Paradise Valley

Paradise Valley by Dale CramerPublished by Bethany House Publishers

This is the first book I've read by Dale Cramer, and I decided to buy it because of a recommendation on the front by Beverly Lewis. I am a huge fan of Beverly Lewis' books, so if she said he's a good Amish fiction author, I had give the book a try. I was not disappointed! I will definitely be buying all the books in this series!

Paradise Valley is the first in a new series called The Daughters of Caleb Bender. It is based on on a true story of an Amish community that moved to Mexico in order to escape religious persecution in Ohio.

As the story opens, we meet the family of Caleb Bender, who after a run in with the police who are convinced that the Amish children are being negatively affected by their "truancy" from school, decide on a whim to buy 5,000 acres in a remote, mountain oasis in Paradise Valley, Mexico.

Caleb's family is the original settling family there, hoping to be joined by others from their Ohio community in a year, after the Benders have gotten established. But the move is a hard one for the family, especially the girls. Rachel has fallen head over heals for Jacob, and cannot dream of living apart from him, possibly forever. And Emma, secretly engaged to Levi, mourns the fact that they, too, may be torn apart. Then there's Miriam, their older sister, who has never been courted, and who knows her chances of finding an Amish beau in Mexico are slim to none.

The trip is a long one by train, and then by horse and buggy the rest of the way into the mountains. The closest town of any size is a full day's ride away. But the land is so fertile, it seems worth the ride!

In stark contrast to the beauty and fertility of Paradise Valley is the danger posed by local bandits intent on taking what the Benders have worked so hard for. The Benders had been warned of this danger, but had decided the pros outweighed the cons.

As time moves on, and the Benders continue getting the settlement ready, will there still be a place for the new families to come to? Or will the bandits steal it all away? What will happen to the girls?

Read the book to find out. ;)