Book Review: The Choice by Suzanne Woods Fisher

About the book:

With a vibrant, fresh style Suzanne Woods Fisher brings readers into the world of a young Amish woman torn between following the man she loves--or joining the community of faith that sustains her, even as she questions some of the decisions of her elders. Her choice begins a torrent of change for her and her family, including a marriage of convenience to silent Daniel Miller. Both bring broken hearts into their arrangement--and secrets that have been held too long. Filled with gentle romance, The Choice opens the world of the Amish--their strong communities, their simple life, and their willingness to put each other first. Combined with Fisher's exceptional gift for character development, this novel, the first in a series, is a welcome reminder that it is never too late to find your way back to God.

My thoughts:

This was a great new Amish story from a talented new author. Because there are so many Amish stories out right now that are so similar, I was really impressed that this one shared some different facets of the Amish world. One facet was the family business that centered around an apple orchard, and the difficulties that go along with the changing seasons. Next was the addition of the minor league baseball that, along with many other English activities, is frowned upon by the Amish community. Those two things may seem ordinary, but they really just made the story a little bit more interesting.

The only complaint I have about the book would be the first 100 or so pages just had way too much going on in them. Had I been in Carrie's shoes after dealing with 3 deaths, a marriage, and losing someone close that I loved, I think I would've suffered a mental breakdown. There's only so much that people can endure in real life, and it was just a little depressing seeing all these emotional events happening in rapid succession in a fictitious story. After those first 100 pages, though, the book actually started to get good, and it felt like the author had actually figured out the direction she wanted the story to go.

Suzanne Woods Fisher is a great storyteller, and is someone to be on the lookout for in the future for more Amish fiction. I am anxious to read the next book in the series, and read more about the characters from Lancaster County that have been shared so far.

4 Stars

**This book was provided to me free to review by Baker Publishing Group. It is available January 2010 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.