Anna's Crossing (An Amish Beginnings Novel) by Suzanne Woods Fisher

Title: Anna’s Crossing (An Amish Beginnings Novel)

Author: Suzanne Woods Fisher

Pages: 336

Year: 2015

Publisher: Revell

Note:  I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest opinion.

About the book:

     Some endings are really beginnings…

     On a hot day in 1737 in Rotterdam, Anna Konig reluctantly sets foot on the Charming Nancy, a merchant ship that will carry her and her fellow Amish believers across the Atlantic to start a new life. As the only one in her community who can speak English, she feels compelled to go. But Anna is determined to complete this journey and return home – assuming she survives. She’s heard horrific tales o ocean crossings and worse ones of what lay ahead in the New World. But fearfulness is something Anna has never known.

     Ship’s carpenter Bairn resents the somber people – dubbed Peculiars by the deckhands – who fill the lower deck of the Charming Nancy. All Bairn wants to do is to put his lonely past behind him, but that irksome and lovely lass Anna and her people keep intruding on him.

     Delays, storms, illness, and diminishing provisions test the mettle and patience of everyone on board. When Anna is caught in a life-threatening situation, Bairn makes a discovery that shakes his entire foundation. But has the revelation come too late?

     Bestselling author Suzanne Woods Fisher invites you back to the beginning of Amish life in America with this fascinating glimpse into the first ocean crossing – and the lives of two intrepid people who braved it.

My review:

     I highly recommend this book!

     This is the first book that I have read by Suzanne Woods Fisher. It is fantastic! Her character development and presentation is incredible. The story flowed smoothly and captured my interest from the beginning. She does a wonderful job of describing the location throughout the book. It made it very easy to visualize where they were and what was going on within the story.

     Then to top all of that off when I finished the story itself I read the author’s note at the back. Suzanne presents the facts that she found out doing research for the novel. She also presents additional information that couldn't be confirmed. After all of that she explained why she used the information she did in crafting this marvelously entertaining look at the history of the Amish people and their arrival in America. Be sure and read the author’s note at the end. You won’t be sorry.

     I loved this book and am looking forward to any more books she writes in this series. I’m giving it the full 5-star rating and I have to repeat myself in saying, I highly recommend it.