Annie's People, Books 1-3

This set was my first foray into Amish fiction, and it totally hooked me. My favorite of the trilogy was the first book, by far, but the others were also quite good. I couldn't wait to find out what happend with Annie and her English friend, Louisa. I particularly liked Louisa's role in the stories, because I could relate to her. My only criticism is that the third book wrapped up much too quickly. I felt like there were loose ends, especially with some of the very interesting supplementary characters, that didn't get resolved to my satisfaction. But on the whole, I loved this series.

Annie is a typical young Amish woman, trying to live "plain" in a complicated world. We see much of our own world in hers, such as stifled creativity and a double standard that favors boys over girls. Amish teens are encouraged to explore alternative lifestyles in the hope of "getting it out of their system" so they will freely chose to live as Amish adults. Annie takes up with an "Englisher" and reaches a decision to leave the Amish world behind. Ironically, her "Englisher" discovers he was born Amish, and chooses to return to the life. Fascinating reading.

These books were some of the 1st books I'd ever read by Beverly Lewis. I fell in love with the books and the Amish ways. The Amish have always interested me, so it didn't surprise me that I would like these books. Good read!