The Keeper by Suzanne Woods Fisher - REVIEWED

About the Book:
Julia Lapp has planned on marrying Paul Fisher since she was a girl. Now twenty-one, she looks forward to their wedding with giddy anticipation. When Paul tells her he wants to postpone the wedding--again--she knows who is to blame. Perpetual bachelor and spreader of cold feet, Roman Troyer, the Bee Man.


Roamin' Roman travels through the Amish communities of Ohio and Pennsylvania with his hives full of bees, renting them out to farmers in need of pollinators. He relishes his nomadic life, which keeps him from thinking about all he has lost. He especially enjoys bringing his bees to Stoney Ridge each year. But with Julia on a mission to punish him for inspiring Paul's cold feet, the Lapp farm is looking decidedly less pleasant.


Can Julia secure the future she's always dreamed of? Or does God have something else in mind?

You can buy a copy of the book HERE!!

My Thoughts:
The Amish community has fascinated folks for a long time, and Suzanne Woods Fisher truly captures the essence of the inner-workings of the Amish as she follows members of the Lapp family on Wondmill Farm. Each character faces very personal, daunting challenges, and they each must decide in their own hearts what matters most and how to meet each challenge. The Lapp family is particularly close, and sometimes they really have to struggle within their own hearts to overcome the obstacles they face.

I love the tenderness in the heart of the story itself, and how the faith of each character comes into play in an intimate, personal way. There are times when things seem pretty uncertain, and the solution isn't always what it seems. Folks who enjoy visiting the Amish in their fiction will be delighted by Woods' latest novel!



About the Author:
Her interest in the Amish began with her grandfather, W.D. Benedict, who was raised Plain. She has many, many Plain relatives living in Franklin County, Pennsylvania, and travels back to Pennsylvania, as well as to Ohio, a couple of times each year for research.


Suzanne has a great admiration for the Plain people and believes they provide wonderful examples to the world. In both her fiction and non-fiction books, she has an underlying theme: You don't have to "go Amish" to incorporate many of their principles--simplicity, living with less, appreciating nature, forgiving others more readily-- into your life.


When Suzanne isn't writing or bragging to her friends about her first new grandbaby (!), she is raising puppies for Guide Dogs for the Blind. To Suzanne's way of thinking, you just can't take life too seriously when a puppy is tearing through your house with someone's underwear in its mouth.

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