First, let me say I have never read Sawyer before. Her website advertises “gentle stories of hope” and Waiting for Summer’s Return certainly delivered. The writing is also excellent. Bostonian Summer Steadham is stranded in a Mennonite town in Kansas after the deaths of her husband and four children of typhoid. In order to remain close to their graves, she takes a job as a tutor for widower Peter Ollenberger’s ten year old son, Thomas. Peter is a sweet, admirable, hardworking man. He is infinitely patient with Summer which, in her grief stricken state, she needs. I liked him, but I sure wanted him to lose his temper at least once. He really was almost too good to be true. I really couldn’t find any fault in the man at all.As a matter of fact, I couldn’t find fault with any of the characters beside the townspeople at the beginning who don’t like Summer because she is not a Mennonite. As a result, I didn’t find enough high energy conflict in the book to keep me interested in reading every word. I kept waiting for an explosion between Summer, an obvious outsider, and the Mennonites, who were clearly displeased with her arrival in their community. After a few harsh words between Peter and church elders, one woman befriends Summer and the rest soon follow.The one creeping fault in Summer’s character is her selfish and persistent decision to drag her husband and children from Boston to a life on the Kansas prairie over their wishes. I waited for the gut wrenching emotional turmoil that would set her towards the struggle of taming her selfish side. It never happened. Even Peter’s son, ten year old Thomas, is too good to be true.If you’re a fan of sweet romances and don’t mind long sections devoted to Christianity, then you’ll enjoy Sawyer’s portrayal of two people trying to move past their pain to find love. If you like grittier fiction, like Kirsten Heitzman and Judith Pella, or fiction with a Christian worldview without any overt plot about Christianity, then you’ll be disappointed.I did give it 3 stars because Sawyer obviously has lots of fans and I know people who enjoy this kind of fiction. The writing is excellent and the plot does move forward, even though I would have preferred more conflict.
Free book on Kindle! Yay!I really loved the simplicity of this book. Perhaps it was just the fact that the Mennonite community portrayed in this book were simple people. It wasn't a difficult read, and I thought there were nearly perfect amounts of everything about the story and characters.Well-educated Summer Steadman lost her husband and four children to typhoid whilst moving from Boston to claim land in Oklahoma. Unfortunately, they didn't make it to Oklahoma, and Summer finds herself living in a hotel. That is, until Peter Ollenburger asks her to tutor his 10-year-old son, Thomas, who is unable to attend school due to an injury. Summer agrees because there's nothing else for her to do (besides mope around?).I actually wanted there to be more tension between Summer with the Ollenburger family and the other Mennonites in the community. Some of the fellow members at their small church looked down upon Summer because she wasn't a part of them or believed in their doctrine. However, that slowly changes throughout the book. Summer grows closer to Thomas and Peter, all of whom have lost someone (or someones, in Summer's case) dear to them.And just when you think things might just fall into place for Summer, she has to leave the small town Kansas life to rejoin her mother-in-law in Boston. At times I didn't think the whole section with her mother-in-law, Nadine, was important, especially since her in-laws basically disowned their son after he declared he wanted to claim land in Oklahoma. But I see how the author used this for both Summer and Peter to figure out their true feelings for each other. I also liked that because their feelings weren't overdramatic or outdone, like most relationships in Christian romances are.Side note: Every time the author kept saying that Peter was a "bear of a man" I really thought he was quite large, but when Summer and Peter embraced, he seemed to be just a head taller than her, which, to me, didn't indicate "bear" enough. Although the author does keep talking about his large forearms and hands... Anyways, that's just my own thoughts rambling!
Do You like book Waiting For Summer's Return (2006)?
This story had me from page one! It is magnificently written by a truly talented and wonderful author that writes in a style sure to make you feel a part of the story within the pages!!Set in a quaint little Mennonite community, Summer Steadman is all alone after her family falls sick and dies. She's desperate for a job to make ends meet, so she boldly takes on the task of teaching Peter Ollenberger's son while he is recuperating from an injury and is unable to attend school. She never planned on falling in love and knows he can't accept her English ways and looks at her as an "outsider", so she leaves to the home built for her near her family's graves, but can she return to the man she loves and accept his Mennonite ways??Peter Ollenberger is a widowed Mennonite man, raising his son and taking care of his late wife's grandmother. He has a strong faith. He has good friends...that is until the young "learned English woman" lives in the small shack on his property and teaches his son lessons...and steals his heart! Ms. Sawyer tells of tested faith, the value of family, morals and a love for God that is sure to draw you in from the first page! This book deserves highest praises many times over for an author who knows how to capture the readers' hearts!
—Molly
This book finds its setting in Kansas in the late 1800's. The story is about a devout Menninite widower named Peter who hires a woman who recently lost her husband and all of her children to a typhoid epidemic. Peter hires Summer to tutor his son who is ten and recovering from broken ribs. Their lives are so vastly different as is their faith in God. Both are familiar with prayer and God as well as the Bible, but Peter's faith is aboslute and Summer is questioning her faith and how the God Peter knows could take her husband and children. The book explores how their relationship grows and how Summer learns that Peter's God can bring joy to her devastated heart. A very good story.
—Peggy N
Set in the tiny Mennonite community of Gaeddert on the high plains of Kansas in the late 19th century, Summer Steadman has lost her entire family to the scourge of Typhoid. On her way to Oklahoma when her husband and four children perished, she does not want to leave the place where they are all buried.Peter Ollenburger, described as a "great bear of a man," needs someone to tutor his injured ten year old son until he can return to school and he discovers Summer. A tale of two unlikely people from two different worlds, Summer is pretty, petite, educated, and city bred. Peter is the town miller and, is at first impression, seems simple, primitive, strong, handy and kind.It is the relationship between these total opposites that makes the story crackle with emotional intensity and feeling. Summer's heart is closed and shattered with her staggering loss. Peter, also a widower, slowly tries to coax Summer out of her depression with his genuine living faith in God. Summer finds herself becoming attached to Thomas, Peter's son with a motherly love.However, the closed Mennonite community is suspicious of Summer as she is an 'outsider' and is living on Peter's property, strictly forbidden by the Christian sect. Will Summer acquire the Godly faith she sees in Peter? Will the Mennonite community see the goodness in Summer? And to solve their dilemma, is marriage between these two a remote possibility?Dear reading friends, I read this quiet but emotionally dramatic story through teary eyes. The beginning is unrelentingly sad as Summer struggles from wanting to die to returning to the living. The author's poignant use of keepsakes, memories, and beautiful meaningful details makes this one of the best historical romances I have ever read. If I'm not mistaken, this is the author's debut novel published in 2006. She has since penned many more in this genre. I look forward to reading more from this superlative author's hand.
—Jeffrey
