Love Still Stands

Love Still Stands is the first book of Kelly Irvin’s new series, The New Hope Amish.  Bethel Graber and her sister Leah and family have moved to New Hope, Missouri, along with a few other families and are eagerly ready to begin a new community of Amish. They are not exactly greeted with open arms from the town’s people.  This town does not want newcomers, especially if they are different to come into their town and change their way of life. 

Bethel feels as if she is useless in helping out with everyday chores because of an accident that has left her on crutches.  She talks her uncle into allowing her to go into town for physical therapy.  There she is met with hostility from everyone except Shawn who is also there for physical therapy and seems to have a crush on her.  Will she and Shawn be able to be together?

Elijah is a friend from home that is in love with Bethel but she feels that she is not capable of being loved in her present condition.  Will she eventually realize that she and Elijah were meant to be together?

Will the town of New Hope ever accept Bethel and her family for who they are?

I loved this story.  It was a different kind of story that I have read on the Amish before.  Kelly wove the characters together and brought them alive for me.  She covers so many difficulties in today’s world, prejudice, depression, loneliness.  I like the town of New Hope because it brings new hope to this wonderful group of people. 

This book was given to me as an ebook by NetGalley and Harvest House Publishers in exchange for an honest review.