title: Gideon's People
author:  Carolyn Meyer 
description: Grade 6-9?In this novel set at the turn of the century, two boys?one Orthodox Jew and the other Amish?are brought together by chance. When Isaac Litvak, 12, is injured on an Amish farm, his Jewish peddler father leaves him behind to recuperate with the whispered reminder, "Remember who you are." Though kind and well-meaning, the foreign-speaking family's eating habits and religious laws are strange. Also, Isaac senses anger and tension. Gideon Stolzfus, 16, chafes under the rigid tenets of his family's local sect, and plans to run away to his uncle's more lenient community. His sister Annie finds his secret stash of "englische" clothes, a forbidden copy of Treasure Island, and a harmonica. She fears losing him forever and begs Isaac to help her persuade Gideon to stay. Deft characterizations and juxtaposition of fathers and sons amplify similarities and differences between the families and cultures. Gideon's stern, unyielding father illustrates the vast emotional chasm that results from a heavy-handed approach in parent/teen relations, universally, in any culture, at any time. While Isaac's faith is not tested in abusive circumstances, as it is with the Amish teen, worldly interactions complicate matters. Many of the complex issues raised here are explored in greater depth in Kathryn Lasky's Beyond the Divide (Macmillan, 1983) or Chaim Potok's The Chosen (Fawcett, 1987).?Alice Casey Smith, Sayreville War Memorial High School, NJ<BR>Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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  HIS UNEXPECTED CHRISTMAS SURPRISE...
  
  
  A baby’s cry was the last thing former SEAL Gideon Snow expected to hear on an
  Arizona mountain trail. Nor was he prepared for the sight of the young mother
  suffering from memory loss. Gideon has plenty of reasons for avoiding
  people—and his painful past—but two fragile people now depend on him to
  survive. Can he just fall for the lovely Jane Doe?
  
  
  Jane doesn’t deny the pull of the gruff-yet-sweet cowboy who saved her and her
  baby. He’s more than a cowboy hero—Gideon’s given them a chance at a new life
  and love. But Jane knows that any day, her memory might come back. And the
  woman Gideon is falling in love with might disappear forever...
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  “Christmas is right around the corner...”
  
  
  “Though I’m not big on holidays, since this is Chip’s first one, let’s do it
  up right,” Gideon said. “While we’re in town, we’ll grab lights—”
  
  
  “Can we make all the orn