The Proving is a novel about true forgiveness and heartfelt love. Mandy, the main protagonist, has been deeply wounded by her twin sister. The hurt caused Mandy to leave her Amish roots and become an Englischer. She lost contact with her family but inherited the family owned bed and breakfast. Her twin sister cooks for the B and B but Mandy promptly fires her. Mandy's life and the once renowned inn start to spiral downward. Help appears in the form of an unlikely new friend who challenges Mandy to do the unthinkable...make peace with her sister. A wonderful story and a must read!

If you’re a well-read fan of Beverly Lewis then you walk into her novels knowing what to expect. Of course it’ll be centered on the Amish way of life, there will be some kind of heartbreak that needs resolving through Christian principles, there will be bold statements about God and/or prayers and if you can find the silence to listen you might learn something.

Lewis uses her talent for descriptive and metaphorical language to create vivid images so you can actually feel like you’ve been to Amish country. Even if you’ve never read a Lewis book it’ll be easy to get used to her use of the particular language and dialect her Amish characters use thanks to her detailed context. She paints their way of life as something beautiful and full rather than lacking as you might believe since they aren’t held together through social media, video games, comic movies or our warring political parties. She creates a world that even the tech and Starbucks addicts can envy even just a little.

Lewis tried something new in this novel compared to most of her other ones by using an Inn as the setting and it worked very well because it provided a chance to see more of how the Amish and ‘English’ might interact and what each other’s expectations might be. The way it was described you felt like you were walking through the rooms and meadows outdoors, made me wish I could make a reservation.

Typical for Lewis the family dynamics involved that she spun through her well-developed characters was both dramatic and heartwarming at once. At times I felt irritated with the choices being made but once you understand the full story and how each character viewed their part in it you can see how very logical and realistic their actions were.

The nice thing about a Lewis novel is no matter what goes on you’re guaranteed a good ending so the plot, dialogue and characters can just whisk you away from whatever stressful reality you may be dealing with to one where peaceful endings are just around the turn of the page.

Imagine a quaint little Amish B&B surrounded by beautiful butterflies and you have pictured Butterfly Meadows. Amanda Sue, Mandy as her family and friends call her, has been called back to her former Amish life to run the B&B after her mother suffered a stroke and died. The stipulation is that she must run the B&B for twelve months successfully. Mandy finds it hard to be so close to her twin sister and husband, the man Mandy thought she was going to marry. Can Mandy succeed? Will Mandy forgive her sister for the wrong she thought was done to her?

I know whenever I pick up a Beverly Lewis book I will have a sense of calm and peace as I am reading and The Proving was no exception. I enjoyed seeing Mandy grow as an adult and watching her learn the ways of her mom. Learning to pray over the guests and help them find the comfort of a quiet life to ease their troubled lives.

I think we could all learn to pray more and pray quietly. Lewis shows us where a prayerful life could lead us. It could lead us to the most unexpected but perfect place in our life.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bethany House Publishers for an ARC in exchange for a review based on my own honest opinion.

Mandy left her Amish home after a dispute with her twin sister and moved to Kansas where she has lived an "English" life for five years. Things are going well for Mandy until she loses her job and then receives a letter saying that her mother has died. Her mother left the family B&B to her with a stipulation that she must live there for a year and run a profitable business.
Mandy has lots of things to work through concerning her sister but more importantly her Amish faith. Highly recommended!