A Brighter Dawn (Amish Memories #1) by Leslie Gould

Ivy Zimmerman is successfully navigating her life as a young Mennonite woman, one generation removed from her parents' Old Order Amish upbringing. But when her parents are killed in a tragic accident, Ivy's way of life is upended. As she deals with her grief, her younger sisters' needs, the relationship with her boyfriend, and her Dawdi and Mammi's strict rules, Ivy finds solace in both an upcoming trip to Germany for an international Mennonite youth gathering and in her great-great-aunt's story about Clare Simons, another young woman who visited Germany in the late 1930s.

As Ivy grows suspicious that her parents' deaths weren't, in fact, an accident, she gains courage from what she learns of Clare's time in pre-World War II Germany. With the encouragement and inspiration of the women who have gone before her, Ivy seeks justice for her parents, her sisters, and herself.

My thoughts:

This novel was so compelling that I did not want to put it down, but life demanded my time so I had to do grudgingly put it aside to do other stuff. I was anxious to get back to this dual time line novel of the Amish/ Mennonite communities.  I loved how this was not your typical novel, the present-day character has a gritty determination to find out what exactly happened that caused the accident that killed her parents. 

The author obviously was thorough in her research as is apparent in the 1930’s storyline where she tells the story of family members living in Germany.  I loved that the present-day characters visited Germany, seeing, and learning so much history and two old friends are reunited.  Ms. Gould is a gifted storyteller, weaving both storylines seamlessly with well-crafted characters of different ages and time periods.  Readers of historical and Amish fiction please do not pass this one up.

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions are my own,