Unbreakable by Nancy Mehl - a book review

Unbreakable by Nancy Mehl

 

"Gentle and unassuming, Hope Kauffman has never been one to question the traditions of her Mennonite upbringing. She quietly helps her father run Kingdom Quilts and has agreed to the betrothal he arranged for her with the devout but shy Ebbie Miller.

Despite the attempts of Hope and other Kingdom residents to maintain the status quo, changes have already begun to stir in the small Mennonite town. The handsome and charismatic Jonathon Wiese is the leader of the move to reform, while Ebbie insists Kingdom must remain true to its foundation. When Hope's safety is threatened by a mysterious outsider, she can't help but question what she's always been taught about the Mennonite tradition of nonviolence.

As it swiftly becomes apparent the threat Hope faced is only the beginning, the town that's always stood so strong finds itself divided. With tensions high and their lives endangered by an unknown enemy, will Hope and the people of Kingdom allow fear and division to break them or will they draw on the strength of the God they serve?”

 

Unbreakable is the second in Mehl’s Road to Kingdom series.  The story focuses on Hope, a young Mennonite girl who is caught between her upbringing and new ideas and her traditional thinking fiancé, Ebbie and the progressive thinker, Jonathon.  Her once peaceful community falls victim to a series of hate crimes.  The community is divided as to how to respond.  Do they do as they have always been taught or do they break tradition and fight back?  As the story progresses, it becomes very easy to deduce who is responsible, but the author doesn’t tell us until the end.  The predictability of that spoiled the mystery for me.  There were times that I wished Hope would just make up her mind and take a stand, one way of the other.  She never really decides between  Jonathan and Ebbie until the very end.

It was an enjoyable book but probably not one that i will put aside to read again.  I’ve read several Amish fiction books so it was interesting to see the differences between them and the Mennonites.

You can read an excerpt here

 

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Bethany House  through their book review program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions expressed above are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”