Somewhere to Belong by Judith Miller

Genre: Amish Inspirational
Distributor: Bethany House
Length: 368 pages
Rating: G
Starring: Berta and Johanna and their families, beaus, and community
Theme: (1). Good can set a good example for Bad. (2). The havoc keeping secrets reaps.
Comments: This was a free download from Kindle and since we’re heading to Omaha soon and I want to visit the Amana colony, I moved it to the front of my TBR pile. Also, for my assignment from “The Misadventures of Super Librarian”, I’m supposed to read about either a marriage of convenience, an arranged marriage, or a pretend marriage. This book will fill the arranged marriage choice. It’s about two girls, one Amish, one not so much. Johanna is very good, very relying on God, and a good example. Berta is over the top selfish. She does start to grate on Johanna’s nerves. Johanna faces dilemma of family; Berta faces dilemma of family. Both find redemptions at the end. Johanna’s romance is with Carl, who comes to work for her father from another Amana colony. Berta, eavesdropping, soon hears Johanna’s parents discussing Carl as a potential husband for Johanna. Johanna is distressed that they’d be planning this without her knowledge. She worries that her family wants to use Carl as a surrogate son as her brothers are no longer in the colony. She pushes Carl away whenever there’s a chance at a one-on-one encounter. He doesn’t push easily.