An Amish Christmas, by Cynthia Keller

 4 stars!

About the book (from Amazon) -
     Meg Hobart has everything: a happy marriage to a handsome, successful husband, a beautiful home in Charlotte, North Carolina, and three wonderful children. But it all comes crashing down around her the day she learns that her husband, James, has been living a lie—and has brought the family to financial ruin. Penniless and homeless, the Hobarts pack up what little they still possess and leave behind their golden life for good. But it’s not the material things Meg finds herself mourning. Instead, she misses the certainty that she should remain married to James, who has betrayed her trust so thoughtlessly. Worse, she is suddenly very aware of just how spoiled her children have become. Meg wonders what her family has really sacrificed in their pursuit of the American dream.
     A frightening twist of fate forces the Hobarts to take refuge with a kind Amish family in Pennsylvania, where they find themselves in a home with no computers, no cell phones, nothing the children consider fashionable or fun. Her uncooperative brood confined to the Amish world of hard work and tradition, their futures entirely uncertain, Meg fears she can never make her family whole again.
     Celebrating life’s simplest but most essential values, packed with laughter and tears, this is a story of forgiveness and the power of love. You will never forget the special moment in time that is An Amish Christmas.

My Review -
Let me start by saying this was not like any of the other Amish fiction books I have read. This is a very sad story of a very modern average family loosing everything, and by everything I mean all their money, their cars (except for the one that is paid for) and even their home. The husband, James looses his job (and neglects to tell his wife) and then proceeds to invest and loose all their money, again without telling her. After telling the kids, who think they are gonna die! They plan to go stay with Meg's parents in upstate NY. On the way (with only what they can fit in their small car) they have an accident almost running into an Amish buggy. The Amish family, The Lutz's, being a very kind and loving family invite them to stay with them until their car is fixed. What this turns out to be is - A very rude awaking for everyone!
     There is great character development all throughout the book, so good in fact that I wanted to slap the two oldest teens several times! And let me tell you! - if my husband ever did this to me he'd be alone on the highway and I'd be with my parents! I loved the Amish family, I loved Meg (the mom) she was great through the whole thing, trying to keep her family together. And when she tells her 2 oldest teens off about their rude behavior, I literally yelled out loud "Go Mom!". I loved the way the Author portrayed the the older kids as snobby spoiled brats, and youngest as very loving and accepting. It was very believable, today's teens would totally act like that, unfortunately. It would be the younger ones to be the first to fit in, there is innocence in youth. I liked the bonding between Meg and the Amish women. Meg was looking for something, she needed to belong, and feel special after everything that had happened.

This was a great book that could be enjoyed by any age group. Thank you Library Thing Early Reviewers for sending me this book to review!

I am giving away this "ARC" (advance reader's copy) to one lucky blog viewer!
Simply comment here or email me at - forevereading at gmail dot com
Please be a resident of either Canada or the US.
If you are new please tell me where you found out about this giveaway.
A winner will be chosen on Oct 28th.