move on to building new relationships?

This is Book 2 in the brand-new series, The Prayer Jars, from New York Times bestselling author Wanda E. Brunstetter.
Book 1 — The Hope Jar (August 2018)
Book 3 — The Healing Jar (August 2019)

About the Author