Review: Mending Fences

 

 

 

 

 

Synopsis:

Every saint has a past. Every sinner has a future.

Luke Schrock is a new and improved man after a stint in rehab, though everyone in Stoney Ridge only remembers the old Luke. They might have forgiven him, but nobody trusts him.

Amos and Fern Lapp allow Luke to live at Windmill Farm under two conditions. First, Luke must make a sincere apology to each person he’s hurt–a four-page, single-spaced list. Second, he must ask each victim of mischief to describe the damage he caused.

Simple, Luke thinks. Offering apologies is easy. But discovering the lasting effects his careless actions have caused . . . that isn’t so simple. It’s gut-wrenching.

And his list keeps growing. Izzy Miranda, beautiful and frustratingly aloof, also boards at Windmill Farm. Luke’s clumsy efforts to befriend Izzy only insult and annoy her. Eager to impress, Luke sets out to prove himself to her by locating her mother. When he does, her identity sends shock waves through Stoney Ridge.

Bestselling and award-winning author Suzanne Woods Fisher returns to her beloved Stoney Ridge for this brand-new series featuring some of her readers’ favorite characters.

Rating: 5-stars

Review:

Mending Fences by Suzanne Woods Fisher is a charming and heartfelt read. I could not stop reading this novel. The story swept me off my chair and deep into the book. The main characters were engaging. I felt so much sympathy for the past troublemaker and the past victims. Their pain, loss, and grief felt so real.

The road to forgiveness was a long one. But it made getting there worth following. There were a lot of things that needing mending before the healing could happen. Healing was much needed for both the perpetrator and the victims.

The consequences of a young Amish man’s actions left nothing but fear, pain, and loss to his community members. However, they did forgive me him-as is their rule. But the true forgiveness and healing happened after he owned up and helped them get through the past. In a way that also helped the characters grow, learn, and understand what happened and why. Overall, I was truly taken in by the powerful messages and themes portrayed here. I fell in love with this story.