Portrait of a Sister by Laura Bradford is a real-life story of one young woman’s struggle to find her own identity.
Growing up, Katie, has always been Hannah’s twin despite the fact that she has her own likes and desires. Since her running around years, Katie has taken to drawing, but she struggles with the fact that it is frowned upon in the Amish community. She has done an excellent job of keeping this secret to herself over the past several years.
When their mother passes away, Hannah, who had left the Amish life for the exciting world of New York City, returns home for the funeral. Katie has always been a little upset with Hannah for leaving because she had to stay behind and pick up the pieces and keep the family together. Hannah discovers Katie’s secret and has the nerve to take some back to New York with her. Hannah also invites Katie to come to visit.
When Katie gets to New York, Hannah didn’t even pick her up but instead a stranger, Eric, is there to help her get to Hannah’s apartment. While in New York, Katie discovers that Hannah has given her art work to her boss and he has it on display in his art gallery. She is excited that people like her work but saddened that Hannah would go behind her back and do this. To top it off, Katie is suppose to marry Abram when she returns home, but she starts to develop a relationship with Eric in the Big Apple.
Bradford does an excellent job with Katie’s character. The book was well-written and easy for the reader to escape into Katie’s world.
I received an advance reader copy of this book from netgalley and Kensington in return for my honest opinion of the book. All opinions and statements expressed are strictly my own.

Katie was the twin who stayed home with her Amish family, while her adventurous sister Hannah left to explore the English world. When their mother dies, Hannah comes back for the funeral, and tries to talk her sister into coming to New York City to visit. Katie's secret passion is drawing, and she is very talented. Problem is though, is that she fears it would get her shunned to have the images. She does go to New York for a week visit, but felt sorry for her. Sure didn't like her sister Hannah very much, who seemed pushy and selfish. Would have liked more with Abram, as what was shown I liked. Would highly recommend this book. Nice read.

Laura Bradford's Portrait of a Sister is a very deep book on many levels. The main protagonist Katie sees herself through the eyes of others. She fills the role of a mother when her mother dies. Katie lives for the joy of others and not herself. She is afraid of what her own feelings might show about her. She harbors a secret passion which she feels will alienate her from her Amish community. This novel shows Kate's self awakening with surprising results. It was a great read.

I received an arc copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for my honest opinion of it. I so much enjoy Amish books and this one did not disappoint. Hannah and Katie are twins and so different from each other. Hannah invites Katie to New York to visit her and hopefully get her to stay. Katie loves to draw and when her drawing is secretly put on display at an art show and someone purchases it, will this convince Katie to stay?

Laura Bradford’s new book, Portrait of a Sister, is a really great read. I actually stayed up until almost one in the morning to finish it when I started it. I truly enjoyed the story and meeting the characters. In fact, I would love to hear more about the family!
The story follows Katie, who feels like she has always been known as “Hannah’s twin” rather than just Katie. She loves to draw and has real talent for recording her memories of her family. However, being Amish, she isn’t allowed to draw faces because they are considered a graven image. Therefore, she hides her drawing from her family. Even her twin Hannah doesn’t know about it. A year before the story picks up, Hannah has left her Amish upbringing for life in the big city, New York. Katie feels like she has been left to pick up the pieces left behind. When her mom becomes ill and passes away, Katie struggles to help her family and take care of everyone. When Hannah returns and discovers her secret drawings, Katie is distraught to discover that Hannah actually took some back to New York with her. She doesn’t want anyone to know about her secret and is furious with Hannah. However, when Katie goes to visit Hannah in New York and discovers that her drawings have actually been put on display in an art gallery, Katie’s anger morphs into confusion and hurt. People keep saying she has talent but she can’t leave her Amish life. How can she decide what is best for her. Add in Eric, a friend she meets in New York who is kind and seems to understand her, and the confusion only deepens. Katie is supposed to marry Abram, a kind Amish man who loves her and is patiently waiting for her to work through her grief. What will Katie do? Will she remain faithful to her Amish roots or will the lure of her drawings and a future she never imagined bring her to a new life?
I think Bradford did a good job of developing Katie’s character as she came to understand herself and what was most important to her. I really enjoyed this story and would love to read more about Katie’s family. I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley. All opinions are expressly my own.

*I received a free ARC from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This did not affect my opinion in any way.*

Honestly, this was my first read which was set in an Amish background. The book focuses on the choices we have. Also, it clearly shows the impact of the choices made by one person on the other members of the family.

The lead character is torn between her passion for painting and her Amish way of life. The author very smoothly takes us through the character development of the lead character throughout the journey.

The two love interests are intriguing as well.

I really loved how the author depicted the various emotions the lead character goes through making it a gripping read.

Overall, it was a nice, short read. You can easily take the book with you while travelling and it can also be considered for a nice bedtime read.

Portrait of a Sister is one of those books I know I'll be re reading, as it was extremely moving, so deeply touching. It tells the story of Katie and Hannah, twin sisters nearly identical in looks but oh so far apart in personality. Amish by birth, Hannah chose to leave before baptism and pursue a life in New York City, while Katie chose baptism and stayed ho me with her parents to help with her younger siblings, and to care for her dying mother. When her mother passes, Katie's father encourages her to visit Hannah in New York City as a way to help her cope with her grieving process. Hannah welcomes this opportunity to encourage Katie to consider a life in New York City in which she could develop her hidden talent for drawing. This is something with which Katie wrestles internally, as she fears being shunned by her church district if her passion and talent for drawing is discovered.
When Katie returns home, she resumes helping her siblings, and being courted by Abram- and slowly discovers a very special side to Abram she had not seen before.
Portrait of a Sister is one of those books that kept me up throughout the night to find out what would happen next. I highly recommend this beautiful story.

Portrait of a Sister is a charming read. Katie has always unfairly compared herself to her more dominant twin sister Hannah, who fled the Amish life. After a death in the family, Katie travels to New York City to visit Hannah. Katie has a talent for drawing and she wrestles with her passion while reconciling it with her faith. Most of the book deals with Katie waffling with ideas of the English world. In the end, she makes her decision based on the ideals she holds close.