Banished: An Amish Romance

I never received Banished. I received notification that it was on back order

BANISHED by Linda Byler Oba and May Miller are from Ohio, when their parents die tragically, they are sent to live and work with their aunt and uncle in Arkansas on an Amish cotton farm. That is basically the banished part of the title. Other family members in Ohio didn't want to take care of them at ten and eleven years old. The children found themselves abandoned by everyone and everything they ever knew. Little did they know, they would descend into Hell and back during their time in Arkansas. Their uncle is a staid, upstanding member of their community in Arkansas. He unfortunately for Oba also has a sadistic side and beats Oba regularly and abuses both of the children, continuously. Some members of the community feel like there is something going on, but since there are no other witnesses, they chalk it up to teenagers having a hard time fitting in and basically ignore their feelings. Their aunt is in poor health, she starts to make Mary do all of the work of the house and garden as she directs from her willow chair and continues to get fatter and fatter. Finally, Oba can take no more, he hates to leave May but knows if he doesn't leave, either his uncle or himself will end up dead. Follow along with their story and see where Oba and May end up. This was a nice novel, some of it harsh but with the indomitable spirit of Oba, he overcomes. May has hard decisions herself, that she will have to deal with. Highly recommend. Heartfelt gratitude to #netgalley for the complimentary copy of #banished I was under no obligation to post a review.