Anna's Crossing by Suzanne Woods Fisher - Review of the first book in the Amish Beginnings series

BACK  OF  THE  BOOK  BLURB

On a hot day in 1737 in Rotterdam, Anna König reluctantly sets foot on the Charming Nancy, a merchant ship that will carry her and her fellow Amish believers across the Atlantic to start a new life. As the only one in her community who can speak English, she feels compelled to go. But Anna is determined to complete this journey and return home--assuming she survives. She's heard horrific tales of ocean crossings and worse ones of what lay ahead in the New World. But fearfulness is something Anna has never known.

Ship's carpenter Bairn resents the somber people--dubbed Peculiars by the deckhands--who fill the lower deck of the Charming Nancy. All Bairn wants to do is to put his lonely past behind him, but that irksome and lovely lass Anna and her people keep intruding on him.

Delays, storms, illness, and diminishing provisions test the mettle and patience of everyone on board. When Anna is caught in a life-threatening situation, Bairn makes a discovery that shakes his entire foundation. But has the revelation come too late?

Bestselling author Suzanne Woods Fisher invites you back to the beginning of Amish life in America with this fascinating glimpse into the first ocean crossing--and the lives of two intrepid people who braved it.

MY  REVIEW

What a wonderful story, to go back to the time of the Amish coming to America and the difficulties it entailed. Suzanne has you living on that ship and when they encounter a slave ship it really pulls at your heart. Now mind you, that isn't the only thing that keeps you moving along in this book. I was surprised at how the group depended on one single woman to be the 'mediator' (translator) as well as the one to help in many other ways too. I would have thought at least one of the men would have learned English instead of depending on a woman to do the communicating with other men. I really did enjoy reading "Anna's Crossing" and would recommend it to others that enjoy Amish books.

In Suzanne's research for this series she learned a lot about the Amish history and she did a daily blog for 30 days on it. If you are interested here is her blog: http://suzannewoodsfisher.com/blog/, they start on February 2nd and go through March 2nd.