The Covenant "Abram's Daughters"

Following such bestsellers as The Shunning and The Postcard, Beverly Lewis's explosive new novel, The Covenant, unveils the layers of deeply rooted Amish tradition as seen through the eyes of Leah and Sadie Ebersol, two courting-age sisters.

 

 
The Power of Family, the Miracle of Hope

 

The Amish community of Gobbler's Knob holds everything Leah has ever desired until a pact with her older sister, lured by the outside world, leaves her clinging to God's promises.

Winner of the ECPA Gold Award (500,000 copies sold)

 

 

 
Reviews
The teenage years present their own troubles to most youth, but for those growing up surrounded by Amish traditions and faith, the teen years can be a most difficult time. In The Covenant ? Abram's Daughters, we meet the four Ebersol sisters: Sadie, Leah, Mary Ruth and Hannah and learn of their distinct personalities and struggles of being a teen in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Author Beverly Lewis paints a portrait easily visualized by the reader of life in Amish country. Perhaps Lewis' familiarity and background with the Pennsylvania Dutch life enables her to capture one's imagination and curiosity of this private sect.
Lewis takes the reader through a surprising roller coaster of emotions: anticipation, intrigue, suspense as the plot enfolds. Poor Sadie, the eldest sister, struggles with taking the vows of her parents' faith and after doing so, realizes the tangled web she has weaved of deception, sin and unfaithfulness. Witnessing her sister's waywardness, Leah wrestles with her responsibility with that information. Should she violate her sister's trust and confide to her parents her concerns over her sister's welfare? Leah has a number of personal decisions to make in her life as well. Becoming of courting age is the period of life for young Amish men and women to spend unchaperoned time together after their Sunday prayer gatherings. Leah has her eye on a young man and must keep her own emotions under control.

The Covenant takes the reader through the changing relationships of young sisters as they become adults. The characters' realistic struggles between knowing it's best to please one's parents and yet rebel against parental authority create an authentic look at teenage life in the Amish fold. The Covenant is pleasant reading that engages the reader." -Crosshome.com

"Award-winning author Beverly Lewis introduces a wonderful new Amish series revolving around Abram Ebersol and his four growing daughters. As each girl comes of age, she faces the tough choice of finding her own happiness or pleasing her parents. The eldest daughter, Sadie, faces a painful choice. She has fallen in love with the son of a doctor. Now for most young girls, this is a dream come true, however for Sadie Derek Schwartz is an English. The situation goes from bad to worse as Sadie could very well find herself shunned if her sins are revealed. Middle daughter Leah knows all about her sister's indiscretions, but her sister threatens to use Leah's own secrets against her if she tells. Caught between a rock and a hard place, Leah opts to keep it secret. She is in love with her second cousin, but her father has every intention on having Leah marry the blacksmith's son, Gideon Peachey, a boy for which Leah has no feelings. Leah was pulled from school after 8th grade, a common occurrence with Amish girls, and spends a lot of time helping her father farm. Scared to displease him, Leah is unsure what she can do. Will her father ever allow her to choose her own husband? Then there are the twins, Mary Ruth and Hannah, both watches their older sisters' struggles to find happiness in the Amish world, and wonder exactly what causes their sisters' to act the way they do. They are both young and have a lot to learn, but will they grow to follow in their sisters' footsteps or learn from their sisters' mistakes? The Covenant is an intriguing start to this new series by Ms. Lewis. Complex struggles, fascinating characters and the quiet life of the Amish people make for a stunning read." -theromancereadersconnection.com

"The Covenant begins a series called ABRAM'S DAUGHTERS.  It's another of Lewis' Amish stories set in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.  The heroine is Leah Ebersol, who is plain even for the plain people and takes the place of a son on the Ebersol farm, doing heavy, outdoor work.  She is a solid, practical girl, unlike her more exotic sister, Sadie, who dates an 'English' boy with predictably dire results.  Leah's steadfast sweetheart, Jonas Mast, is off in Ohio, so Leah has to deal with Sadie's behavior all by herself, balancing her loyalty to her community (and God) against her love of her sister.  Readers may begin to wish that Lewis would leave the Amish behind, but this is a bittersweet and appealing story, less in the manner of (Amish writer) Carrie Bender than Janette Oke in say, The Tender Years (1997)." --Booklist, July 2002