The Shunning – Review and Giveaway

 

 

Beverly Lewis is one of my favorite authors.  I read the book The Shunning many years ago and really enjoyed it.   Beverly Lewis is the author of over 80 books.  Many of them are about the Amish Community.   We live near an Amish Community and we enjoy going there to purchase their baked goods and furniture.  The closest Amish store has a picnic area that allows you to play on all of their swing sets and eat on the picnic tables.  Many pretty days, we go there to enjoy it.

I received a copy of the movie “The Shunning” from Propeller.   Here’s the trailer for you to watch.

Beverly Lewis' The Shunning - Video | Hallmark Channel

The movie was predictable but a little different than the book.  My entire family enjoyed it.  Bella, who is 8, didn’t understand the beginning and kept saying “What is going on?”  About 30 minutes into the movie, she finally caught on.  I really enjoyed the movie and feel that it was done very well.  One of the things my family says about movies I pick is that they are not made very well.  I think it is because most christian films are low budget and it shows in the quality.   This is not the case for this movie.  It is an excellent quality movie.

You can visit the Hallmark Channel on the web and learn more about The Shunning by clicking HERE.

It starts out with Katie, an Amish woman, singing a song in her horse drawn buggy.  Apparently this is not allowed in the Amish community.  Singing anything other than the hymns in their hymnal is forbidden.  She is about to be married to the bishop in the community and because she is caught singing, repents of her sins.   She learns that she is adopted by finding a scrap of a letter from her birth mother that her adoptive parents had tried to burn.  She is angry that she was never told this and yearns to find out if the Amish life is for her.  She leaves the bishop at the alter because she feels she isn’t ready or able to be the wife he needs.   Katie is shunned from her community and family because of this.

Meanwhile, her birth mother, is dying of cancer and wants to meet Katie one last time.  The family has a difficult time with this and the movie tells about it.  I won’t give away the entire story.  

I loved the movie but I do find it raising questions for me about the amish way of life.   I find the practice of shunning very sad.  I understand that they feel it will help the offender repent and come back to the community but it seems harsh to me.   The Amish’s way of life seems so simple and beautiful with their horse drawn characters and no electricity; but the strictness of their ways is more that I could do.

Properller graciously is allowing me to give away a copy of this very family friendly DVD to one of my readers.  If you would like to win a copy please do one of the following.  Make sure you leave a separate comment for each entry.  Also, I need to be able to get hold of you if you win so leave a way for me to do that.  You will have 2 days after I notify you to get me your address or another winner will be drawn.  Thank you so much and God Bless.  This contest will end on October 3, 2011.

Ways to win a copy of “The Shunning” DVD.  It is a Hallmark Film and retails for around $20 but Amazon has it right now for $16.95. 

WAYS TO ENTER THE GIVEAWAY

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We highly recommend this movie to watch with your family. 

Please note that I received this DVD at no cost in exchange for this review.  No other compensation was received.  Thank you to Propeller for this opportunity.