Book Review and Giveaway!

What happens when an Amish girl leaves her home to start a new life in the city? 

Susan Hostetler is all set to marry her long time beau, but when she sees him with another girl she leaves her Indiana home – not only leaving Thomas behind, but her Amish life as well. What she finds in the city surprises her. While she studies for her GED, learns to drive a car and experiments with dating, she finds leaving her problems behind doesn’t mean she’s free of them.

 

 

In Missing Your Smile, Susan meets Teresa Long. Teresa is an unwed mother, raised in poverty, who wants more for her unborn child. She is drawn to the Amish community, and when she meets Susan, she wants Susan to find an Amish family who will adopt her baby. When efforts to locate such a family fall through, Teresa decides the best way to have her child raised in the Amish community is to join the Amish church. Susan has her doubts about Teresa’s goals – not many outsiders successfully join the Amish church – but she has promised to help her new friend as much as she can.

Following Your Heart continues Susan and Teresa’s journey back to Susan’s home, where Susan finds a new perspective on her roots through Teresa’s eyes. As Teresa follows her heart to a place in the community, Susan holds back, unsure of where her heart is leading her. Of all the things she learned during her time in the English city, perhaps a new-found appreciation of her home is the most important thing – but what will she decide about Thomas?

These books are the first two in the “Fields of Home” series by Jerry Eicher.  The third book in the series, Where Love Grows, is due out in September. I have enjoyed Jerry’s Amish stories for several years. His personal experience and masculine point of view both bring a fresh look at the Amish culture that I enjoy. I’m waiting anxiously for September!

And here’s a wonderful opportunity for you! Jerry Eicher has generously donated a signed copy of each of these two books, Missing Your Smile and Following Your Heart, to give away on my blog!

To win a copy of each book, comment on this blog, telling me what you like about Amish fiction or tell us who your favorite Amish author is.

I’ll be doing a random drawing from the eligible comments next Monday, June 25, 2012. One entry per person, but you may comment as many times as you wish!