A Summer Secret By Kathleen Fuller

Mary Beth is a thirteen year old Amish girl living in Ohio. Having three brothers to look after and being the only girl is a challenge especially when she adds babysitting to her already long list of chores she is responsible for. The only time she has any privacy is when she finds time to sneak away to the condemned barn across the field even though her parents have forbidden her from going there but its the only place she has peace and quiet. The old barn may be rotting and slowly collapsing but she finds it completely relaxing, being alone and even getting a chance to sketch in her journal. One day she finds a button in the barn and its extremely unusual because the Amish don't wear buttons and pretty soon Marybeth starts to notice subtle things askew around the barn and that is when her life changes unexpectedly.
I absolutely loved this book! It was so heartfelt, tears were brought to my eyes. In the beginning I was very skeptical about reading a book about the Amish being that I didn't know very much about them, I prepared myself for the worst. It broke my heart to read about the Yankee boy's young life story and even though he is a fictional character I know that many children today are going through the same things. Being a children's book I was surprised at how inspiring " A Summer Secret" was. It made me realize how grateful I am for my family. The generosity Mary Beth and her twin brother showed towards the Yankee gave me a warm fuzzy feeling. I was expecting a cute little romance to blossom between Mary Beth and the boy. Kathleen Fuller did an excellent job with "A Summer Secret", it definitely stirred some deep emotions and I recommend this book to everyone regardless of age or religion.
I was given a complimentary copy of this book by booksneeze.com and asked to review it, these here are my own personal thoughts and I was not forced to write a positive review.

Jessie D