MrsK Books: Through the Autumn Air by Kelly Irvin

Saturday, December 8, 2018

Through the Autumn Air by Kelly Irvin

Through the Autumn Air (Every Amish Season #3)

Kelly Irvin

ISBN: 9780310348146

Publisher's Synopsis:
A mysterious English stranger appears in Mary Katherine Ropp’s kitchen one autumn night, heralding the beginning of a new chapter in the widow’s life.

The mother of ten, Mary Katherine is an empty-nester who lost her husband four years earlier. She misses her husband so much, she still talks to him. She pours her creative spirit into writing stories and serves as the district’s Budget newspaper scribe. An avid reader, her dream is to open a bookstore with her English friend, but the church elders want this wayward widow to work in an Amish-owned combination store.

When an English man breaks into her house looking for food, Mary Katherine doesn’t call the sheriff. She turns to her good friend, Ezekiel, who needs a cook at the restaurant he started after his wife died ten years earlier. Mary Katherine and Ezekiel set out separately to make sure their new friend isn’t caught up in the investigation, and their efforts keep bringing them together. They’re both still so in love with their long-gone spouses, so when the sparks begin to fly, they are beyond confused. Is it possible to find “The One” more than once in a lifetime?

"At what point did a person realize that the special moments

in life streak by in a flash, distilled into memories

before they could be truly lived?"

MrsK's Review:
Are you a seasonal reader? When the holidays begin to roll in, reading becomes a way to feel renewed, centered, and hopeful. Seasonal reading becomes an open door... back home!

Mary Katherine has raised her children, buried her husband, and always found treasure with books. With her children grown, her friend from the library is considering opening a book store that would showcase Amish romances. Mary Katherine knows that this chance to work with her friend would bring her joy and a new purpose. Although her children believe that she should become a cook at the local restaurant, she struggles between what is proper and what is possible. Finding joy in baking and cooking is comforting, yet right now, her heart is being pulled towards books, writing, and greeting customers. The book store could be a place where she belonged.

Ezekiel is the owner of the Purple Martin Cafe. Even though he has enjoyed serving his community with good food, laughter, and spiritual inspirations he is facing a new season in his life. He was hoping that Mary Katherine might help him at the cafe, it was getting harder for him to continue running the family business by himself. It had been a wonderful business when his wife and children had worked together, but since his wife's death and with the children following their own paths, the cafe just seemed to be weighing him down.

Burke is a stranger traveling away from his past. He knew enough about the Amish forgiveness, yet he wasn't sure where God was leading him. His journey in Jamesport will be a test of faith. Not only will most members of the community distrust him, Ezekiel and Mary Katherine will become relentless in guiding him back to his calling, even if it looks a different than what he was running from. Could Jamesport provide a new beginning?

One evening Mary Katherine bravely interrupts an intruder raiding her kitchen. Her decision to offer lodging to a stranger might provide a new path for Burke, it most definitely will lead Mary Katherine away from her home and into a new season of hope, joy, and love.

Autumn is a season for taking inventory of ones life. A season to clean out clutter and welcome the blessings of those around you. For many, this season is a quilting of past memories, unfinished hopes, rekindled possibilities, and an overflow of love. This story is endearing...

In a season of sharing... read, laugh, sigh, and pass on the possibility of a life well lived,
MrsK

Hope-filled... Inspiring...
Renewing...
Perfect reflection of a life well lived...

Meet the Author:
Kelly Irvin

The Kansas native is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers and ACFW's San Antonio local chapter Alamo City Christian Fiction Writers.

A graduate of the University of Kansas William Allen White School of Journalism, Kelly has been writing nonfiction professionally for thirty years. She studied for three semesters at the University of Costa Rica, learning the Spanish language. As a journalist, she worked six years in the border towns of Laredo and El Paso.

She worked in public relations for the San Antonio Parks and Recreation Department for 22 years before retiring earlier this year. Kelly has been married to photographer Tim Irvin for twenty-eight years. They have two young adult children and have two grandchildren. In her spare time, she likes to write short stories, read books by her favorite authors, and looks forward to visits with her grandchildren.

"I received this book from the Fiction Guild for this review."

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MrsK's Reading Bio

Reading is important! No questions asked, not even a blink of the eye from any student I grew up with. On the first day of the First grade, we were given our first books. Day two we all read aloud, round robin of course. Day three we were place in our first basal, now known as a lit circle group. Books were so important, publishers designed new curriculum so that every student was reading by the end of the first week. These early readers had images that looked like what we could see in the classroom, beyond the classroom, even on the big screen. Reading is important, throughout history every generation has believed that “Reading” opens up the world for endless possibilities.

I adore the 1950’s Dick and Jane books. Actually, most reading specialists and experienced (45+) educators believe that every student learned to read with Dick and Jane. Since these books are being re-issued, I have heard many parents, grandparents, and students claim that Dick and Jane stories of repetition does teach students to read.

Early influences from my mother influenced my desire to read. I would watch her read and we would go on “secret” excursions to the library. The library became my playground. I owned every book I could carry home, of course they needed to be taken back to their home after visiting with me for a week or two. My first book that I could pull off of the library shelf and read was, Father Bear Comes Home. I only saw my dad on Sundays for a few hours. I would pull this beginning reader off of the library shelf every week. Every week I would try to read the first chapter. Every week I got further in the story. My mom would let me check it out, only if I could read it myself (She didn’t like the illustrations therefore she didn’t want to take time to read it to me). One day, I pulled the book from the shelf and when mom came to get me from the children’s corner, I realized that I had read the whole story. I ran to the check out desk and the Librarian KERCHUNKED the checkout card. My mother, brother and neighbors read. My teachers read. We all read aloud all day long in school. The Priest read aloud every day at mass, even in Latin. Everybody in the Doctor’s office read. People on the bus read. Dad’s waiting in their cars as the Mom’s and children grocery shopped, read. In fact, once you could read and write, Sunset Magazine considered you a reader and sent you mail every day.

Reading is important; I’ve spent my life reading. I’ve traveled around the world and into space through books. My favorite genre is whichever book I have open at the time. Children’s Literature is my passion. Book clubbing is one of the best past times, especially if food is involved. In fact my friends of old are in a book club and we are about to embark on a beach trip to “read” and discuss our newest selection.

My “home-run” book story has helped every student find his or her own “home-run” reads. Every year, I have shared my, Father Bear Comes Home, and every year my students have brought in their “home-run” books. That’s the “diving board” into our Lit. Studies.

In “Growing Up Digital,” Tapscott’s insights into the new generations enthusiasm for the Net reminded me of my generation’s enthusiasm for reading, movies, TV, parties and our driving permits. The Net-Generation, as Tapscott describes, “are learning, playing, communicating, working, creating communities, and enforcing a social transformation.”
N-Geners are interactive “techies” who are always looking for a way to “work it” verses the TV Generation of “Baby Boomers” who started out looking for “how it works.” Reading development is tougher today, society moves too fast to invest their “non-working” free time into a book or even “home work.” Since I stepped into my own classroom, I have seen students being told to read, being forced to read, and threatened into reading. Homework is not any longer the vehicle for students to gain their future lifestyles or careers with. Yet, the Internet does create an enthusiasm for learning. Since I have been enrolled in these courses, I have used the computers in every subject. My students are using the newest technology in the classroom because I am giving them investigative sites to use as they learn from each other and books. I agree with Tapscott, in order to bridge the gap with this up and coming generation we must “live and learn with them.”

FTC Required Disclaimer: I receive these books from the publishers. I did not receive monetary compensation for these reviews. These reviews have been posted in compliance with the FTC requirements set forth in the Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising (available at ftc.gov/os/2009/10/091005revisedendorsementguides.pdf)