In this new novel set in the beloved Oklahoma Amish community of Wells Landing, three generations of women challenge themselves and each other to make a fresh start in faith, family—and love. Jenna Burkhart is tired of being “special” and hearing about what she can’t do. Even though she suffered a head injury in a childhood swimming accident, she wants a life of her own just like any Amish … of her own just like any Amish woman. But now that she, her mamm, and her mammi have moved to Wells Landing, she’s having a hard time fitting in. . . . Until she meets Buddy Miller, a boy just like her, who gives her the confidence to reach for the impossible . . .
Like Jenna, Buddy is used to being the boy no one expects much from, the one people see as “different.” Still, being around Jenna’s lively, kind-hearted ways makes him strive ever-harder to become the self-sufficient Amish man she deserves. But in the face of family disapproval and their own fears, will Jenna and Buddy’s courage be enough to give them a forever happiness together?
Praise for Amy Lillard and her Wells Landing novels
“An inspirational story of romance, faith, and trust . . . will appeal to fans of Wanda Brunstetter and Beverly Lewis.”
—Library Journal
“Fans of inspirational romance will appreciate Lillard’s vivid characters and positive message.”
—Publishers Weekly
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This was such a wonderful heart-warming story. The characters were well developed and relatable in some ways. The two main characters, Buddy and Jenna, were completely lovable. And puppy PJ, there are no words. Buddy had Down syndrome and Jenna had a brain injury from an accident when she was twelve. Buddy spots Jenna for the first time at church and thinks she’s an angel. The most beautiful girl he’s ever seen. Their friendship is so sweet but parents on both sides discourage, even forbid them from seeing each other.
What are they to do? If it’s God’s plan won’t it work out?
Misunderstandings, hurt feelings, and difficulties follow them around. Love can happen to anyone, anywhere. Follow along on the journey of Jenna and Buddy as they grow into young adulthood.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author but was not required to write a review.
Loving Jenna by Amy Lillard is a very special Amish novel. It is the ninth novel in A Well’s Landing series, and it can be read as a standalone. Jenna Burkhart along with her mother and grandmother have moved to Well’s Landing, Oklahoma. A swimming accident when she was a child left her with brain damage. She is tired of people calling her “special” and being told what she cannot do by her mother. Jenna wants the same things as other young Amish women (a husband, a home, and a family), but her mother tells her that it is not possible. Then Jenna meets Buddy Miller who has Down’s syndrome. Buddy has had similar experiences to Jenna with people not expecting him to hold down a job, live on his own or marry. Jenna and Buddy fall in love, but they are met with opposition. The pair set out to prove they can be self-sufficient so they can marry. Will they succeed in the face of their family’s disapproval? Will their fears and doubts get the best of Jenna and Buddy? Loving Jenna is a charming Amish story. It is unlike any other Amish book that I have ever read. I like that authors of Amish fiction are branching out into different subjects (very refreshing). Loving Jenna is well-written with developed characters. The author provided expressive depictions of Well’s Landing and the Amish who live there. I think it is funny that they drive tractors to get around except on Sunday’s when they can only use horse and buggy. Jenna and Buddy are truly special people. I enjoyed watching their romance progress. They were trying so hard despite discouragement from their parents. You will find it hard to put down Loving Jenna once you begin reading. Loving Jenna is a touching and unique tale with a poignant conclusion.
Loving Jenna
Amy Lillard’s new book, Loving Jenna, is an honest and realistic look at two special needs young adults who meet and fall in love. While many Amish couplings are looked upon with favor, Amish parents, just like any other parent, want what is best for their children. They too are cautious of their child with special needs wanting a spouse. Amy’s characters (Jenna and Buddy) are highlighted to show their views and feelings on the situation and what lengths they will go to so they can prove their ability and independence. This book portrays real life dilemmas faced by families with special needs adults. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and personable characters. I highly recommend reading this novel, it will open your eyes and heart to the feelings of others.
Love is all around. Yes indeed it is. God’s love for each and every one of us. No matter how or what happened to us in life.
I think for starters Charlotte was way too hard on Jenna. I felt that she was extremely overprotective and I’m feeling like calling Charlotte all kinds of names. Gertie too lol
Yes as I read I started to understand Charlotte but still her being too hard on Jenna was over rated. I didn’t like how she kept telling Jenna that she was special.
Thank goodness for Nadine. She’s my heroin. I love how she tells Charlotte to lay off Jenna. “She has enough trouble without you staying on her all the time.”
( This would make a great meme).
Another one I didn’t like was when Buddy’s dad kept saying you understand? I think it’s because of the way people say it like we’re dumb or something. People use that word with me all the time. I have to remind them not to say that word.
Jenna is a sweetheart. I really loved her. I applauded her because the more her mother said no the more she dug her heals in. Kind of like me when I was growing up.
I liked Buddy well enough but I loved sweet Jenna more.
God’s plan. I think I like that very much.
If God wants two people like Buddy and Jenna to be together then who’s to say they can’t? Oh we can try and stop it but if it’s meant to be then no one should interfere.
Buddy and Jenna are human too. They have a right to be happy just like anyone else.
I think that’s why I didn’t like the story. Gertie and Charlotte interfered way too much like Nadine said. And that’s why I loved and cheered for Nadine.
I still strongly recommend this book because Lillard is a magnificent storyteller. The story is realistic in some ways and others no quite so.
I was NOT required to write a review. No compensation was received and all opinions are my own.
I love Amy Lillards books always count on a well written story. Love her Amish books. Looking for a good Amish writer check Amy Lillards out. But don’t stop there her other genre is awesome too.
Loving Jenna is book 9 in The Wells Landing Romance Series. I enjoyed the story of Jenna and Buddy. Story of 2 handicapped showing family they can have a happy adult life. But can they make their family see they are adults and want a life. Will Buddy and Jenna find the love they both are searching for? You are going to love the characters. Amy Lillard writes and her love flows through her writting into wonderful characters.
This was one of my favorite stories by Amy Lillard. I loved how she wrote about a young man with Down Syndrome and a young girl who had a brain injury and almost died. This shows how these characters interacted with their friends and their families. I laughed and cried. I really liked Jenna and Buddy but didn’t always care for either of their mothers. The mothers had to learn that even though Jenna and Buddy had some handicaps they were still becoming adults. I received a copy of this book from the author for a fair and honest opinion that I gave of my own free will.
Sometimes love takes a little persistence…
If there’s one thing that you can count on when picking up an Amy Lillard novel it’s that she will always surprise you. She takes on those tough family issues that are universal to Amish, Englisher, and beyond. Loving Jenna is definitely one of those.
Some reviews are hard to write. Not because the book was bad, but because the topics in the story are either difficult or require some sensitivity. If, like me, you are not in the know on the current PC terms and phrases it can be a virtual minefield. You don’t want to be hurtful to anyone but you aren’t exactly sure how not to.
While I strongly sympathized with Jenna and Buddy, I also fully understood their parents’ concerns and desire to protect them. Loving Jenna is very thought provoking as two young adults with disabilities navigate the perils of love and responsibility, while their parents struggle with letting them step into the lives they wish to lead.
Amy Lillard has penned another great story, told with sensitivity and kindness, that is sure to entertain as well as make you think. Loving Jenna is a sweet story, different than most Amish romances as all of Amy Lillard’s books are, and it’s a great addition to her Wells Landing series. Oh, and you can’t help falling in love with a little character named PJ…I sure did…
(I received a copy of this book from the author. All opinions are entirely my own.)
In every ones life we are given obstacles to handle and things we want to do well at. Most of us have small things to handle and deal with. Not so for Jenna and Buddy, their obstacles are so much greater but they know that GOD has brought them together and they will fight to do GOD’s will. We watch them struggle as those around them don’t have their faith and we are taught that no one is beyond doing great things. Amy has taken a difficult situation and given the world a book that will stand the test of time. This is a must read.
Review I have read many books written by Amy Lillard, but this one has truly captured my heart and beleive it is one of Lillard’s best book yet. Your heart will be filled with love and hope and as a parent you will feel the fear of how parents react when tragedy hits and when your children may be just a bit different from others. Lillard does an expcetional job making you see how much can be learned from otheres that may be different. If your looking for a book of encourgement then look no futher this is simply a wonderful written story that bring glory to God and how He can work in all circumstances.
Thank you Amy Lillard for contining to give us clean reading and inspritaion.
I loved this book, and found myself rooting for these young adults, yes, they have disabilities, but they are trying to break the chains of their limitations.
What a beautiful inspiring story the author gives us, and found myself walking in both the mom’s and their children’s shoes.
I do know that a child with “special” needs are so wanted, loved and treasured, especially in their Amish community, but these young adults object to the “special” term. Love how these moms are ready to do battle to keep their offspring safe, but when do the kid gloves come off? Probably never, but we get to see how these people deal with their children spreading their wings.
I love that old friends reappear in this stand-alone read, and we are back in Wells Landing Oklahoma, and our tractor driving Amish
I received this book through Net Galley and the Publisher Kensington, and was not required to give a positive review.
It was a joy to return to the town of Wells Landing! If you have read other books in the series, you will recognize various characters throughout this story. And if you have read Marrying Jonah, you will definitely know the main character, Buddy, from that novel. However, this book can easily be read as a stand alone novel if you are jumping in mid-series.
I think that it must not be an easy thing to write a love story from the viewpoints of two main characters who have special mental challenges, capturing the authenticity of their feelings while and also showing their frustration with certain limitations that are placed on them. However, the author reached inside both Jenna and Buddy and did a very good job of telling this sweet love story from both of their points of view. She didn’t shy away from various challenges that Buddy and Jenna faced and even a couple of misunderstandings that arose between them, while providing a satisfying love story for the reader.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. All opinions are my own.
Wow!!!!!!
This is a really special book! Authors that write Amish books are now branching out and writing about many different subjects in their books now.
This one has very vivid character portrayal that you can see yourself becoming friends with .
Inspirational romance at it very best you’ll fall in love with the tender romance in this story.
The uniqueness in this book will keep you reading to uncover all the layers of the story. Just when you think it can’t get any better the conclusion will melt your heart!
Pub Date: 25 Feb 2020
I was given a complimentary copy of this book. Thank you
All opinions expressed are my own.
Loving Jenna ( Wells Landing #8 )
By: Amy Lillard
Loving Jenna is book eight in the series Wells Landing. This is Jenna and Buddy’s story. A special young couple with big hearts. I fell in love with this story and the characters, both are well written and well developed. This story touched my heart. I caught myself with tears in my eyes several times. The author drew me in at the start and i did not want to put it down. I was not disappointed. A beautiful love story that you will not forget.
I was given a complimentary copy of this book . All opinions are my own.
In her new book, Loving Jenna, Amy Lillard takes us back to the Amish community in Wells Landing, Oklahoma.
Loving Jenna, is a very touching story of Jennifer ” Jenna ” Abigail Burkhart and Ivan “Buddy” Dale Miller.
What is so special about this young couple is that they are two of God’s “special” adults and they have to face many obstacles in order to be together.
With lots of determination and opposition from t;heir parents, Buddy and Jenna set out to prove that they are just, as capable ,as anyone else to hold a job and have a relationship, such as marriage. Like Buddy said ” True Love is Persistence”
I fell in love with this story of how two people can overcome their disabilities and fall in love, hold a job and have a relationship and eventually marriage.
Loving Jenna is a story of romance, trust, faith, and overcoming one’s obstacles despite a disability.
I hope you get a chance to read Loving Jenna and fall in love with these two special young people’s story, like I did.
I was provided with a copy of Loving Jenna, by Amy Lillard, the author of this awesome book
So enjoyable to return to the fictional Amish community of Wells Landing, Oklahoma with this inspirational story of two “special” characters, Ivan “Buddy” Dale Miller and Jennifer “Jenna” Abigail Burkhart. Will Buddy and Jenna’s parents stop insisting they know what is best for them in their so-called efforts to protect them? Will they willingly let Buddy and Jenna make their own mistakes and find their own way? Is it an error to presume to know how someone else feels without giving them a chance to express themselves? A definite must-read to find the answers for Buddy and Jenna. Hope and faith are hallmarks of Author Amy Lillard’s Wells Landing series. Each is stand-alone with an occasional sprinkling of characters from a previous book. Don’t miss this one!
I received a copy from the author. The opinions are my own.
One of the sweetest love stories I ever read. The story is about Jenna she moves to Wells Landing with her mother and grandmother. Jenna is special she was in a drowning accident that left her slow and different than she was. She goes to a singing and meets Buddy who was born with Down Syndrome. When Buddy meets Jenna he things she is a angel. When he drives her home from a singing Jenna’s mother gets upset. Tells Buddy and Jenna that Jenna is not old enough to court. . Jenna and Buddy want to be together but both their parents do not like it. This is a story of how two people who are different but want to be treated like adults fight so they can be together. It is a warm loving story that you do not want to put down. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read and give my honest opinion. Thanks to the author who wrote a winner book.
She had died…. drowned in a swimming accident when she was twelve. Thankfully someone in the group she was with knew CPR. The accident did affect her brain though and left her with a “weak brain” as her mother told her all the time.
He was born with Down’s Syndrome. He didn’t look like anyone else and he was “slow”.
Lillard takes us back to Wells Landing and into the lives of two special young people. Jenna Gail Burkhart and “Buddy” Ivan Dale Miller. Jenna, her mother, and her grandmother had moved to Wells Landing from Kansas. Buddy lived there all his life with his parents and siblings.
Jenna and Buddy’s mothers didn’t allow either of them to do things “normal” young people did. They were always told they were “special” and couldn’t do this or that. They each kept their children close.
Close, that is, until Jenna and Buddy met each other at church one Sunday. From then on things were different around the Burkhart and Miller homes. Unlike the obedient Amish children that we always read about, they questioned their parents. Why can’t I? I don’t want to. I’m almost twenty-one, I should be able to.
Were Jenna and Buddy able to prove to their parents that they weren’t “special”? That just because it took them a little longer to “get” things didn’t make them simple or weak brained? That they could live happy and productive lives?
Read Jenna and Buddy’s love story. It’s a change from the norm in this genre and I absolutely loved it! I can’t remember reading another Amish fiction story of someone with “special” needs. Thank you, Amy, for a wonderful read!
One of the sweetest love stories I have read. Love can be found in different situations. Judgement and worry from family and friends could hurt this new love between two special people. Through determination, faith, love and trust, Jenna and Buddy face obstacles and learn how to overcome. I enjoyed this story very much. I received a complimentary copy of the book. No review was required.
Loving Jenna has an awesome storyline with remarkable characters. I honestly enjoyed reading this book from the beginning to the end. The twists and turns kept my interest and I highly recommend reading this book.
I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book. This review is one hundred percent my opinion.
This book and the attitudes of the people in it is something that has come up in society off and on for years. Should two (through no fault of their own) below normal intelligence intelligence be allowed to marry and possibly have children they might not be able to take adequate care of. Jenna was born with a good IQ, but an accident left her deprived of oxygen for too long. Both sets of family mean well, they love their children, but… The situation resolves to almost everyone’s acceptance , but it was an Amish solution. I was very glad I read the book.