Readers will delight in this heartfelt novel by bestselling author Jerry Eicher, a former Amishman, who writes with authenticity and compassion about the people he grew up with.
When Susan Hostetler has a falling out with her boyfriend, Thomas Stoll, she leaves her Amish community and moves to Asbury Park to experiment in English life. There she learns to drive a car, takes her GED test, and falls in love with young and handsome Duane Bower. Back home, her parents are devastated and miss their daughter terribly. But what can they do? Susan has a mind of her own.
Just as Susan is enjoying her new life, her plans are interrupted. She meets Teresa Long, a young, unwed, expectant mother who asks Susan to help her have her baby adopted by an Amish family. As Susan is drawn into the young woman’s life, she also finds herself drawn back to her Amish roots. But can she truly leave her life behind…and Duane?
Not Your Typical Amish Story! After being betrayed by her boyfriend Thomas, Susan flees to the Englisha world. Devastated and hurt Susan seeks comfort in Asbury Park, New Jersey. Susan hopes to build a new life for herself away from her Indiana home and away from Thomas.Susan is quite pleased with herself. She has managed to buy some Englisha clothes, went on a few lunch/dinner dates with an Englisha gentleman, passed her GED test and her driver’s license test. Is she really fitting into this strange but fascinating new world?While working at her job in a bakery Susan befriends Teresa a young unwed expectant mother. Teresa’s boyfriend left her and won’t return until Teresa gets rid of the baby. She begs Susan to find a nice Amish family to adopt her baby. Susan, after much thought, promises to do what she can to help Teresa.I absolutely loved this book. I gave it 5 stars.This in not your typical Amish story. The author takes us into the world of a young woman that has left her Amish community because of the hurt and betrayal by her boyfriend. Here in the Englisha’s world the author gives us insight into how she feels, thinks, acts, reacts, etc. By the end of the book I was begging for more. I can’t wait to see what happens next! I will be waiting patiently for “Following Your Heart” the next book in this series to be published! A job well done Mr. Eicher!I wish to thank Harvest House Publisher and Author Jerry S. Eicher for sending me this book to read and review. The opinions expressed are mine alone.
Great new Amish series Susan Hostetler’s plans were to marry her beau Thomas and take over the running of her datt’s farm. Things change though when she catches Thomas kissing one of her friends. She decides the only thing to do is get away and with the help of an Englisher friend leaves the farm in Indiana and moves to Asbury Park New Jersey. She goes to work in a bakery for a very nice woman named Laura, who also happens to be the sister of the English friend that helped her leave home.Life seems to be going ok, she has an apartment, a pretty good job and meets a nice Enghisher man named Duane. She decides to try and get her GED and drivers license, and with the help of Laura’s son Robby it seems as if she might achieve her goals. A young pregnant girl named Teresa starts coming into the bakery. Teresa has a fascination with the Amish and when she learns that Susan is Amish she asks Susan to help her find an Amish home for her unborn child. To help Teresa, Susan soon realizes she will have to take a trip back home. Meanwhile Thomas is missing Susan and decides to take a trip to Asbury Park. How will the relationship between Duane and Susan work out? Will the Amish community accept Teresa and her unborn child, and will Susan move back home? What about the relationship between Susan and Thomas, will they ever get back together? Your just going to have to read the book and find out!I am a huge Amish fiction fan and Jerry Eicher is quickly becoming one of my favorite Amish writers. He has the ability to pull me into a story and make me feel as if the characters are people I know. As Susan’s story unfolded it was easy to see she wasn’t really settled with living away from the Amish, but she didn’t let that stop her from trying to move forward with her life. I thought Susan did a good job of trying to steer Robby in the right direction, and actually I sort of hoped a relationship might develop between those two. There were a few secondary stories going on that kept me turning the pages to see how things would work out. I thought the story line with Teresa was quite interesting, I can’t help but wonder if she will find what she is looking for in Amish country.With a few unanswered questions at the end of the story, I will easily say the author knows how to leave me wanting more! I can’t wait to read the next book in the series titled “Follow Your Heart” due out May 2012. rating 5/5I was provided an e-book from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Missing Your Smile Susan Hostetler left Indiana for a new life. She decided she no longer wanted to be Amish. Her boyfriend, Thomas Stoll, helped her make that decision. One night, after a singing, she found him and her best friend, Eunice, being a little too friendly. She told her parents she had to leave and ended up in Asbury Park, New Jersey working at a bakery. She worked for Laura and became friends with her and her son Robby.Susan had trouble adjusting to city life. It was noisy at night when she was trying to sleep. During the day it was crowded with people and traffic. Still, she had decided she was going to become English and would adjust. She even started dating Englisher, Duane Moran. Susan was hesitant to go full fledged English all at once, so she did it gradually. When the story started she was still using kerosene lamps for lighting. Her apartment had functioning electricity.Susan met an unwed mother, Teresa Long, that found out she was Amish. Teresa wanted Susan to adopt her baby. Susan promised Teresa that she will ask if a family from Indiana wanted the child. This situation threatened to take her back to the life she left behind.Meanwhile, in Indiana, Susan’s parents are heartbroken with their daughter gone and Thomas realizes he needs to make amends with Susan. Is Thomas too late?The focus of this story is Susan living with her choice to leave her Amish life behind and become English. She still had her faith in God, which kept her going. Does Susan ever fully adjust to life as an Englisher? What happens to Teresa and her baby? Read Missing Your Smile to discover what Susan does with her new life.I was hesitant to read another Jerry Eicher book. I read his Rebecca Series and did not care for the books. I didn’t like his style of writing. It seemed to me he assumed the reader should know what he was thinking even though it wasn’t conveyed in his writing. I read Missing Your Smile because I wanted to give him another chance. I liked this story much better. It was too slow moving for me though, it took me 4 or 5 sittings to finish reading it. When I really enjoy a book it’s done in 1 or 2 readings. The biggest issue I had was that I when I started reading the book I thought Susan and Robby were teenagers. They acted immature. Robby’s character actually annoyed me with the constant comedy. As I got further into the book I discovered Susan was 21 and Robby had attended college. I will read the next book in the series because I’m interested in finding out what happens to the characters in this book. I am still on the fence as to if I would recommend this book to others.Fields Of Home SeriesMissing Your Smile #1Following Your Heart #2Where Love Grows #3I received a free copy of this e-book from NetGalley for my honest review.