Abbie's Reading Corner: The Search by Suzanne Woods Fisher

Published: 2010

Publisher: Revell

Goodreads Summery:

Fifteen years ago, Lainey O'Toole made a split-second decision. She couldn't have known that her choice would impact so many. Now in her mid-twenties, she is poised to go to culinary school when her car breaks down in Stoney Ridge, the very Amish town in which her long-reaching decision was made, forcing her to face the shadowed past.

Bess Reihl is less than thrilled to be spending the summer at Rose Hill Farm with her large and intimidating grandmother, Bertha. It quickly becomes clear that she is there to work the farm--and work hard. The labor is made slightly more tolerable by the time it affords Bess to spend with the handsome hired hand, Billy Lapp. But he only has eyes for a flirty and curvaceous older girl.

Lainey's and Bess's worlds are about to collide and the secrets that come to light will shock them both.

Beautifully written, The Search is a skillfully woven story that takes readers through unexpected twists and turns on the long country road toward truth. Fans both old and new will find themselves immersed in this heartwarming--and surprising--tale of young love, forgiveness, and coming to grips with the past.

Lainey finds herself once again in Stoney Ridge. She still harbors a secret that could tear a family apart. She soon finds herself friends again with Bertha who unknown to Lainey has a plan of her own as well. Bertha’s granddaughter Bess comes to spend the summer and before long her father Jonah comes as well due to Bertha’s medaling.

Will the secret destroy this family or will the truth set them free?

I will be honest this book is deep. There are so many characters I am not sure where to start. Lainey’s choice when she was but a child holds many challenges. With in a few chapters you soon learn that Lainey’s secret has many branches. I don’t want to give away any of this book so I feel limited in how much to tell.

I loved the idea of an Englisher becoming Amish I always wondered how that might work and how the community would except it. Bess is a teenager who is at first scared of her grandma but soon finds herself loving her. She get s crush on the local boy Billy who works for her grandma. I will be honest that this part of the story could almost have been left out. I felt the ending for these two left you going Wait what?? I thought at first maybe there would be another book to properly close that story but from what I have researched that is not the case.

Bertha is so much fun she seems scary at first but you soon find yourself loving her and laughing at some of her ideas to get things done her way. The love story between Lainey and Jonah was sweet and they had a lot of challenges and you wonder up to the end if they will over come them to be together(I will let you find that out for yourself!).

The downside to this book for me was how many characters there where. I know this is the writers style and she does it very well but this book had a lot of twists and turns and with so many angles at times it just felt a little to much at times.

Over all it was a great book and the series as a whole is wonderful and I would highly recommend these books to others!

Book Rating