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Literary Friday: Little Wild Flower

Friday, February 19, 2016



Happy Literary Friday!  This has been a week filled with Shakespeare in homeschooling, so I didn't get as much reading for fun accomplished as I'd hoped.






My sweet friend Jolene sent me two books via the Book And A Cuppa Swap, and I read one of them this week, Little Wild Flower by Samantha Jillian Bayarr.



I can't wait to read Love Goddess' Cooking School soon!


According to Goodreads:

Jane Abigail Reeves is Little Wild Flower. Raised as a city girl; her father moves fifteen-year-old Jane and her entire family to a farmhouse in a rural Amish community in Indiana as a respite for her alcoholic mother. Finding farm life more complicated than city life; Jane shuns herself from family and neighbors, until she stumbles upon sixteen-year-old Elijah, the Amish boy next door. As she slowly ventures out of her comfort zone, she begins to mimic her family's acceptance of Amish living, realizing it's a practical solution for squelching the dysfunction of her family's past. Set in the 1970's, Jane's story is full of cultural obstacles she must overcome in order to survive in the community in which she and her family reside. Can a hippie-chick like Jane find friendship with a sixteen-year-old Amish boy, despite their cultural differences? Will their feelings for each other change as they grow up? 


Amish fiction is becoming an increasingly popular sub-genre in Christian fiction, especially Christian romance.  I think that this one is a bit different because Jane's family is so dysfunctional compared to their Amish neighbors.  All of the family members at least try to become a part of the community except Jane.  She doesn't want to have anything to do with their change in lifestyle.  I also think that setting the story in the mid-seventies is interesting because it's the peak of the Women's Rights Movement, not to mention the other social changes occurring then.  So the plot containing teenagers marrying so young is jarring because the seventies is the decade where women were empowering themselves by accomplishing goals before marriage.  I also question the acceptance the Amish have of Jane and her family.  They clearly aren't Amish, yet their church seems okay with (several) marriages between Jane's family members and members of their sect.

I enjoyed the characters, especially Elijah.  He also has a rebellious spirit matching Jane's.  They seem to find a way to spend some time together without chaperones which also seems odd to me.
I must stress that this is the first Amish story I've read, so I don't have anything to compare it to, and I'm not an expert on Amish culture.   But if you like this genre, I do think you'll enjoy Jane and Elijah's story:  their narrative is a lot of fun.


What have you been reading lately?  This is a linky!



Art @ Home




Until next time...

Happy reading!
Ricki Jill



5 comments

  1. I'm glad you enjoyed it! I would never have guessed this book was an Amish Christian romance based on the cover.

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  2. Happy Friday Ricki Jill,
    I hope you are totally over that awful flu bug. I love your recommendations so this one will go on my list. xoxo,
    Vera

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  3. Hi Ricki Jill! I enjoy your Literary Fridays! I also wanted you to know that I enjoyed the art pages on your other blog too. I love seeing what you feel :)
    The first one let me know that you must have the flu bug at your house and
    I'm holding out hope that you are all getting over it now. I hope the home schooling is going well, I love a home-schooling mom!!!
    sending hugs your way....

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  4. It's always refreshing to read a contemporary set in the past! And eye opening, for me, when I realize how much was going on during just a decade or two (and my parents and aunts and uncles in the thick of it, age-wise). I felt that way after reading The Help.

    I'm curious why Amish is a popular subgenre but Quaker isn't. I know the Amish are strict, and can be clannish toward outsiders, and there are definitely things I disagree with in regard to Amish culture (strongly) that would make this kind of love story strained. But I can totally see it working with Quakers (I have an ex who was/is a Quaker, and they seem more inclusive. Or at least, they had no problems with him dating a non-Christian). Hmmm....

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  5. I hope you are feeling better and I am sorry you did not care for the book that much. I hope book number two is much better for you.

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Hello!

I'm Ricki Jill. Welcome! I'm honored that you're reading my blog. I enjoy sharing my creative lifestyle @ The Bookish Dilettante. For more information about my blog, please read the Start Here page. Thank-you for stopping by, and I hope you'll consider following me via email.

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