Book Review: A Summer Secret by Kathleen Fuller

In A Summer Secret, by Kathleen Fuller, thirteen-year old Mary Beth struggles with having three brothers and dealing with more than her share of work around their Amish home. She spends time alone in an old abandoned barn, even though her parents have told her not to be around the barn because of it's dilapidated condition. Mary Beth soon notices that someone else seems to be using the old barn, and eating her snacks! She and her brother attempt to solve the mystery in this first book of The Mysteries of Middlefield series.

I love reading Amish fiction and non-fiction books so I was really looking forward to reviewing this short novel. I wasn't disappointed. It is geared for younger readers, I would say ages 12 on up, but as a 30-something mom I still truly enjoyed it. It was an easy read but the storyline kept me interested all the way through. The characters were easy to visualize and easy to enjoy.

I grew up reading books by Janette Oke and June Masters Bacher so if I compare to those, I think A Summer Secret is definitely a book I would have enjoyed as a pre-teen and young teen. Kathleen Fuller does a really good job of bringing in some of the Amish language and she has a Glossary of the Amish terms before Chapter 1 so you can check back if you forget what one might mean. The only thing I wish she would have added were a few of the recipes for items mentioned in the book. I know several younger girls who truly enjoy helping out the in kitchen and I think that would be a fun thing for them to do after reading the book.


Disclaimer: Thomas Nelson via BookSneeze provided me with a complimentary copy of this book for the purpose of this review. No other compensation was received. All views expressed are my own opinions.