SARAH MEYERS' REVIEW OF THE WINGS OF MORNING

The Wings of Morning takes place in an Amish Community. Lyyndaya Kurtz and Jude Whetstone’s Family have only been part of the community for a few years, but already, their families are well loved. Lyyndaya and Jude grew up as childhood friends, but have begun to realize that their feelings are running deeper. Jude also discovered a love of flying, which, strangely, his Amish community allowed. When flying for an Amish celebration, members of the US Military see Jude in action. To force him to join up for the fighting in World War I, the military takes Jude and some of his friends captive and makes their lives miserable in order to force Jude into flying. Eventually, he agrees, though he had sworn to his community that he would not fight as it went against their beliefs. What no one but one of his friends knew was that he joined to save the other boys’ lives. In doing so, he risked being shunned. However, Jude began to become a hero, as he not only saved his own men with his flying abilities, but he purposefully did what he could to save the enemy as well, whether by flying circles around them, or purposefully shooting not to kill. In the meantime, Lyyndaya is struggling as she has fallen in love with Jude, but is not allowed to communicate with him. This is one of the top Amish stories I’ve read, I think. I really loved Jude’s character, and how he used the abilities that the Lord gave him to save lives on both sides, instead of being vengeful. This was a great story line, one I never would have thought of for an Amish setting, but it was well written. Reviewed by:Sarah Meyers