Recent Reads - Waiting for Summer's Return

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Waiting for Summer's Return by Kim Vogel Sawyer - Part of me knew I'd love this book right from the beginning, but I was still hesitant because there was also part of me that wondered if it would be too emotionally wrenching. After all, the book opens with newly widowed Summer Steadman alone and hopeless in the small Kansas town where her husband and all four of her children have just succumbed to typhoid fever. She contemplates returning to Boston, but she really has no family or ties there either, and she doesn't want to leave her children's graves. However, she would need a job and somewhere to live, as she cannot continue indefinitely at the hotel. A solution presents itself in the form of the town's miller, Peter Ollenburger, a widower. He wants Summer to tutor his young son who is recovering from broken ribs and cannot attend school, and in exchange he will provide room and board for her. Without any other prospects or plans, Summer accepts this offer and moves to the Ollenburgers' property.

Mr Ollenburger meets with resistance from the rest of the town almost immediately, and it isn't long until Summer is treated with mistrust either. The little town is a Mennonite community, and many of the members of the Kleine Gemeinde (church fellowship) are suspicious of outsiders like Summer, and are worried that she will bring trouble to the community. Summer slowly learns to care and to hope again, as she builds friendships with young Thomas, with Mr Ollenburger, and even with Thomas's great-grandmother who lives with them but doesn't speak any English. Mr Ollenburger shares his simple but profound faith with Summer and his steadfast commitment to living out his faith eventually wins over the skeptical members of the church. But just as Summer is accepted into membership, and is getting ready to move into her own little house (and just as she and Peter are starting to realize that they may love each other), another blow comes - Summer's mother-in-law begs her to return to Boston. Will Thomas's innocent prayers be answered - will Summer come back to marry his pa; will she truly be his mother?

The reason I knew I would love the story - and I did - was the setting. My own family background is German Mennonite, people from the same background as the Ollenburgers and others in this story. So many of the details were familiar to me and brought back memories of real-life stories - the German words and sayings, many of the foods mentioned, the names, and even the mentions of the Kleine Gemeinde and some of the customs. For readers who aren't familiar with the Mennonites, this would be a lovely insight into their way of life during that time period. I warmly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a touching romance with a Christian message in a well-researched historical setting.

(Book #52 in the 52 Books in 52 Weeks Challenge)

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