My Amish Boyfriend by Melody Carlson - Review

Blessed with this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Sixteen-year-old Shannon McNamara Plans to get three things this summer -- a driver's license, a job, and a tattoo -- until a move to rural Ohio and a handsome Amish boy make her think twice. 

Teen favorite Melody Carlson brings fans another sweet story of worlds and families colliding, exploring themes important to teen girls through and engaging tale.

This book is available through Bethany House, Deeper Shopping and other online retailers as well as your local book store. 

About the Author:

Melody Carlson is the award-winning author of over two hundred books, several of them Christmas novellas from Revell, including the much loved and bestselling book, The Christmas Bus.

She also writes many teen books including the Diary of a Teenage Girl Series, The TrueColors Series, and the Carter House Girls Series.

Melody was nominated for Romantic Times Career Achievement Award in the inspirational market for her books. She and her husband serve on the Young Life adult committee in central Oregon. You can visit Melody on her website at http://www.melodycarlson.com/ to find out more about her and her books.

I was blessed with this book by TBCN and author in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

My Thoughts:

This book is not your typical Amish book. It begins with sixteen-year-old Shannon as she starts her summer break! Her goals - a driver's license, a job, and a tattoo.  Her mother is very ill, and they are barely getting by. An elderly neighbor is helping tend to her, but her mother's illness is somewhat of a mystery and she is not getting any better. After an unexpected move to Amish-land changes her summer plans, Shannon has to deal with a whole new way of life. A handsome young Amish fellow appears on the scene, but is that good or bad? 

At the beginning of this book, I was a little turned off. Maybe because this "boyfriend" seemed to be coming on way to strong for the first couple of dates. I was like "whoa" this is going a little too far. I was though, more impressed as the book moved on with the direction in which the author took the story. And by the end, I was more relaxed.  I guess I just had some mixed emotions on where the book was headed at the start. I do think the author did a good job handling some teen issues such as the foundation of their faith, courtship and dating verses infatuation, as well as other issues teens deal with.

Shannon struggles with things such as- why the Amish believe like they do, should she become Amish, can a "Englisher" really believe and live for God? So,  in the end, does Shannon become Amish, keep her Amish boyfriend, and does her mother's health improve? Is her summer amazing or ....   

You'll just have to read the book to find out!!

Check out my other review for Melody Carlson HERE