The Keeper: A Novel by Suzanne Woods Fisher
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I started this book awhile back and got busy with Thanksgiving and I finally had the time to finish it and write up a review! Suzanne Woods Fisher is a fairly new author to me but I am very impressed so far. I have a few more books of hers to pick up and after reading this one—I’m really looking forward to it! Few authors bring me to tears with a book and my kindle really got a workout with all the highlighting of quotes I found. You can tell the author knows her Bible and her characters possess such a strong and admirable faith in Christ. If you’re a fan of Christian Fiction/Amish Fiction and you don’t mind a tear jerker—I definitely suggest this book!
Julia Lapp is looking forward to marrying Paul Fisher but when he breaks their engagement for a second time—the blame falls onto Roman Troyer. Good ‘ole Roamin’ Roman has messed things up for Julia and she’s determined to have a few words with him! Roman is intrigued by Julia—she doesn’t swoon over him the way most women do and she speaks her mind which piques his interest.
Between the pages of this book we find ourselves completely immersed into the lives of the Lapp family:
Amos—a loving father who is suffering from a heart condition.
Julia—Headstrong and not afraid to speak her mind but at the same time she is letting the words of others direct her path.
Sadie—a dear sweet girl who listens to others and tries to mend their pain, very motherly but also still a young girl trying to find her way.
Menno—A very special boy, though different than other children his age, he brings such joy and love to his family. I wasn’t able to pinpoint with a certainty his disability but in my mind I pictured him as slightly autistic. Regardless, there was something precious about Menno and he touched my heart!
M.K. A spunky little lady that gets into all sorts of mischief! She seriously made me laugh! There wouldn't have been much of a story without the antics of M.K.
These characters were so real—so likable. I truly got to know this family and fell in love with each one of them. It was as if they had come to life to me. I truly did
not pick up this book expecting to find myself in tears or to feel so much emotion upon finishing the story. The author hit it out of the park with this book and truly has a grasp of how to reach out and touch a reader through emotional attachment.
The only thing I didn’t really enjoy about this book was the fuss over Sadie’s weight. I thought Fern was extremely hateful about it but then as I read the story and got to know the characters more I saw that Sadie’s best interests were always in mind and that the initial impression I had of Fern was a little—off. So, all in all I am completely satisfied with this book and I can’t wait to pick up the next book!
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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). With help from an agent, she has five books currently under contract with Revell. On September 1st, Amish Peace: Simple Wisdom for a Complicated World, a non-fiction book of stories and examples about the Old Order Amish, will be released by Revell. The Choice, a novel about the Amish, will follow on January 1st.
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:
www.suzannewoodsfisher.com
Currently Reading:
When Sadie Lapp steps off the bus in Stoney Ridge after being in Ohio for the winter, she is faced with a decision--one that goes against her very essence. Yet it's the only way she can think of to protect a loved one.
Schoolteacher Gideon Smucker has been crazy about Sadie since boyhood. But his response to her surprising decision undermines his own reputation--and his relationship with Sadie.
College student Will Stoltz is spending the spring at the Lapp farm as a guard for a pair of nesting Peregrine Falcons--courtesy of the Lancaster County Game Warden. Will needs to get his life back on track, but his growing friendship with Sadie threatens his plans.
The lives of these three individuals intertwine, and then unravel as unexpected twists create ripples through the town of Stoney Ridge . . . and through Sadie's heart.
