A Love for Lizzie

A Love for Lizzie is a rewarding Amish novel. This is the first book I have read by Tracey J. Lyons and I enjoyed it. This is Ms. Lyons debut novel for Love Inspired and her first Amish novel as well. I liked her engaging writing style with lovely but realistic characters. Lizzie is twenty years old and prefers to stay on the family farm to avoid strangers who stare at her. When Lizzie was ten years old, an accident took her brother’s life and left her with visible scar. Paul Burkholder is Lizzie’s friend and has been since they were children. Paul would like to court Lizzie, but she keeps pushing him away. Lizzie has not been able to move forward with her life since her brother died and feels that no man would want her because of her outward appearance. Lizzie fails to realize that Paul fell in love with her beautiful inside. It was so sweet when Paul said that Lizzie’s paintings show her inner beauty and strength. I thought A Love for Lizzie was an emotional story. Readers get to join Lizzie on a journey to overcome the past. I like how the community came together to help the Miller family in their time of need and continued to show up each day for them. God has a guiding hand in our lives, and everything happens for a reason as we see in A Love for Lizzie. My favorite quote from A Love for Lizzie is “this day wasn’t my doing—it’s a gift from God”. I did find one discrepancy in the story regarding the death of Lizzie’s brother. At one point, Paul stated he had just arrived when the accident occurred. Later in the story, it states Paul did not arrive until after the incident had happened. Otherwise, A Love for Lizzie was an engaging and satisfying novel. There is a recipe for Double Treat Cookies included (a peanut butter cookie with chocolate chips and peanuts). A Love for Lizzie is an uplifting Amish story with its focus on faith, love and family.