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The Reckoning (Heritage of Lancaster County Series No. 3)

The Reckoning (Heritage of Lancaster County Series No. 3)

List Price: $12.99
Your Price: $9.74
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Wonderful story, Wonderful conclusion!
Review: I just loved this series. I hope Beverly Lewis does more on the subject. I am truly interested in how the Amish live, and have visited the Amish country many times. I loved how Katie and Dan finally got together.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: A very disappointing ending
Review: I loved The Shunning. I tolerated The Confession. But The Reckoning? Oh, no.
Katie started out as an interesting, believable girl in The Shunning, but by the end of The Reckoning she was annoying and preachy. In fact, the whole tone of this book is annoying and preachy.
And then there's Justin. He's the heroine's love interest, and he's never even given a personality. He's just a nice but bland cardboard cutout who spends lots of money on Katherine.
And then there's the conclusion. I won't spoil it for you, in case you decide to ignore my warning and read this book anyway, but I will say that it's just what the title of my review says - a very disappointing ending. Not only that, but it doesn't even fit with Katie/Katherine's character...at least, not her character from the beginning of the trilogy.
And, as another reviewer pointed out, there is the constant, and not at all subtle, refrain that the Amish aren't "saved" (though apparently the Mennonites are). This is particularly bad at the end of the book, though by the time I got there I was so fed up with it all that I didn't really care.
My advice: Read the Shunning. Then make up your own ending rather than reading the rest of the series.


Rating: 5 stars
Summary: This was great!
Review: I read all three in the series and I couldn't wait to finish. This one made a great ending to the whole story of Katie. Allthough I wish it would have told more about Katie and Daniel's life together, it gave me some pondering of what happened to them!

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: An adequate, if rushed finale...
Review: I thought that this book seemed a little rushed at the end. By about 1/2 way through, I knew what was going to happen at the end (if not earlier). I thought that it was well written, but some story lines were just dropped--for instance, we never know what Justin's reaction is to Katie's decision, and we never find out more about Katie's life change at the end.

I did like how the Amish quilters were brought into the story. Also, I liked how Daniel was written in. However, I think that it is a little strange how, by the end of the book, a bunch of the Plain people are being "saved". As I said in one of my other reviews, I think there could be a little less preaching going on in the story, but it's ok.

There were emotional sections of the book, but I think that there could possibly be one more book coming in the series. The book ended well, but there were still questions, in my mind...

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: An adequate, if rushed finale...
Review: I thought that this book seemed a little rushed at the end. By about 1/2 way through, I knew what was going to happen at the end (if not earlier). I thought that it was well written, but some story lines were just dropped--for instance, we never know what Justin's reaction is to Katie's decision, and we never find out more about Katie's life change at the end.

I did like how the Amish quilters were brought into the story. Also, I liked how Daniel was written in. However, I think that it is a little strange how, by the end of the book, a bunch of the Plain people are being "saved". As I said in one of my other reviews, I think there could be a little less preaching going on in the story, but it's ok.

There were emotional sections of the book, but I think that there could possibly be one more book coming in the series. The book ended well, but there were still questions, in my mind...

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Wonderful conclusion to the series.
Review: I would recommend this book to anyone who likes to read about the Amish life. It was so interesting to read about this character and her family. All three books were great reading.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: A wonderful conclusion to the series, but ...
Review: I'm originally from Lancaster County and thus grew up knowing a fair amount about the Amish lifestyle. This series ("The Shunning," "The Confession," and "The Reckoning") weaves an intriguing plot and can enlighten readers about a culture that is part of our society and yet deliberately separate from it at the same time. For that element, I highly recommend these books.

However, the change of setting for part of the story bothers me. I visit Canandaigua, New York, several times a year, and it's a truly wonderful place. I was initially surprised and pleased that Beverly Lewis chose to have Katie / Katherine move to that area. But why use a real city without revealing the unique personality of the place? None of Lewis' characters ever mention the fact that Canandaigua sits at the northern tip of one of the Finger Lakes. The lake is large, noticeable, a tourist attraction, and comes up in local conversation at least once every few days, even if you can't see it from your house. Even during wintertime -- which is when Katie / Katherine lives there in "The Confession" -- people talk about whether or not the lake is frozen over. Certainly an Amish woman with a farming background would wonder about the presence of sea gulls around her new home. And she probably would be astounded by the size of Canandaigua's Main Street, which has a wide grass median down the middle of it and doesn't look anything like Lancaster, Pa., or any town she would have seen before. (For those of us who watch TV and movies, the street resembles the Bedford Falls of "It's a Wonderful Life," but of course, Katie wouldn't know about that.) Perhaps Lewis should have created a ficticious city in western New York, instead of doing an injustice to an existing one.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: A wonderful conclusion to the series, but ...
Review: I'm originally from Lancaster County and thus grew up knowing a fair amount about the Amish lifestyle. This series ("The Shunning," "The Confession," and "The Reckoning") weaves an intriguing plot and can enlighten readers about a culture that is part of our society and yet deliberately separate from it at the same time. For that element, I highly recommend these books.

However, the change of setting for part of the story bothers me. I visit Canandaigua, New York, several times a year, and it's a truly wonderful place. I was initially surprised and pleased that Beverly Lewis chose to have Katie / Katherine move to that area. But why use a real city without revealing the unique personality of the place? None of Lewis' characters ever mention the fact that Canandaigua sits at the northern tip of one of the Finger Lakes. The lake is large, noticeable, a tourist attraction, and comes up in local conversation at least once every few days, even if you can't see it from your house. Even during wintertime -- which is when Katie / Katherine lives there in "The Confession" -- people talk about whether or not the lake is frozen over. Certainly an Amish woman with a farming background would wonder about the presence of sea gulls around her new home. And she probably would be astounded by the size of Canandaigua's Main Street, which has a wide grass median down the middle of it and doesn't look anything like Lancaster, Pa., or any town she would have seen before. (For those of us who watch TV and movies, the street resembles the Bedford Falls of "It's a Wonderful Life," but of course, Katie wouldn't know about that.) Perhaps Lewis should have created a ficticious city in western New York, instead of doing an injustice to an existing one.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: A wonderful conclusion to the series, but ...
Review: I'm originally from Lancaster County and thus grew up knowing a fair amount about the Amish lifestyle. This series ("The Shunning," "The Confession," and "The Reckoning") weaves an intriguing plot and can enlighten readers about a culture that is part of our society and yet deliberately separate from it at the same time. For that element, I highly recommend these books.

However, the change of setting for part of the story bothers me. I visit Canandaigua, New York, several times a year, and it's a truly wonderful place. I was initially surprised and pleased that Beverly Lewis chose to have Katie / Katherine move to that area. But why use a real city without revealing the unique personality of the place? None of Lewis' characters ever mention the fact that Canandaigua sits at the northern tip of one of the Finger Lakes. The lake is large, noticeable, a tourist attraction, and comes up in local conversation at least once every few days, even if you can't see it from your house. Even during wintertime -- which is when Katie / Katherine lives there in "The Confession" -- people talk about whether or not the lake is frozen over. Certainly an Amish woman with a farming background would wonder about the presence of sea gulls around her new home. And she probably would be astounded by the size of Canandaigua's Main Street, which has a wide grass median down the middle of it and doesn't look anything like Lancaster, Pa., or any town she would have seen before. (For those of us who watch TV and movies, the street resembles the Bedford Falls of "It's a Wonderful Life," but of course, Katie wouldn't know about that.) Perhaps Lewis should have created a ficticious city in western New York, instead of doing an injustice to an existing one.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A worthwhile continuation of Katherine's experiences
Review: If you've read The Shunning and The Confession, you've got to follow up with this new title! As with the first two books in the series, this was a page-turner. While the previous titles left me with a negative feeling toward the Amish (in relation to their beliefs and practices), Lewis digs a little deeper into the hearts of the Amish characters in The Reckoning. In it, she shows that, though under the hand of the order, the men and women are truly individuals who can see the imperfections in the Amish beliefs but still revere the traditions. Also, it's good to see Katherine mature in The Reckoning. She opens her eyes to the world and to the Lord. Just as with the last two, I can't wait to see where Lewis takes Katherine/Katie in the next title in the series.


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