A family. A farm. A heart. All in need of repair.

Suzanne Woods Fisher’s book The Keeper tells the story of a young Amish girl struggling to keep her family’s farm going after her father develops heart problems. Dreaming of her wedding to her fiancé Paul, she is devastated and angry when he calls off the wedding – for the second time. And she’s sure she knows whose fault it is that Paul has got cold feet.

I loved this book. It’s full of interesting (and sometimes infuriating!) characters, who are all really well evolved people. This isn’t a book which has a few central roles, with the rest of the ‘cast’ merely cameos. It tells an involving and entertaining story with energy and a good side dose of fun. I especially liked the character of Fern, and enjoyed wondering about the significance of ‘the man with the panama hat’. M.K. and Menno were both super characters too. By this you can see that the book is more than simply ‘Julia’s love story’, and for me this makes it a much more interesting read.

I read a lot of books, but not all that many of them keep me reading far too late into the night. This one did.

Highly recommended – I’m looking forward to the next already.

Price: £8.99
UK Publication Date: February 2012
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