Hello! I know it's been a long time since my last review, but I just recently had a baby and I've been trying to get used to my new routine (and trying not to pull all my hair out of my head in the process).
I recently received a complimentary copy of The Secret Keeper by Beverly Lewis from Bethany House. As always, with any Beverly Lewis book, I loved it. Beverly Lewis has such an insight with the Amish culture. I find the Amish lifestyle fascinating. Even though a lot of Beverly's books are about the Amish, they each have a new approach, so you don't feel like you're reading the same story, just with new characters. This is the fourth book in the Home to Hickory Hollow series. I've only read two of the books in this series so far, but I have enjoyed both. (The review for The Guardian can be found here.) These books, though part of a series, can be read independently and you won't feel as if you've missed anything.
The Secret Keeper is a story about Jennifer Burns, an Englisher (not part of the Amish community). Jennifer has never felt comfortable in the English world and has been looking for a place to fit in. After writing letters back and forth with an Amish girl, Jennifer decides to leave her modern life to join the Amish community as a seeker. Samuel and Rebecca Lapp open up their home to Jennifer and try to teach her the Amish way of life. The brethren (the leaders of the Amish community) set a Proving time (testing period to see if she will be invited to join the community) for Jennifer. She faces many challenges as she must learn how to live without the modern conveniences of life and learn many new talents, such as: cooking, sewing, tending to farm animals, etc.
