The Gifted - A Review

Jessamine Brady has spent the majority of her life in the quiet Shaker village. Her natural curiosity about life and the things of the world are considered sinful. When she happens to save the life of a man of the world, her entire foundation is questioned. Tristan Cooper is running from a future he's not sure of when he wakes up in the Shaker village. Drawn by their quiet ways, he uses the time to think about his life and the direction it's taking. A startling revelation from a forgotten letter set events into motion that Jessamine is helpless to stop. Will she find the love and happiness that she longs for or will she learn to be content in the village where she's grown up in?

I have never read anything by Ann Gabhart before or about the Shakers. While I did have some trouble wrapping my head around some of the Shaker beliefs, I allowed myself to get immersed into the story. Jessamine's curiosity about the world parallels Tristan's search for answers. They both long to be free. She to use her imagination and he to live his own life. There is a refrain that the Shakers sing at their meetings that is the biggest theme of the book - the gift to be free and the gift to be simple. Both Jessamine and Tristan come to understand those gifts in their own way. I especially loved the secondary character of Sister Sophrena and her journal entries. Through her we see the struggle that Jessamine goes through. Overall this was a very good book and I'll probably try to find the others in the series to read.


I received this book for free from Revell publishers for the purpose of reviewing. My thoughts and opinions are my own.


The Gifted is available in July, 2012 from your favorite bookseller courtesy of Revell Books, a division of Baker Publishing Group.


Rating - 4 stars