"Fields of Grace" by Kim Vogel Sawyer

I have enjoyed reading Kim Vogel Sawyer's writing in the past and reading Fields of Grace was no different. A superb novel written by an author with a great talent and penchant for the Amish and Mennonite people - this book is sure to have you rallying, crying and cheering after you have finished it. It was a quick read for me since I couldn't bear to put it down, I HAD to know what was going to happen to this family to the new country of America!

Russian Mennonites are either forced to allow their adult sons to enter military service or leave for America. The Vogt family decides in order to keep their belief of non-resistance they are going to leave - and they have three sons one who will be conscripted in a few months if they don't leave. The five Vogt's and Uncle Eli board a ship bound for America, but as they travel tragedy breaks out. Can the mom, Lillian's, faith survive the hardship and the frontier - you'll have to read to find out.

Go on board with the Vogt's as they travel amid other emmigrants to a new country - one that promises land and freedom. Kim Vogel Sawyer does a wonderful job in making you feel as if you making the journey with the emmigrants. From the crummy food, to the stench of body odor and sickness and heartache and then on to the harshness of frontier life - the reader will definitely appreciate the feel of actually living with the characters. With characters who are well developed you feel like you are extended family dropping in for an intimate look at their life.

Also with Kim Vogel Sawyer's books you won't find lurid romance scenes or other un-Christian attributes (although at times the characters do question God - but it isn't un-Christian for them to do so) so it's safe reading for a married woman. Since there is an allusion to the husband and wife having consumated their marriage, I would caution for that, but again it's not in detail and nothing about it is untoward. I would definitely recommend this to friends without feeling like I have led them astray.

**I was provided a copy of Fields of Grace by Bethany House Publishers Book Reviewers in exchange for my honest review.