1. The Search, Lancaster County Secrets Series #3
    Suzanne Woods Fisher
    Revell / 2010 / Trade Paperback
    Our Price$10.49 Retail Price$19.00 Save 45% ($8.51)
    4.7 out of 5 stars for The Search, Lancaster County Secrets Series #3. View reviews of this product. 32 Reviews
    Availability: In Stock
    Stock No: WW733872
4.7 Stars Out Of 5
4.7 out of 5
(23)
(8)
(1)
(0)
(0)
Quality:
4.7 out Of 5
(4.7 out of 5)
Value:
4.7 out Of 5
(4.7 out of 5)
Meets Expectations:
4.5 out Of 5
(4.5 out of 5)
100%
of customers would recommend this product to a friend.
SORT BY:
SEE:
Displaying items 16-20 of 32
  1. Book Books Everywhere
    Gender: female
    5 Stars Out Of 5
    Relationships are universal
    January 15, 2011
    Book Books Everywhere
    Gender: female
    Quality: 5
    Value: 5
    Meets Expectations: 5
    I was curious about this series of books so when I read that Lit fuse was offering this one as a blog tour I put my name in and was lucky enough to be selected. I had submitted my name for one of the prior books but was not selected that time around to participate. It is interesting to get a peek into the lives of the Amish people. The only other fiction book I can recall reading recently about an Amish community was Jodi Picolt's Plain Truth. I enjoyed this book more than Plain Truth.

    Fifteen year old Bess and her father Jonah live in Ohio in an Amish community. Jonah moved away from his father and mother after an accident between his buggy and a truck caused the death of his wife and a trial that put him in the spotlight which he was uncomfortable with. Bertha, his mother and Bess's grandmother, writes to ask that Bess come stay with her for the summer because she needs her help. It turns out there is more behind her request than might have been expected. Lainey has returned to Stoney Valley after a fifteen year absence. Her mother and baby sister died fifteen years ago at the same time as the accident and her step-father disappeared so she was taken into foster care and has been working to save money to go to culinary school. Her car dies in town and she winds up with a job in a bakery and a room to rent so she stays, becoming friends with Bess and getting reacquainted with Bertha.

    I really enjoyed seeing how these lives fit together and where they went from the beginning of the story to the end. It was also heartening how much the characters trusted in God for the paths that opened or closed in front of them. Lainey has some tough decisions to make based on things from the past that she trusted to God. Once I started reading I had a difficult time putting the book down. Even Bess at fifteen seemed to have more trust in her direction than many adults I've met.

    One of the things Lainey notices about her Amish friends is that they accept each task for what it is and don't rush on to finish it, but value each for the worth it has. Bess shows Lainey how to wash sheets using a hand wringer. It is much harder than going to the Laundromat or using a washing machine at home, but instead of trying to hurry through this chore Bess accepts it and does it until she is done. So often I find myself rushing through something because I have more to do. Laundry for my family of 6 can be overwhelming and it seems I am always rushing to get all the chores done. I never really stop to appreciate each task for what it is. Maybe we as a non-Amish society would find more joy in things if we saw the value in them, doing laundry supplies your family with clean clothes and grocery shopping keeps your family from going hungry. That there really is a value to all the little things one does in a day.

    The other thing I really noted in the book and thought was of value was how willing neighbors were to help each other out and to put their resources together for the good of the whole. Two characters get married in the story and the whole community pools there glasses and chairs and plates so there is enough for the celebration. So often people are unwilling or afraid to share with others, but these people valued each other more than their possessions and really connected with one another.
  2. Brenda
    WV
    Age: 35-44
    Gender: female
    5 Stars Out Of 5
    The Search
    January 15, 2011
    Brenda
    WV
    Age: 35-44
    Gender: female
    Quality: 5
    Value: 5
    Meets Expectations: 5
    Bertha Reihl of Rose Hill Farm, is a bit intimidating, as tough as boots on the outside, but on the inside she is really an old softie.After the death of her husband, Samuel, a few years back, she slowly started converting her pastures into a place to plant her roses. She does a pretty good business selling salves, roses and her rose petal jam, so well in fact that she has hired 18 year old Billy Lapp to help her.

    Its been a few years since her son Jonah and her 15 year old grand daughter Bess has come from Ohio for a visit, so she sends them a letter stating she needs help recovering from her women's surgery. Bess decides to go spend the summer with her grandmother. While picking roses isn't something she really relishes, when she meets Billy she thinks he is the most handsome boy she has ever saw, and things might not be so bad on her grandmothers farm.

    Lainey O'Toole was Bertha's neighbor 15 years ago, and while traveling thru on her way to New York as fate would have it, her car breaks down in Stoney Brook in front of a diner, who was looking for a baker, she decides to stay for the summer, wanting to reconnect with Bertha, the lady who was so kind to her in her youth. There is a secret that Lainey has kept for 15 years, something that will affect several people. What will happen when the secret is out in the open?

    Another great story from Suzanne Woods Fisher. A story about how the truth can free you from your past, and of course the value of forgiveness. I enjoyed the characters in this story, and think my favorite was Bertha, for an Amish grandmother she had a wacky sense of humor. The story was very well written, the author grabs and holds your attention, keeping you wondering how things will turn out.

    While this is the third book in the Lancaster Co. Secrets series it can easily be read as a stand alone work. A a fan of Amish fiction I have read all three in the series and would say fans of Amish inspiration, or someone just looking for a good clean read would enjoy this series. There are also discussion questions included at the end of the book.
  3. poochiepepper
    Corpus Christi, Texas
    Age: 55-65
    Gender: female
    5 Stars Out Of 5
    Story of forgiveness and redemption--great book
    January 11, 2011
    poochiepepper
    Corpus Christi, Texas
    Age: 55-65
    Gender: female
    Quality: 5
    Value: 5
    Meets Expectations: 5
    Suzanne Woods Fisher has done it again. Another story that I couldn't put down; a tale of coming home, forgiveness, redemption and finding love in an unexpected place. I started reading "The Search" and couldn't stop reading, I wanted to know what was on each "next page". Loved the ending. Can't wait for her next book.
  4. jpsp
    Madison, IN 47250
    Age: Over 65
    Gender: male
    5 Stars Out Of 5
    Great features
    December 29, 2010
    jpsp
    Madison, IN 47250
    Age: Over 65
    Gender: male
    Quality: 5
    Value: 4
    Meets Expectations: 5
    The book was so interesting that i bought the other books in the series
  5. Pam Burke
    Potosi, MO
    Age: 55-65
    Gender: Female
    5 Stars Out Of 5
    A great story of love and forgiveness
    December 29, 2010
    Pam Burke
    Potosi, MO
    Age: 55-65
    Gender: Female
    Quality: 5
    Value: 5
    Meets Expectations: 5
    The Search is the third book in Suzanne's Lancaster County Secrets series, and I consider it her best yet. The characters are fun to get to know, and the story has several twists and turns as it develops. Bertha Riehl is a tough lady -- with a soft heart as gentle as the delicate roses she grows. Bess Riehl is a typical Amish teenager who learns and grows and matures in a single summer much more than she could have every imagined. And Lainey O'Toole -- well, she never dreamed her life could be turned so topsy-turvy in such a short amount of time. Reading the inter-related stories of these three and the men and boys in their lives brought at various times tears to my eyes and a smile to my face.

    And there were some great lessons on forgiveness that really spoke to me, evidenced in these quotes:

    "Jesus was teaching him that we don't live by careful bookkeeping. Through God's mercy, bookkeeping has given way to extravagant generosity."

    "I knew I couldn't forgive others without God's help. He said that we fail in the work of grace and love when there is too much of us and not enough of God."

    Good stuff! I highly recommend this book. This story does not depend on the previous ones in the series -- but why not enjoy them all!
Displaying items 16-20 of 32