A Stranger's Gift

( 4 )

Overview

You’ll be swept away by the endearing characters created by award-winning author Anna Schmidt. On the heels of a horrific hurricane, Hester Detlef, field director for the Mennonite Disaster Service, blows into the life of self-made, shunned Amish man John Hafner. Will she find a way through his shield and into his heart? Although the hurricane has left John homeless and badly injured, the last thing he wants is some do-gooder Mennonite woman intruding in his life. Will his impatience with her intention of ...

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More About This Book

Overview

You’ll be swept away by the endearing characters created by award-winning author Anna Schmidt. On the heels of a horrific hurricane, Hester Detlef, field director for the Mennonite Disaster Service, blows into the life of self-made, shunned Amish man John Hafner. Will she find a way through his shield and into his heart? Although the hurricane has left John homeless and badly injured, the last thing he wants is some do-gooder Mennonite woman intruding in his life. Will his impatience with her intention of restoring his faith and property keep him from accepting this beguiling stranger’s kindness?

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Editorial Reviews

Good Reads

I enjoyed this book for several reasons.  It was well-written, of course, but I found it especially refreshing to see that these people were human—with faults that they actually realized and were working to correct—rather than idealized romantic leads.  I also found it very interesting to learn about the MDS and the work that they volunteer to do after any disaster, as well as all of the work that is required for clean-up after a hurricane and flooding before people may return to their homes.  As a native Ohioan, I have only seen these things on television, and we all know that, after a week or so, most of the press coverage wanes—but the problems don’t.  MDS stays—even after the Red Cross and other relief agencies leave—until the work is done. 

— Rachael Hartman

Fresh Fiction

A STRANGER'S GIFT is a moving story about letting go of the past hurts in your life, learning that you can't change the past and making a plan for the future. There are many other warm and endearing stories and characters within this story. Anna Schmidt has given us a real treat with this inspirational romantic novel. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

— Viki Ferrell

CBA Retailing

Amish fiction fans will be swept away by Schmidt's captivating story of love, the importance of dealing with grief and caring for others, and how God can help and guide even in the midst of life's storms.

— Nancy Kanafani

USA Today

As a lover of contemporary rom-coms I don''t often reach for books that straddle the fence of time, sticking buggies and horses next to modern convenience. Yes, I''m speaking of that great-selling, over-published subgenre of the inspirational market known as: Amish fiction.

I''m not (usually) a fan.

The new series by award-winning author Anna Schmidt, however, doesn''t fall into the tidy Lancaster County box we''ve come to expect from cardboard-cutout Amish romances. In A Stranger''s Gift, Book 1 in The Women of Pinecraft series, Schmidt has broken new ground by creating intelligent, original characters and setting her novel in Sarasota, Fla., within the Conservative Mennonite and Amish community of Pinecraft (yes, it is a real place!).

Plain folk on the beach? I did not see that coming.

— Serena Chase

RT Book Reviews

A New series about Mennonite and Amish cultures with memorable characters who just want to help people. Schmidt is a wonderful storyteller. She invites readers into a world few outsides get the chance to experience.

— Patsy Glans

USA Today's Happy Ever After Blog

As a lover of contemporary rom-coms I don't often reach for books that straddle the fence of time, sticking buggies and horses next to modern convenience. Yes, I'm speaking of that great-selling, over-published subgenre of the inspirational market known as: Amish fiction.

I'm not (usually) a fan.

The new series by award-winning author Anna Schmidt, however, doesn't fall into the tidy Lancaster County box we've come to expect from cardboard-cutout Amish romances. In A Stranger's Gift, Book 1 in The Women of Pinecraft series, Schmidt has broken new ground by creating intelligent, original characters and setting her novel in Sarasota, Fla., within the Conservative Mennonite and Amish community of Pinecraft (yes, it is a real place!).

Plain folk on the beach? I did not see that coming.

— Serena Chase

Splashes of Joy

This is an awesome Amish story with many unique twists and turns that will keep you on the edge of your seats and keep the pages turning until the very end. The characters were well created and developed and easily grow on you.

 

I found this a wonderful story that I enjoyed very much.  If you are an Amish fiction fan, I highly recommend this wonderful book for your to read and enjoy.

— Joy Hannabass

CBA Retailing - Nancy Kanafani
Amish fiction fans will be swept away by Schmidt's captivating story of love, the importance of dealing with grief and caring for others, and how God can help and guide even in the midst of life's storms.
USA Today's Happy Ever After Blog - Serena Chase
As a lover of contemporary rom-coms I don't often reach for books that straddle the fence of time, sticking buggies and horses next to modern convenience. Yes, I'm speaking of that great-selling, over-published subgenre of the inspirational market known as: Amish fiction.

I'm not (usually) a fan.

The new series by award-winning author Anna Schmidt, however, doesn't fall into the tidy Lancaster County box we've come to expect from cardboard-cutout Amish romances. In A Stranger's Gift, Book 1 in The Women of Pinecraft series, Schmidt has broken new ground by creating intelligent, original characters and setting her novel in Sarasota, Fla., within the Conservative Mennonite and Amish community of Pinecraft (yes, it is a real place!).

Plain folk on the beach? I did not see that coming.

RT Book Reviews - Patsy Glans
A New series about Mennonite and Amish cultures with memorable characters who just want to help people. Schmidt is a wonderful storyteller. She invites readers into a world few outsides get the chance to experience.
Splashes of Joy - Joy Hannabass
This is an awesome Amish story with many unique twists and turns that will keep you on the edge of your seats and keep the pages turning until the very end. The characters were well created and developed and easily grow on you. I found this a wonderful story that I enjoyed very much.  If you are an Amish fiction fan, I highly recommend this wonderful book for your to read and enjoy.
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Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9781616262341
  • Publisher: Barbour Publishing, Incorporated
  • Publication date: 11/1/2011
  • Series: Women of Pinecraft
  • Pages: 320
  • Sales rank: 436,680
  • Product dimensions: 5.50 (w) x 8.30 (h) x 0.90 (d)

Customer Reviews

Average Rating 5
( 4 )
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Sort by: Showing all of 4 Customer Reviews

  • Posted January 1, 2012

    Good positive story

    A Stranger's Gift by Anna Schmidt
    5 STARS
    It makes me want to go help more or at least get out and make a goal again to make at least 52 hats this year for those in need. I enjoyed reading this book to start the new year.
    John Steiner has spent the last two years since he moved to Florida fixing up the old house,orchards,gardens and packing warehouse. He wants to be alone and self sustaining on his land. He is Amish but left his church and state when they shunned him.
    Two different people came and told him he need to ride out the hurricane in a shelter. John refused he went to a shelter the last time and it was crowded and he didn't have to go.
    Hester Detweiler is in charge of one of the Mennonite charities that help in times of diaster. Because John's Aunt's is a Senator she was asked to go warn him. Hester resented having to go warn him and than he refused to go. She felt their were others who needed her help more.
    Margery Barker is a widow that lives and runs a fishing charters close to John
    and trying for the past two years to friend him. She was the first to try and get him into a shelter.
    Well the hurricane hit his place hard. The river was coming into his house fast as he was gathering stuff to take upstairs with him the roof and a wall crashed in on him. He was lucky to have survived holding onto a beam. all of his trees the old and the new ones destroyed. Could not get to town by road with all the trees down across his road. Chicken coop destroyed, damage to the warehouse. Broke his wrist and had to be airlifted out.
    He had to learn again that he had to accept help and give it. Forgive himself for his mother's death and realize that he can trust others again.
    It is a Christian story of helping others,relying on prayer and scriptures. That
    positive things can come out of our trials. I would read gladly more books from Anna. I was given this ebook to read in exchange of honest review from Netgalley.
    11/01/2011 PUB Barbour Publishing, Inc.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted December 28, 2011

    HIGHLY RECOMMEND

    Love this book. Anna Schmidt is a wonderful writer. She really brings the book alive.

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  • Posted November 28, 2011

    I highly recommend...

    Reviewed by Lynn F. for Readers Favorite

    A Stranger's Gift by Anna Schmidt is a novel about two different individuals: Hester Detlef, a Mennonite woman and John Hafner, a shunned Amish man. Hester, the daughter of a Mennonite minister, is a registered nurse and head of the Mennonite Disaster Service. That she is well past the age of what one figures a woman should be married does not bother Hester. She enjoys what she does, and if the right man comes along, then so be it. John, leaving the Amish way in Ohio, moved to Florida, bought his own place and will show that he can live a solitary and self sufficient life...that is, until two storms race into his life: the category 4 hurricane named Hester and a Mennonite woman named Hester, who seemed like the hurricane herself. Ignoring her pleas for him to leave, John not only loses almost all he has but also sustains injuries. As Hester keeps intruding into his life, will John restore his faith not only in his religion but once again in people and especially this stranger called Hester? With both of them feeling guilty over a past, can they let go and find a future?

    This is the first book in the author's Women of Pinecraft Series and a very good start. I found the novel to be very well written. The author portrayed the characters as normal people, and not perfect. They had their faults, jealousy, egos and more, but they worked to overcome them instead of shrugging them off. As I read, I found the characters were very easy to become involved with and felt like I was right there in the midst of the cleanup after the hurricane, as they all worked together to help each other get back into their homes. There was no one who was any different regarding race or religion, rich or poor, fancy home or homeless that did not work together to help each other. That¿s the way it should be after any disaster. I feel this is a great start to a wonderful series that takes place in Pinecraft, Florida. It's a wonderful Christian novel with a very enlightened message,¿ Love your neighbor as yourself,¿ and I highly recommend it.

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  • Posted November 26, 2011

    more from this reviewer

    Hester's Hurricane

    A Stranger's Gift by Anna Schmidt Book 1 ¿ The Women of Pinecraft John Steiner was a loner. He had left his Amish community in Indiana after his mother's death and bought property in Florida. As Hurricane Hester is building up in the area a few people try to get John to leave but he refuses to go to a shelter and leave the home he has spent so much time and money fixing up. After the hurricane hits and his property is in dire need of help, he refuses the Mennonite disaster crews and anyone else who offers help. The young woman who tried to get him to leave before the hurricane and has returned once again is rightly named Hester. She seems as strong and stubborn as the same named hurricane. John has changed his clothing style but otherwise he has stayed with his Amish upbringing. And yet he feels unbalanced and unsure where he truly belongs. He had started this journey a few years back after reading Walden: Life in the Woods by Henry David Thoreau. A story of a man who goes away from civilization as well. Hester Detweiler is busy doing for everyone she can. As she helps run the disaster group her father started and working with others in the County. She went to a non-church school to become a nurse and some in her community feel that the Pastor's daughter works too much with the outside world. To Hester it is helping people. She has trouble containing her anger when she has to ¿babysit¿ a stubborn man who did not leave his home and now needs help as he recovers, just because his aunt is a Congresswoman! John does not want help or appreciate it and yet she is forced to help him. She also has Samuel, a man who came from Pennsylvania and works building furniture with her father. She knows the intention was for the two of them to marry but she does not feel romantic towards him. These two characters seem to lose all their peaceful heritage traits when they are anywhere in the same vicinity. At one point John does see the need to start helping those who stuck with him and helped him, he sees how selfish he has been. There are many unique characters such as Margery Barker- she runs boat charters and treats John as a son, Zeke who is homeless but from a wealthy family, the local crabby lady Olive Crowder who is always negative to Hester. This book also gave a view of all the workings before and after a hurricane and the different disaster organizations. **Book received through NetGalley for review.

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