The Hope Jar: Volume 1

by Wanda E. Brunstetter

Book Overview

A Brand-New 3-Book Series from New York Times Bestselling Author Wanda E. Brunstetter.
What happens when making an elderly Amish couple very happy means going along with a lie that gets bigger by the day?

Michelle Taylor is not who her new family in Lancaster County believes her to be. The Lapps were looking for their long-lost granddaughter when they met Michelle and she assumed the identity of Sara Murray. Once homeless...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1624167470
• ISBN13: 9781624167478
• Release Date: August 2018
• Publisher: Shiloh Run Press
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.4" x 8.3"

Customer Reviews

Sweet Read

This book was really sweet but very slow. It didn't really grab me and hold my attention. But it focused a lot on giving second chances, forgiveness and showing that even if you're not related by blood, you can still be family. It handled the whole deception part really good too. I loved the little notes Michelle found in the jar, they added a nice aspect to the story. The book also felt like it went in circles quite a bit, with the same thought pattern. It wasn't till the very end that Michelle started to grow. So while I didn't particularly enjoy this one I do think if you're looking for a cute, sweet read you'd like it. And the ending! Makes you eager to read the next one. I received this book free from the publisher for an honest review. All thoughts are my own. 

Best new series

The Hope Jar is the first book in Wanda Brunstetter's Prayer Jar series. When I first started reading I wasn't sure if I was going to like it, the first character that I encountered just lost her mother, something that have dealt with myself. The story gets much better, and I found the book hard to put down. I found all the characters very realistic and I feel like I know them. The story line was well written and kept me guessing to the very end. I loved this book and I can hardly wait for the next story. I highly recommend this book to everyone. I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher and I am not under obligation to leave a positive review.

The Hope Jar

The Hope Jar is the new book in Wanda Brunstetter's new series The Prayer Jars. The story centers around Willis and Mary Ruth Lapp, an Amish couple living in Lancaster County Pennsylvania. The Lapps receive a letter from a granddaughter, Sara Murray, who they did not know they has. Sara tells the Lapps that her mother has passed and she would like to meet them. When they go to the bus station to pick Sara up, instead of the girl being their grand daughter, they meet Michelle Taylor a homeless woman escaping an abusive and dangerous relationship. Michelle takes advantage of the mistaken identity and lives with the Lapps, posing as Sara. But how long can Michelle keep up this charade of her's until her real identity is revealed. How heartbroken will the Lapps be when they find out who Michelle's real identity. This is a story of forgiveness, deception,lies, escaping an abusive situation, and learning how to love and hope with the help of scriptures and prayers from a Prayer Jar. I would highly recommend reading this well written story. The characters are interesting and the plot has some twist and turns. I was given a complimentary copy of The Hope Jar by Barbour Publishing for my honest opinion

Couldn't put it down!

Wanda E Brunstetter did a VERY good job with this book. I couldn't put it down. Michelle Taylor is virtually homeless, she runs away from an abusive relationship and is waiting at the bus station to purchase a bus ticket to Anywhere else. She is mistakenly identified as an Amish couple's long lost, unknown granddaughter, Sara Murray. Having no one else to turn to and nowhere to go, she lets them assume she's their relative. Willis and Mary Ruth Lapp are Amish. Their only child, a daughter named Rhoda, ran away from home when she was a teenager and never returned to them. One day, they get a letter from Sara Murray, claiming to be the grandchild they've never known. They were saddened to learn that their daughter Rhoda has passed away, but excited about meeting their granddaughter. After Michelle arrives, she begins to take on small chores to help out the Lapp's, also so she can learn more about becoming Amish. She finds a jar in the cellar that has all sorts of messages in it. There's prayers and questions (for God). Michelle hasn't been introduced to God or Jesus in her life, living in the foster system. She starts wondering who left the jar full of hopes, and why. Ezekiel and Brad are young Christian men whom Michelle encounters in her new life, living with the Lapps. She decides that she could love either one of them. It's a charming story, it was never answered who wrote the notes in the hope jars. Or, who is Sara's father. Maybe it will be answered in the next book. I received a complimentary copy of this book from Barbour Publishing and was under no obligation to post a review.