Review and Giveaway: The Shunning (DVD)

I saw the trailer for The Shunning a while back as part of the previews for another family movie. It looked rather interesting and I made a mental note to keep an eye out for the movie.  When I recently receive an opportunity to review it, I was thrilled.

The Shunning is based on the novel of the same name, which has sold more than 1 million copies and is authored by Beverly Lewis, a New York Times Bestselling author.

Before she succumbs to cancer, the dying wish of Laura Mayfield-Bennett is to be reunited with the daughter she never knew. Unfortunately, that daughter, Katie Lapp, is a member of the Amish order. Katie is about to be married, but uneasy about the path ahead.  Now she discovers the secret her parents have kept from her: she's adopted. 

The film is based on the celebrated first novel of the best-selling "The Heritage of Lancaster County" book series from author Beverly Lewis. Stars Danielle Panabaker &; Sherry Stringfield.

You can read more about this Hallmark Channel Original Movie at the official website for the movie.  On this site you can also watch the original trailer that drew my attention as well as read about the cast, some of whom you may recognize (e.g. Sherry Springfield of ER).

I really enjoyed the movie and it would make a great selection for the family to watch together.  I watched it one evening on my laptop with headphones, because my husband was listening to something on his iPod and I didn't want to disturb him.  At the point when the main character, Katie, was shunned by her Amish community, my husband, who hadn't watched any of the movie until that point, became interested and started grilling me with questions to catch up to the previous half of the movie.  Then, he continued to watch it with no sound until the ending.  So, I guess you can say that it is interesting enough to hold the interest of someone coming in half-way, even with no sound! Since it was a late night viewing, I didn't have my kids watch with me, but I think my daughter in particular would really enjoy it. I haven't read the book, though it did want to make me seek the title out and give it read.

I will say that I did not like the ending, which is open-ended.  It left me with too many questions about what exactly happened to the main character. I was still thinking about it the next day, which I suppose is the main point of having such an ending; the author wants you to ponder on it.

GIVEAWAY!
Closed: Congrats to comment #3, Dianna D.

I have one copy of The Shunning to giveaway to one lucky U.S. reader. See below for how you can enter.  Please make sure to leave a way for me to contact you, should you be the winner.

Mandatory entry:

• Leave a comment telling me your favorite family-friendly movie.

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• Post about this giveaway on your own blog, Facebook, Twitter, or others (please specify in your comment).  This will count for two entries for each! Make sure you leave two comments.

The giveaway will end on October 7th at 6 p.m. EST and will be chosen by a random number generator. 

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."