Running Around (and Such) by Linda Byler ~review

Product Description from Amazon.com

A romance novel by an Amish writer, based on true experiences!

It isn't that Lizzie doesn't want to stay Amish. It's just that there is so much to figure out.

Like why can't she let her hair a little looser on top?
And why can't she wear shoes with a little bit more of a heel?
And will she ever really just know for a fact who she is going to marry like her next-older sister, Emma, does?
And how does it happen that her just-younger sister, Mandy, is going on a date before Lizzie ever has a real one?
So does it matter at all if she eats one more whoopie pie? Amos seems to like her a lot when she pounds out the ping-pong games. He even asks her to be his partner in doubles. But then he asks Ruthie if he can take her home!
It has been this way Lizzie's whole life.
She has too hot a temper. She hates housework and dislikes babies. She loves driving fast horses but is petrified of going away from home for a week to work as a maud (maid).

Now that Lizzie is running around, will she scare off the Amish boys with her hi-jinks manners?

She has certainly attracted the attention of the egg-truck driver. A scary thrill runs through her every time the worldly man comes to pick up an order, each time extending his stay a little longer. How long will she keep this a secret from Emma-and from Mamm and Datt?
What will become of Lizzie? Is she too spirited, too innocent, and almost too uninhibited for a young Amish woman?

My take on this book:
Lizzie Glick is the second oldest of five children in her family. Her family lives in Jefferson County and her dat owns a pallet shop, but her dat has decided to sell the business and become a farmer. None of the family really want to move to the country, because there aren't very many Amish families living there, Lizzie's biggest worry is how her and her sister Emma will find any Amish boys to date if there aren't any, but soon Lizzie has more to worry about than boys because her mam becomes sick and needs to be admitted to the hospital, so it falls on Lizzie and her sister Emma to take care of the house, something Lizzie hates.

When Lizzie is forced to work outside the home, she hates it, but her mam is determined to prepare Lizzie for what she will need to know when she marries. When Lizzie turns sixteen and starts "running around" she soon realizes its not as easy as it seems.

Lizzie comes off as a whiny, unhappy Amish girl and thinks that no one really likes her, but in truth she actually has self esteem issues. Her sisters are thin and pretty, while she is a bit overweight, and is also dealing with pimples! She is going thru a rebellious faze in this book, and actually I was pretty surprised at how disrespectful she was to her mam, not something I normally read in an Amish story. Just when you think she is growing up some she reverts to her whiny ways.

The writing style of this book took a bit of getting used to, for me it took reading half of the story before I actually became interested. The way the author jumps from past to present had me re reading parts of the story just to get it! I also found a few areas where there was a few inconsistencies, for instance when Lizzie and her sister was painting at the King house, one page said the walls were old and cracked the next page said it was a new house, or when Lizzie was hanging clothes on the line, in one sentence and then in the next sentence it mentions Emma hanging them.

While we didn't get to experience alot of Lizzie running around in this book, overall it was a nice getting a glimpse of Lizzie and her family, and since I read alot of Amish stories I normally don't run into any new Amish words but I did in this book, and having the Amish glossary in the back was very helpful. The author also includes several yumtastic Amish recipes for us to try out as well.

Reading this story really reminded me of the series of books that Carrie Bender wrote a few years back.

This book is the first in the Lizzie Searches for Love Series, and while this book is written for the teen to pre-teen audience I really enjoyed reading it. I look forward to reading more of Lizzie's antics in the next book
When Strawberries Bloom, which was released in October 2010.
 
 
About the author:
 
Linda Byler grew up Amish and is an active member of the Amish church today. Growing up, Linda loved to read and write. In fact, she still does. She is well known within the Amish community as a columnist for a weekly Amish newspaper. Linda and her husband, their children, and grandchildren live in central Pennsylvania.
 
My rating 4/5
 
Even though I was provided a review copy by FSB Media, (thanks Julie), it in no way alters my opinion of this book.