Four young adults move to be near their grandparents in rural Ohio. There might be many reasons for this, but unusually, the Schrock siblings Martin, Jonny, Kelsey, and Beth, are considering becoming more like their Amish roots. B IS FOR BONNET is, as you may guess, the second in a delightful new series called Amish ABCs, which has already seen one of the family married into the community.
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Holmes County, Ohio, seems quite modern, with a spread of religious sects. Josiah and Sylvia Schrock, while quite traditional, welcome Jonny Schrock from Cleveland into their home. Jonny has received a concerning diagnosis and has to reduce his cholesterol and sugar levels, fast. Living with his grandparents is quiet, but he helps out on the farm and has taken a job at theΒ Landen bicycle shop. He promotes new ideas, including a solar power kit for an electric bicycle from Harley Davidson, which I think is a lovely inclusion.
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A young woman living with her parents nearby returned from Rumspringa with the notion of starting a cafΓ©. She is trained and a great baker, so her family helped her convert a barn. Now Treva Hershberger, using a propane generator, sees the newcomer from the electric bicycle shop every morning as he savours the oat milk lattes. Rumour has it he is thinking of becoming Amish, but his father jumped the fence, after all. Treva has been burned once by a man, and wonβt take any chances.
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A nice touch is that back in the modern world, Matt, the siblingsβ father, checks his emails with anxiety. Heβs not close to the youngsters and is pretty sure Jonny only wants to stay covered for healthcare, but itβs worrying, all the same. He has a new lady friend, Kennedy, and is wondering how to drop her into the conversation. MattΒ had perfectly understandable reasons for leaving the farming community, and I would like to know more about the reasons for the siblingsΒ choosing to move back, as itβs a hard-working life at the mercy of the weather.
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While the constraints of Amish life are not trivialised, I think they are shown lightly, as though, along with electricity generated in situ, it is acceptable for a woman in her twenties to court someone not Amish. Probably this isnβt the case. Shelley Shepard Gray has introduced an interesting variety of people and lifestyles, modernising the genre. B IS FOR BONNET reads as a follow-up to A is for Amish and leads into the next in the series, C is for Courting but can be enjoyed as a standalone.
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