Review: Fraying at the Edge by Cindy Woodsmall

Fraying at the Edge is the second book in the Amish of Summer Grove series.  So many lives were changed when it was discovered that an Old Order Amish family's baby, Ariana Brenneman, is not their biological daughter.  She was actually switched at birth during a fire at the birthing center 20 years ago.  Englischer Skylar Nash is the Brenneman's biological daughter.

Ariana's biological father demands that she come and stay with them and immerse herself in their world and have no contact with any of her family or he will sue the midwife that delivered the babies. Ari's childhoos friend, Quill is the only person with whom she is allowed contact but she does not feel that she can trust him after so many betrayals.

Skylar has two choices.  She can enter drug rehab or spend several months getting to know her Amish family living with no electricity, no technology, and no fun.  She chooses to go to the Brenneman's but manages to get a supply of pills and carries her feelings of emptiness and loneliness with her.

Both families struggle with the changes.  Can Ariana and Skylar find the wisdom and strength they need they'll need to follow God's thread into their unexpected future?

Cindy Woodsmall does write your typical Amish fiction. For this series, she has crafted an amazing story around the idea of two babies, one Amish, one English being switched and birth and the truth being discovered twenty years later.  This story is intriguing and woven wonderfully together..  The characters experiences and feelings and so real and believable.  The story does not paint a magical picture of happy ever after for both families but shares their emotional struggles and changes they undergo trying to find themselves in the world they have been thrown into. Generally, female characters in stories like this tend to be my favorites, but Quill has been my favorite in both of these stories.

My only wish is that I wouldn't have to wait for the next book to come out!  I cannot wait to see how everything is resolved in Book Three. I highly recommend this and other books by Cindy Woodsmall.

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this book from Blogging for Books for the purpose of writing a fair and honest review.  I received no other compensation and all opinions are my own.  I am disclosing this in accordance to the FTC regulations.