Fraying at the Edge

When last we left our heroines, both were overcoming stresses of their new situations.  Arianna is living with the people who raised Skylar, and Skylar is living with the people who raised Arianna.  Living in the Englisch world is beyond a challenge for Arianna.  Her biological father wants her to learn to live in the world, question it, and embrace it.  He has no belief in God and wants to tear down hers.  He not only wants to change her inside, but outside as well.  He wants her hair cut, her clothing totally changed, and her attitudes changed.  He writes a bucket list for her and expects her to fulfill it as a condition to returning to her Amish family.

For Skylar, the Amish world is totally backwards, and living by their rules is going to drive her to the looney bin.  She thinks she can hide her drugs and her habit, but Lovina, Skylar's biological mother, is wise to to Skylar's actions.

In the interim, Arianna's sisters and her twin are running the cafe with mixed results.  To save her sanity, and to have access to a phone, Skylar pitches in to help with the cafe.  After her last drugs run out, Lovina confronts Skylar and forces her to detox, but stands beside her to help her through the withdrawal.

Arianna feels pushed into a corner to fulfill the bucket list, even though much of it goes against her conscience.  When Arianna's friend, Quill, finds out what all is on the list, he confronts Ari's biological father and explains to him what loving a child is all about.  I think that is my favorite part of the book.

One thing about Cindy Woodsmall's series is that she sometimes leaves her characters hanging off the metaphoric cliff and makes her readers wait until the next installment.  Fraying at the Edge does exactly that, but it's still worth five stars, two thumbs up, and a cup of coffee, a scone, and a bucket list.

My thanks to Waterbrook/Multnomah for allowing me to read and review this book.