More Than Words

September 1, 2010
After her mothers death, Gretchen Kohler has her hands full helping run her fathers general store in Homestead and taking care of her irresponsible younger brother and her beloved Oma. More and more, Omas mind slips away, and unless Gretchen keeps a constant watch on her, she gets into trouble. All of this work leaves little time for Gretchen to write in her journal, not that the elders in the Amana Society consider writingor any other individual artistic pursuitworthwhile. When Allen Finley shows up one day at the store selling lace and other sewing goods, Gretchen thinks she finally has found someone who understands her literary ambitions. But should Gretchen give up everything and everyone she holds dear for the chance at finally achieving her dream of becoming a writer? In the second installment in her Daughters of Amana series, Miller delivers a sweet tale of faith and hope laced with a dash of gentle romance that will be an easy sell to the bonnet-based historical-fiction and romance brigade.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)