THE LOVE LETTERS by Beverly Lewis is a sweet Amish Fiction story set in 1966. Dawdi Tim has pass away and his wife, Mammi Janice needs some assistance. Marlena Wenger is sent to help her out for the summer. This will mean that Marlena misses out on baptism instruction classes for the Old Order Amish and will have to wait another year to marry Nathaniel Zimmerman. Her sister is hospitalized after a terrible car accident and her niece Angel Rose comes to stay with Mammi and Marlena will care for her as well. Marlena quickly becomes connected to the baby, which her beau Nat is not happy about.

Marlena is struggling with identifying how she wants to honor her faith. Her Mammi isn't Old Order Amish and she wonders if Nat thinks she is getting used to all the electricity she uses while she is there living with her. All Marlena wants to do is get back home to her parents home and her love with Nat. Marlena sacrifices for many people in her life and never complains or argues. She willingly goes along with ministering to others as she feels God's direction. I definitely could take some lessons from this loyal and dutiful young woman. She stirred my heart and gave me many things to think about and wonder how I would deal with them.

The main character in this novel in Marlena. However, a parallel plot line is Small Jay and Boston, his homeless friend with the mysterious sack of love letters. Each of the men, young and old, are searching for their place and acceptance. They help each other to discover exactly what they are looking for. It was interesting to be able to relate to what some of the characters in this book went through and what some of them were feeling. Insecurities, family disapprovals and disappointments, unforgiveness, and feelings of not belonging, to name a few.

I truly love the characters in THE LOVE LETTERS and would devour a follow up book featuring them. I love reading Amish stories and Beverly Lewis has always been a favorite author of mine for them. I truly believe that THE LOVE LETTERS is her best book to date. I found myself quickly invested in their stories, disliking Nat and his parents for their critical ways, and absolutely fell in love with Small Jay. Marlena is a likable character and it is easy to sympathize with her problems. My heart was breaking as she struggled to comfort Angel. Beverly Lewis has created another wonderful story with characters to love and dislike.

Book Summary

Marlena needed time to let things sink in. It was beyond her how all this could possibly work out--adding the care of an infant to her daily routine. Fortunately, it would just be until Luella returned home from the hospital and was stronger.

No more than a couple weeks, surely.

Marlena Wenger's life takes an unexpected turn on the day she learns she must care for her estranged sister's baby. Spending the summer in Brownstown, Pennsylvania, to assist her Mennonite grandmother, and miles from Marlena's Old Order Amish beau, she feels out of her element in nearly every respect. Yet Marlena determines to do her best and stay focused on her future, even as those hopes become drastically altered.