Official Review: Mennonite on the Edge by Cynthia Yoder

Pinkrose353 · Post by **Pinkrose353** » 02 Oct 2016, 03:24

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Mennonite on the Edge" by Cynthia Yoder.]

3 out of 4 stars

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Mennonite on the Edge: An Unlikely Romance by Cynthia Yoder is a book of fiction written in first person. MaryJo, the main character, describes her struggles of living in the noisy city of New York after leaving the quiet countryside of Lancaster county, PA--and her Mennonite religion--with her newlywed husband Adam. After the excitement of the adventure of living in NYC wears off and becomes a daily routine, MaryJo struggles with depression and becomes homesick for the wide open spaces of the place of her upbringing. As an aspiring poet, she finds the noisy city life draining and inhibiting her writer's muse, whereas her husband thrives on new adventures and all the social and cultural advantages the big city offers. To not disappoint Adam, she keeps her turmoil to herself as long as she can.

She shares some of her feelings with Lily, a friend she met at a writing class, who tries to shake off her Jewish religious background, as well as with her best friend Monica, who also moved to New York City to liberate herself from her Mennonite traditions.

The book is written in an almost poetic style with many word pictures. Here are some quotes of her word pictures and the struggles associated with them:

"We traded rows of corn for rows of tall stone and glass edifices."
"I couldn't help feeling the burn of slowly dissolving into the Melting Pot of New York".

"I felt like someone just chained me to the New York skyline" (When she learned of her husband's new job with Time magazine)

"And for all my striving for independence from a tradition that held me back, here I was, caught in an age-old struggle. Following the man on his job quest. I may as well have stayed Mennonite and worn the head covering. At least I'd be saving all these Merlot calories." (She found herself smoking and drinking too much to cope with the inner turmoil and stress.)

On top of that, the bad memories of her high school boyfriend, Lonnie, get resurrected when her mother calls and let's her know that he had a motorcycle accident, that left him in critical condition. In reflecting and reliving her past with Lonnie, she tries to work through it by putting it into poems. "Poems came tumbling out of me, like I was chocking up something that had been caught in my throat for years."

The book is well written in style and format with only a few typing errors. However, right on the first two pages one is confronted with a few compound adjectives that are really unnecessary and distract from the story:
"...shrugging a t-shirted shoulder"
"We'd brought a picnic lunch to a wide-lawned park...were sitting across from each other on a pink thinned-cotton blanket"
"...a pint-sized thank you"

I appreciated that the couple's lovemaking was only hinted at. The timeline of events are well executed and well described. I'm glad that MaryJo and Adam found ways to resolve the struggles MaryJo was dealing with by both of them making compromises and sacrifices. MaryJo realized that she needed time alone and her own space at times to let her poetic muse blossom. Her husband was willing to let her take that time away, even though he didn't like it. She said of a time alone, "Writing my poems evoked old memories. And then I wrote my memories back into poems. It was like a never-ending loop."

Yet, despite the good writing and interesting story--without any violence--I felt disappointed that MaryJo became only a lukewarm church goer. It left me dissatisfied reading the story. True faith in God is a matter of a living, personal relationship with Him, not just being part of a "social club" and occasional prayers for help.

I really don't know what the author tried to accomplish with Mennonite on the Edge. Did she want to make her readers aware that breaking away from old traditions may lead to different bondages, like alcohol consumption and smoking in MaryJo and Adam's case? Or, was she trying to show that living on the outer rim of the Mennonite community was a satisfying way to live an independent life in a familiar environment? Or, did she want to introduce us to the inner workings of a writer? Or, does she want to show young adult couples that there are struggles to deal with after the honeymoon is over--especially if they leave familiar surroundings?

I feel the story is flat because there could have been a stronger development of the characters, showing idiosyncrasies of the individuals. Also, there was no humor in the story. I don't remember any incident that made me laugh or chuckle. Because of this, I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars. The author has a good writing style, but she could learn to develop her characters better by reading Leota's Garden by Francine Rivers to give more life and sparkle to a story where the main character lives in a depressing situation.

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Mennonite on the Edge
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AA1495 · Post by **AA1495** » 07 Oct 2016, 07:46

Wish the characters were developed better! Thanks for the review!

Lauren M · Post by **Lauren M** » 07 Oct 2016, 08:23

Really great review! This book sounds like it could have so much promise, but seemed to fall flat.

Pinkrose353 · Post by **Pinkrose353** » 07 Oct 2016, 10:59

AA1495 wrote:Wish the characters were developed better! Thanks for the review!

Thank you, AA1495! This is my first published review on this site, so I am excited to get some responses. I always enjoy books where the characters are well developed, it makes a story a lot more lively and makes one get more into it. On the other hand, it takes a lot of observation of people to create believable characters--so that's a challenge for a new author.

-- 07 Oct 2016, 11:02 --

Lauren M wrote:Really great review! This book sounds like it could have so much promise, but seemed to fall flat.

Thanks so much Lauren M! Yes, even if one of the characters had had a sense of humor and made some quirky comments, it would have lightened up the story a lot.

Moizajani · Post by **Moizajani** » 09 Oct 2016, 11:17

This is an insightful and honest review! Agreed, humor can make most books better.

Pinkrose353 · Post by **Pinkrose353** » 09 Oct 2016, 14:06

Moizajani wrote:This is an insightful and honest review! Agreed, humor can make most books better.

Thank you for your comment, Moizajani. What I liked about the book Leota's Garden, that I mentioned in my review, was that the main character was a feisty, old lady who didn't make any funny comments, but her blunt words made me smile nonetheless.

I noticed that you joined this book club today. Welcome to this family!

Moizajani · Post by **Moizajani** » 09 Oct 2016, 19:07

Pinkrose353 wrote:
Moizajani wrote:This is an insightful and honest review! Agreed, humor can make most books better.
Thank you for your comment, Moizajani. What I liked about the book Leota's Garden, that I mentioned in my review, was that the main character was a feisty, old lady who didn't make any funny comments, but her blunt words made me smile nonetheless.

I noticed that you joined this book club today. Welcome to this family!

Thank you so much! ?