A Month of Thanks - Book Reviews

Tonight I want to share with ya'll one of the best things that blogging has afforded me.

I'm incredibly thankful that I am allowed to do book reviews. I am not sure that I help the authors out much at all but I am so grateful that folks continue to contact me about reviewing books.

I get to read really good books and I always get a kick out of going to the book store and seeing the books that I've reviewed on the shelf.

A while back, a girl named Julie contacted me and asked if I would like to review a book titled When Strawberries Bloom. She told me that it was a work of fiction about the Amish {which you know I love} but there was something that really intrigued me about this book. The author, Linda Byler, is actually Amish.

Julie told me that When Strawberries Bloom is actually the 2nd book in a trilogy and offered to send them both for me to read. I'm sure you also know that I love a good series! I love back stories and continuations of characters!

I received the books and was hooked not too far into the first book. The books are about Lizzie Glick, an Amish teenager, and her family. I really loved how real Lizzie seemed. She didn't seem like a perfect person - she is normal ornery, fit pitching teenager at times. She compares herself with her sisters and her friends. She wants to have a boy to court her. Lizzie is sassy and as I read, there where times when I was taken back and my teenage self could totally identify with her!

Lizzie has a boy who is in love with her....Stephen. But Lizzie isn't so sure she's in love with him and the book is a journey to her realization that she does in deed love him, too. By the end of this book, Lizzie's life seems to be coming together and I cannot wait to see what happens in book 3 -- slated to come out in March.

If you are looking for a fun read, definitely go pick up this series. Running Around (And Such) and When Strawberries Bloom are wonderful. AND one more thing I loved about these books, there are recipes in the back. There is a recipe for Whoopie Pies. And if you have ever been to Lancaster, PA and bought a Whoopie Pie from a roadside stand, you know what a treasure that is.

I love being allowed to review these books. AND today, that is what I'm thankful for. Thanks to all of you wonderful folks who allow me the honor. And to all of you folks who take the time to read my reviews.

in HIM-