Allison's Journey

Brides of Webster County #4

by Wanda E. Brunstetter

Journey into the fascinating world of the Amish, where two young hearts, tattered by life, are sewn together in faith and love.

Genres: Amish, Christian Fiction, Romance, Christian, Amish Fiction, Fiction, Inspirational

288 pages, ebook

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

New York Times bestselling and award-winning author, Wanda E. Brunstetter is one of the founders of the Amish fiction genre. She has written close to 90 books translated in four languages. With over 10 million copies sold, Wanda's stories consistently earn spots on the nations most prestigious bestseller lists and have received numerous awards.

Wanda’s ancestors were part of the Anabaptist faith, and her novels are based on personal research intended to accurately portray the Amish way of life. Her books are well-read and trusted by many Amish, who credit her for giving readers a deeper understanding of the people and their customs.

When Wanda visits her Amish friends, she finds herself drawn to their peaceful lifestyle, sincerity, and close family ties. Wanda enjoys photography, ventriloquism, gardening, bird-watching, beachcombing, and spending time with her family. She and her husband, Richard, have been blessed with two grown children, six grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.

To learn more about Wanda, visit her website at www.wandabrunstetter.com.

Reviews

[Jerry (Rebel With a Massive Media Library)]

A fabulous finale.

[Jolan]

I have finished the quadrilogy of Brides of Webster County series, the last book being Allison’s Journey by Wanda E. Brunstetter. Allison Troyer was given a bus ticket to Webster County, Missouri by her father for her birthday. She was going to stay with her aunt’s family, her mother’s twin sister, and learn how to run a household since she had never learned to cook or sew well. Her aunt Catherine, her father’s sister, had raised her and her brothers after their mother had died in a buggy accident and had never taught any of these skills to her. Allison made many new friends and started a close relationship with Aaron Zook. I enjoyed this final book in this series and highly recommend it.

[Allison Odachowski]

To be clear this is not very good writing, but I’d be lying to say I didn’t enjoy it. 😂

[Sylvia]

I loved this book!! Great story!!! Loved this series!! Love this author's books!!

[Melissa]

Ah Amish romances, I don't think there's anything better for lifting my spirits a bit while I'm down. This one wasn't too bad, it had some plausible conflict but still was a nice gentle story.

Allison has been sent to live with her cousins for the summer. The reason being is that her dad felt she was becoming too tomboyish and that she could learn to be a proper lady there since she wasn't learning it from her crabby aunt's teachings. Once she reaches her cousins, she discovers she likes it there and starts learning different things. She also makes new friends and even sparks the interest of Aaron, who previously never had anything to do with girls. But as much as Allison would like to stay, there are duties that call her back home to her father's.

Allison was a great character. It was refreshing to see an Amish girl be a tomboy for once in a novel and like things that boys should like. Aaron wasn't quite as nice of a character, he had a lot of conflicting emotions and I couldn't quite figure out where they all came from. The side characters were all nice too and it was nice to see that they weren't all wise leaders, that some of them had problems of their own as well.

For a plot I thought this one was nice. It kept to something that could definitely happen in an Amish community and also explored them moving to different communities. That was something I haven't seen much written about before. Since this is Amish fiction it can be considered Christian fiction. It was pretty light in the first part of this book but got heavier later on. And that's where I ran into a problem with the book. It seemed that as soon as Allison found herself, she was desperate to go rescue everyone else. It just seemed like maybe she should have reflected on her own beliefs and changes before rushing out to save others.

A very nice Amish fiction book. I'll definitely check more out by Brunstetter.

Allison's Journey
Copyright 2008
284 pages + recipe for peanut brittle

Review by M. Reynard 2011

More of my reviews can be found at www.ifithaswords.blogspot.com .

[Vicky Sluiter]

A journey of hope, this was a heartwarming story.

[Laura]

Seymour (Webster County) Missouri is only about two hours from my home so when I go to Springfield, I drive through the town--a trip that is not complete without an Amish sighting! It was nice to "drive down" the dusty backroads with Ms. Brunstetter and 'see" the community through her eyes.

ALLISON'S JOURNEY is a sweet, slow romance involving very young couples. There are many many points of view in this story, not just hero and heroine, which surprised me, but it was nice to know, for example, what Allison's dad thought of his sister, Catherine and her behavior. And it was nice to know what Aunt Mary really thought of Allison's lack of skills.

It was interesting watching how Allison grew from being a tomboy who knew nothing about homemaking to being more than capable and even liking it.

If you like Amish romances and missed this book when it came out with Heartsong Presents many many long years ago, you have an opportunity to read it again as Barbour reissued it. Grab your copy now.

I received a copy of this book free and all opinions are my own.

[Christy]

This was a good! A great way to end the series! Wanda Brunstetter is my favorite Amish author!

[Anne Marie]

This 4th book of the series focused on Allison Troyer, from Pennsylvania, and oldest brother Aaron Zook, from Missouri. We know Aaron from previous books. He is the oldest son of Barbara, who married Paul, who took over the harness shop run by her late husband. Aaron tells many people he never wants to get married, but when he meets Allison, sent to Missouri to live with her Aunt Mary and family for the summer, he has second thoughts. Allison is a tomboy. Her mother passed away and has not learned much from her Aunt Catherine who lives with her father, brother, and Allison. So Allison’s father sends her away to learn more about cooking and sewing.
Allison loves spending time in her new surroundings. She learns a lot from Aunt Mary, meets new friends, and possibly could have two boys that want to court her. Unfortunately, the first boy she meets, James, is too wild, overstepping bounds during his rumspringa. He gets killed in a tragic buggy accident. Aaron is a much better choice for Allison, but just as she wants to get to know him better and stay longer, she receives a letter from her father saying her Aunt Catherine is very sick and they need her to come home. Allison takes care of Aunt Catherine until she passes away, and thinks she will need to take care of her father, but circumstances work out and she is able to move to Missouri, where Aaron can inherit the harness shop his biological dad promised him, and marry Allison.

[Shelley]

Allison Troyer lost her mother in an accident as a child and has never felt close to her Aunt Catherine who came to stay and help raise her and her brothers. Allison's father decides to send her to visit her mother's twin sister and her family in Missouri for the summer, in hopes that Aunt Mary can help Allison learn to cook and sew, things Aunt Catherine has not had the patience to teach her. Allison is hesitant, but ends up enjoying her time outside of Lancaster County, PA, making new friends and learning homemaking skills, as well as finding a personal relationship with God that she has been lacking in her life. She meets Aaron, who lost his father as a child as well. They hit it off and find they have feelings for each other, so much so that Allison thinks she might like to stay longer in Missouri. But then Allison is called home to help out her family when Aunt Catherine is very ill. Allison's heart is torn at leaving Aaron and Missouri, but feels strongly that she should return and help make sure difficult Aunt Catherine has a personal relationship with God too before it is too late. Will Allison break through Aunt Catherine's tough personality, and will she ever see Aaron, her first love, again? Wanda Brunstetter has made this a story of faith, hope, and young love that is so hard to put down until the reader reaches the end. Excellent read!

[Danielle Turko]

When Allison receives a bus ticket for her birthday to visit her aunt Mary, she feels as if her dad is trying to rid of her. Not sure she wants to go at first, her dad convinces her it would be good for her to go and learn more womanly things, things her Aunt Catharine hasn't been able to teach tomboy Allison. She goes and almost instantly feels at home. The people are so friendly, and Aaron seems to keep popping up wherever she is. Of course, so does James but his antics leave her feeling more anxious than anything else. When she finds herself more at home there then she's felt in Pennsylvania she considers moving there permanently. But when circumstances change at home, she finds herself torn between her heart and her duty.
This was a satisfying end to the series. The series covered first Faith, then Faith's best friend, then Faith's daughter, then Faith's best friend's son. She really could have continued the series, with all the other young people mentioned but she probably decided other stories needed to be told as well

[Carol]

Allison Troyer is a 19-year-old Amish woman who can’t cook or sew well. Since her mom was killed when she was seven, her father’s single sister Aunt Catherine came to live with them, but never had the patience to teach Allison any housekeeping skills. Worse than that, she spent so much time with her older brothers that she is a tomboy, fond of fishing, playing baseball, and riding horses. Now her father is sending her from Bird-in-hand, Ohio, to her mother’s twin sister in Seymour, Missouri, for three months to learn how to cook, clean and sew so she will be ready for marriage. Allison plans to make good use of her time with her Aunt Mary. She also meets some young people her age, one of whom seems sweet on her. But when Aunt Catherine becomes ill and Allison is called back to Ohio, will her new romance have a chance?

And there is a recipe for peanut brittle included at the end.

[Rosemarie]

This is the final book in this series, and it's a "wunderbar" story. Allison grew up in Lancaster, PA, rasied by her widowed father and his harsh, unmarried sister. When her father's concern for her lack of womanly skills is matched by his concern for the negative affect his sister is having on his daughter, he sends Allison to his sister-in-law's home in Webster County (where the series takes place). Allison believes she'll never marry because she wasn't trained well in the home, but worse, she believes she has no purpose in life. Through the kindness and tutelage of her aunt, Allison accepts God's love and learns forgiveness and acceptance, in addition to learning sewing and cooking. And she sees a future she never thought possible. Great story.

[Carol Riggs]

This was another church library book that I’ve read by Wanda Brunstetter, and I enjoyed it as I did the first one I read (A Merry Heart). There were nice themes of forgiveness and trusting God. The gospel of how to become saved and reach heaven was included. It was a more leisurely read, but interesting. The characters did seem to give up quite easily when obstacles came up near the end, thinking their relationship was over. A bit odd, but that’s romance for ya, and it all worked out in the end.

[Tracy Smith]

I am a very big fan of Amish fiction and this one did not let me down. Follow Allison Troyer as she becomes the woman that she needs to be as she learns the art of being a homemaker and learns to have faith in the good Lord. Anyone who enjoys a sweet story of loss, family, and love will find this story very heart-warming. Wanda Brunstetter always writes a wonderful story!

[Sandra]

For those who love Amish stories, Wanda E. Brunstetter, writes great stories with a variety of characters from sweet and lovely to wild and daring. A reader can expect to read about the sadness of life, as well as the joys.

This particular story explores young Allison's life which comes with sadness, joys and growth in her faith, and is a nice end the Brides of Webster County series.

[Valeria]

I love to read the Amish fiction genre and learn new things about the amish way of life. This book was sweet and light. Not a lot happened in the book but 2 people fell in love so that always has a good ending.

[Kristina Anderson]

Lovely novel! I read this years ago and enjoyed it. Great addition to the series.

[Karen West]

always a good read

[Heather Bridson]

Loved this story. It is a great story of love, loss and redemption. Faith, love and hope. Just a wonderful story, and I really want a faceless doll now.

[Suzette Daniel]

Good story and great scriptures

[Marcy]

Beautiful story.

[ANNETTE]

Easy to follow and wonderful story.

[Dorry Lou]

Good Amish book about 2 people that needed each other to overcome heartaches in their lives.

[Carol & Russell]

It was hard to put down.

[Carole]

I read that whole series and loved it!!! Great easy read❤️

[Rose Sementelli]

Very good. The best of the series

See above.So unselfish to give up her love for her duty to her family. All the love she had for others and I. God

[Heather]

Nice and cozy Amish romance. A good finish to the Brides of Webster County series.

[SteFF]

Cute Amish love story, packed full of Amish heritage.
Brunstetter doesn't disappoint.

[Julie]

This was the first book I've read by Wanda E. Brunstetter. It was a good book but pretty predictable where it would end up.