The heirloom / Beverly Lewis.

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

This heartwarming prequel to The Shunning is a tender story of love, belonging, and the courage to move forward. After her widowed father remarries, nineteen-year-old Clara Bender is no longer needed to help run his household. Marriage seems like her best hope of moving out, but there are few young men in her tiny Indiana Amish community. When she comes across letters from her mother's aunt Ella Mae Zook, she sets off to visit Lancaster County's Hickory Hollow to decide where her future lies.Ella Mae is not quite ready to move from the farmhouse where she and her recently deceased husband spent over fifty happy years, but her children are eager to resettle her, making Clara's visit seem like an answer to prayer. The two women form a warm bond while restoring an heirloom wedding quilt and sharing their lives, with Ella Mae confiding about a tragedy from her courting years. Eventually, Ella Mae suggests Clara stay for the summer, allowing Ella Mae more time with her and giving Clara an opportunity to meet the area's eligible young men. But when the unexpected happens, will Clara find where her heart truly belongs?

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Publishers Weekly Review

Lewis shines in this tender, homespun Amish romance, the prequel to The Shunning. Shattered by a breakup, her mother's recent death, and her father's remarriage not long after, 19-year-old Clara Bender feels out of place in First Light, Ind. To get away, she visits her mother's widowed aunt Ella Mae Zook in Hickory Hollow, a strict Amish community in Lancaster County, Pa., whose residents place more "emphasis on rules and regulations" than on God's grace, according to her father. Ella Mae, who's grieving the loss of her husband, is thrilled to have the young woman as company, and the two bond while repairing an heirloom wedding quilt. When Clara meets local Aaron Ebersol and they develop feelings for each other, she wants to make Hickory Hollow her permanent home, though she's promised her father she'll return to First Light. As Aaron and Clara contemplate a future together, they work to secure blessings from both Clara's father and the straitlaced bishop of Hickory Hollow--a seemingly impossible task, given their religious differences and her father's steadfast belief in a personal relationship with Christ, which he worries is at risk if Clara stays. Fans of clean Amish romance will have their heartstrings tugged by this inspiring tale, which speaks to the power of new beginnings and love's ability to bridge seemingly uncrossable divides. It's a delight. (Sept.)

Booklist Review

This stand-alone prequel to best-selling Lewis' The Shunning (2002) and its Hallmark movie adaptation is a must-have for all who enjoy reading about the plain life in Amish communities and fans of inspirational fiction. Clara, a member of a very small progressive Amish community in 1990s Indiana, is mourning the death of her mother and feeling uncomfortable with her new stepmother when she finds letters from her mother's great-aunt and decides to travel to Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, to visit elderly Ella Mae. Together they work on restoring an heirloom quilt, and Clara finds worth and friendship with other young people in that community as she joins them for sings and gatherings involving volleyball and ping-pong. She feels comfortable with the stricter Old Order Amish and likes that there are eligible young men there. As she falls in love with Aaron, she has to grapple with the consequences of moving permanently away from her family and of the deeply important decision about whether to change her church affiliation.

Author notes provided by Syndetics

Beverly Lewis , born in the heart of Pennsylvania Dutch country, has more than 19 million books in print. Her stories have been published in 12 languages and have regularly appeared on numerous bestseller lists, including the New York Times and USA Today . Beverly and her husband, David, live in Colorado, where they enjoy hiking, biking, making music, and spending time with their family. Visit her website at beverlylewis.com.