The Bundling Year: A Non-Traditional Contemporary Amish Romance by Anne Schroeder is book one of three in the series “Field of Promise.” The novel mostly takes place in present-day Ohio.
Amanda Miller, an Oregon college student, faces a life-changing dilemma: stay in college or take the challenge her favorite but recently deceased aunt has offered her. In order to comply with the offer, Amanda must leave school and take residence in her aunt’s Ohio house. But there’s a stipulation that she must live in the house a year before selling. Amanda’s father strenuously objects to her leaving, but her mother, although paralyzed from a car accident, urges her to take the challenge. With very few resources, she packs her few belongings and meager savings and drives to the picturesque Amish region of Ohio. Amanda finds her aunt’s house in dire need of repair, certainly before she can consider selling it.
Amanda views with interest her neighbors’ farm across the road. She notices by their dress that they are Amish, that they don’t drive cars or use tractors—they drive a horse- drawn buggy and plow their fields with draft horses.
Jacob Ruth lives with his strict Amish family across the road from Amanda. He has not yet been baptized, meaning as an adult he has not made a life-long commitment to God. Amish children go to school only for the first few grades, long enough to learn to read and write. So Jacob and his brothers and sisters know “English” ways, but the family is active in the Amish community, and Jacob is expected to be baptized and follow the traditions of his family.
When Amanda asks Jacob about hiring him to make repairs to her house, he eagerly agrees. As they become better acquainted, a mutual attraction turns into a serious bond that forms between them which quickly turns into desire. But can their two very different lifestyles bring lasting happiness?
The Bundling Year was an eye-opener for me. When I served with the Red Cross, I participated in the Kosovo refugee program at Fort Dix, New Jersey, near an Amish community. It seemed strange to me to have horse-drawn buggies mingled with regular traffic, and to see people dressed so differently. But I was busy with Red Cross business and never became acquainted with the Amish or their lifestyle. The Bundling Year gave me an opportunity to see a different way, to watch two worlds collide, and to understand the serious implications of merging two very different cultures. The author does an amazing job of capturing the language and mannerisms of the Amish, and portraying the stark differences between “modern culture” and Amish strict traditional ways. I recommend this excellent novel to teens and adults who would appreciate another viewpoint on life.