In my search to provide a wide range of holiday stories, I was drawn to Naomi’s Gift: An Amish Christmas Story by Amy Clipston. All of us get nostalgic this time of year and I hoped a story set in the Amish community would provide us with an old fashioned Christmas. Naomi’s Gift is a novella that did not disappoint.

Although it’s part of a series, Naomi’s Gift works well as a stand-alone novel. It contains a glossary of Amish words and the families involved in the story are delineated in a geneology chart, so it’s very easy to see who’s who and how they’re related. For those of you who’ve read this series centering on the Kauffman Amish Bakery, some of the same families appear in this novel. There’s even a cookie exchange at the bakery. For those of you who haven’t, no worries. I believe you’ll find this light read to be sweet, nostalgic and heartwarming. Just the kind of book you want to curl up with on a holiday evening!

Caleb Schmucker and his 7-year-old daughter, Susie, are returning to Bird-in-the-Hand, PA from Ohio to be with his family for the holidays. Caleb lost his wife in a terrible accident a couple of years ago and Susie is all he has left. He has been looking forward to seeing everyone he knows but dreading the trip because he knows his sister, Sadie Kauffman, will try to play matchmaker and he’s just not ready for that. Read the rest of my review at http://popcornreads.com/?p=2420.