The town of Evergreen Corners is recovering from a massive flood event, but the lead up to Christmas is still an intriguing story in Jo Ann Brown's final book in the Green Mountains Blessings series: AN AMISH HOLIDAY FAMILY. In earlier books in the series, I read about the year-long rebuilding effort that brought a Mennonite and Amish set of laborers, cooks, carpenters, and other practical people to the stricken town.

Beth Ann Overholt is a Mennonite woman who has been lending her capable hands to the task. As a midwife serving an Amish community normally, she is missing her usual practice. But three scruffy, abandoned kids look in dire need of a temporary mother this winter, and Beth Ann might be the best they can get. Robert Yoder is an Amish man who has plenty of carpentry work reconstructing homes, but he’d love to start rebuilding the character-filled wooden covered bridge, which got damaged when the river flooded. Christmas isn’t the best time for outdoor work, and what’s more, his skills have been noticed and he’s been offered a job in another area. But that would mean leaving the kind Beth Ann, who has come to mean so much to him.

I enjoyed seeing the subtle differences between the Amish and Mennonite customs and dress, as these resourceful people mingle with one another and the Englisch people of the town more than they normally might. The three Henderson urchins, Douglas, Crystal, and Tommy, are in a serious dilemma. Their mother is a substance abuser and has gone away, leaving them with a relative who also abandoned them. During summer they might have coped, but in the bitter weather, they need properly cooked hot food, good clothing, and a warm home. Accepting help though, even from Beth Ann, could get them separated and consigned to institutional care. I thought the issues were extremely well depicted, but also I thought the kids would have figured some way to mooch the hot food provided to volunteer workers.  

Evergreen Corners has provided me with not just entertainment but sound, practical demonstrations during the year of recovery work. Jo Ann Brown has written many Amish-themed romances and this departure from the norm of farms and craft shops must have been just as interesting for the author as for the readers. By showing adversity that is bigger than personal problems, Jo Ann Brown foreshadowed this year of pandemic restrictions and AN AMISH HOLIDAY FAMILY reminds us that looking after family – temporary or otherwise – will see us through tough times. Highly recommended, but keep a warm drink to hand. The weather is bitter in Vermont.