This is book two of a Beverly Lewis trilogy. It is filled with the deeper struggles unfolding for all of the Amish community as a division is taking place within the church. Questions over religious rules, grace, Bible study, use of tractors and cars, personal prayer, electricity, and telephones. Considering changes to "fancy" ways is an inner struggle for all. The end of a 90-day grace period to decide on what form of faith to stand with, Old Order, New Order, Beachy, or Mennonite, has consequences for the young and old, the men and women. Hard choices for all.

The faith question also plays a serious role in love relationships. More than one courting couple gets caught up in the conflict. Truly a heart struggle for many between love-family-faith. The lines are beginning to be drawn. Who will be shunning who? This book definitely leads right into book #3, "The Longing".

You'll not want to put this book down. You'll thank yourself if #3 is in your possession ready for the finale of The Courtship of Nellie Fisher.

Nellie and Caleb are madly in love, yet the obstacles are too large for them to see a way to be together. The Old Order Amish is beginning to splinter in several directions, separating lovers, families and friends. Nellie's personal family is going many directions after the untimely death of one of her sisters after she had changed religions. There is an interesting "adoption" of twins that turns out differently than expected. There were several interesting interactions between Amish families, but for the most part, the book was very, very slow to come alive, and I certainly hope book three in this series is more active, and interesting much faster than this one was. This was not one of Beverly's better books.

I enjoy Beverly Lewis books about the amish as much as I do Wanda Brunstetter. They are such wonderful books. Makes me want to visit the amish communities.Recommend highly.

Please understand, I've read all of Ms. Lewis' books and enjoyed greatly her peek into Amish life, however, this one (as well as THE PARTING), is crawling at a pace that is painful. I was over half way through and nothing had happened! Just a retelling of the same information over and over. Now I realize that a factor in Amish life is the pace, but when writing fiction, the author has an obligation to keep his or her reader awake. I'm beginning to wonder if she has said all there is to say about Amish life and as a result, the repetition in succeeding books is just inevitable. I realize the splits in the church are a factor she hasn't touched on before but at this point the subject is just not engaging my interest and I feel like I've read it all before. I will concede that she must be going somewhere with all this but right now, this series is wearing me out and I'm not sure I'm motivated to read the rest of the Nellie Fisher books.

I love the development of the story lines and characters of this series. I am looking forward to seeing what happens in the conclusion. She introduces several sides to the issues, including the accompanying emotional impact on the families and on the Amish community as a whole. This series is based on an actual event, which makes it all the more interesting to read and contemplate.

I loved this book as I have all of the Beverly Lewis books!Great read! Couldn't put it down!

I couldn't wait to start reading this book as soon as I received it.
I read it over a week-end, and enjoyed it greatly.

The Forbidden picks up the story of Nellie Mae Fisher and her forbidden beau, Caleb Yoder. At the end of the first book, Caleb's father has told him that he must part from his beloved Nellie because of her family's split from the Old Order Amish Church. Here we see the separated pair trying to find ways in which to communicate and hopefully change Caleb's father's mind about their relationship. In addition, we follow Nellie's older sister Rhoda's struggle as she decides to leave the Plain life behind; the relationship between Christian and Zachary Yoder, Caleb's Mennonite cousins who were with Nellie's sister Suzy when she died; and Rosanna Lapp, whose cousin has recently given her the twins she'd borne so that childless Rosanna could become a mother. All of these stories are woven together through a sense of community and heartfelt conflict.

This book felt much more believable to me than its prequel, The Parting. I felt the religious issues were drawn more realistically, with fewer "out of the blue" conversions and less overt preachiness. The conflicts both within the community and characters showed the flaws of both convincingly, and Lewis has led us to care for the plight of our friends as they decide what will be the right path for them. Set in the 1960s, it's easy to see that the times are a-changin', not only for the Plain community but for the world at large as well. With her open endings, Lewis has set us up for changes in relationships that may not be what we are hoping for, but will make sense as they progress. I am eagerly looking forward to the final book in the series to see just how Nellie Mae and Caleb forge ahead with their lives in a world that's turned topsy-turvy.

Okay, I'm hooked. I've read the books in the series and they are difficult to put down. Who would have thought Amish romance could be so interesting?

Well written, well researched, suspenseful... These books are very good.

I love ready these different series and I didn't want this one to end! Can't wait for the next one:)

I love all the Amish stories but this one has me fascinated!! I was in the middle of reading another book when this one arrived so I put the other book 'on hold' so I could continue the story. Can't wait for the next book on this series. The time flies by when I'm reading a story like this - a great way to spend an afternoon or evening on the front porch.

Nellie Fisher and Caleb Yoder are the Amish version of Romeo and Juliet. But instead of their families being at literal war with each other, it's their conflicting views in religion that are driving the two apart. Nellie's family has come to accept Christ and are eager to learn more about the scriptures to the point of breaking away from the Old Order church. Meanwhile, Caleb's father forbids him to have anything to do with Nellie's family or new faith to the point of kicking his own daughter out of his house. The couple finds themselves sneaking around, seeing each other in secret. However the price of secrecy is taking a toll on Nellie and she starts to wonder if she might have to one day make a final decision with a painful choice.

When you pick up a Beverly Lewis title, the reader should be aware that you are going to get lost in the story with characters you feel have become real. The Amish genre has become very popular in recent years, but Lewis has shown that she is the top name when it comes to this style of writing. It was a little tough at first to get back into the flow of the story. There are many characters with similar names so it is easy to get confused by the multiple story lines. Some of the other plots don't seem to fit in with the rest of the story. Rhoda and the automobile seem out of place, while the scenes involving the parental rights of the twins could be a whole other series in itself. These story lines help to make the community become more lively and familiar yet at the same time, it's easy for the reader to get distracted from Nellie and Caleb's story. Once again this book has really made me question about the belief of the Old Order Amish. It really seems like they are not Christians at all. If this is the case, then it is truly sad because they are denying themselves the true meaning of their faith. What good is it be living simple lives if they won't accept true salvation? Regardless, this book really makes one think about these sort of issues. This book is not a romance, it's instead a character study with lots of detail and historical fact weaved in. With a cliffhanger of an ending, one can hardly wait for the conclusion to this series. I know I'm definitely looking forward to it. Fans of Beverly Lewis will not be disappointed when reading this book.

I love this book. I have never read books by Beverly Lewis until i read this series. The Parting is the first book in this series.I love it I have learned about the amish people by reading these books.

Again Beverly Lewis did a fantastic job. The continuing saga a Nellie Fisher was so good I could not put it down. This was a fast and easy read and kept you wishing for more. I love these books because you can feel how they must feel as they go through different things in there lives. All the things that happen are all things that could happen to most anyone, not made up stuff or make believe like some books. These could be real people living a simple life in any place in the world. The are heart touching and warm but also sometimes sad but they bring the Amish way of living to life. I can't wait for the 3rd book. I'll be sure to pre order the 3rd book even though it doesn't come out till October. I don't know if I can wait.

I thought this was better than the first book. Beverly had better development of the characters and there were more plot twists. Cannot wait to the next book to be released.

I love this book. Very well written, and the author keeps it interesting. Can't wait until the next book.

The Forbidden continues the life of Nellie Fisher that was started in book one, The Parting. Beverly Lewis once again masterfully creates a world of characters that come alive on the page. She takes us into the Amish world and shows the struggles, thoughts and emotions of a people most of us don't understand. Her characters become living, breathing people that the reader cares about deeply. I am only sorry that I must wait for book 3, the end of the Nellie Fisher series. I cannot wait to see the twists and turns that Bev will take us on. I highly recommend The Forbidden and all Beverly Lewis books! A faithful reader.