THE SEARCH by Suzanne Woods Fisher - BOOK REVIEW , CONTEST, and MORE!

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."

My review: I found this book enjoyable on many levels. It is skilfully written, and the author's interest in and knowledge of all things Amish is evident. I learned much about the Amish beliefs and way of life. The characters are well developed, and the reader can relate to the two girls, Lainey and Bess. We go through ups and downs with them, and tension mounts as details from the past are revealed. Suzanne weaves biblical truth throughout the story, with her themes of forgiveness, reconciliation, trust, and unconditional love. We accompany each character through their disappointments, discouragements, and inevitable trials as they face difficult decions. I highly recommend this book, and I also recommend keeping a box of tissues close at hand!  Everyone who enjoys Amish fiction will absolutely LOVE this book. I am looking forward to reading Suzanne's books in the future.Well done, Suzanne. You kept me turning pages well into the night.

About Suzanne:

In no particular order, Suzanne Woods Fisher is a wife, mother, writer, lifelong student of the Bible, raiser of puppies for Guide Dogs for the Blind, a gardener and a cook...the latter two with sporadic results.

Suzanne has loved to write since she was a young teen. After college, she started to write for magazines and became a contributing editor for Christian Parenting Today magazine. Her family moved to Hong Kong for four years, just as the internet was developing, and she continued to write articles in a 44-story high-rise apartment, sending manuscripts 7,000 miles away with a click of a key.

After returning from Hong Kong, Suzanne decided to give her first novel a try. For four and a half months, she worked on an antediluvian computer in a cramped laundry room. She didn't even tell her husband what she was up to. When the novel was completed, she told her family at dinner one night that she had written a book. "That's why there's no food in this house!" said her slightly insensitive sons.

Undaunted...Suzanne found a small royalty publisher for that book and wrote three more (all earned multiple awards). With help from an agent, she now has numerous books under contract with Revell. Also look for Suzanne's Amish non-fiction, Amish Peace: Simple Wisdom for a Complicated World, a non-fiction book of stories and examples about the Old Order Amish, as well as Amish Proverbs, and coming in Spring of 2011, look for Amish Values for Your Family. The Choice and The Waiting are the previous books in the Lancaster County Secrets Collection.

Writing, for Suzanne, is a way to express a love of God and His word. With every book or article, she hopes readers get a sense of what faith really looks like in the daily grind. She hopes they realize that life can be hard, but God is good, and never to confuse the two.

Suzanne can be found on-line at:
http://www.suzannewoodsfisher.com/

Enter to win your very own iPad in Suzanne Woods Fisher's The Search iPad Giveaway!
Enter by clicking the link below, then be sure to attend Everything Is Coming Up Roses Party of February 3rd to see if you won - and to chat about books and win one of the MANY other prizes Suzanne is giving away.

http://litfusegroup.com/Blog-Tours/the-search-by-suzanne-woods-fisher.html

The above link also includes reviews by other members of Litfuse. Check them out!

Thanks to Litfuse Group for providing a copy of the book for review purposes. The book is published by Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group, and is available now through http://www.amazon.com/.