I recently finished two books - Rumspringa: To Be or Not To Be Amish by Tom Shachtman and Welcome to the Real World by Carole Matthews. The Carole Matthews book was one of the freebies I got at the Book Expo.
Rumspringa was really good. I'm fascinated by the Amish, so I thought it was really interesting. It was mainly about the period in an Amish person's life after they turn 16 until they decide to join the church. Or, in some cases, not to join the church. I think the retention rate is something really high, like 80-90 percent eventually join the church. The focus was on teenagers, but the author interviewed a lot of Amish people, so it provided a broad picture of Amish life. It really is a crazy thing to suddenly be exposed to all these new things and be able to do things you've never been allowed to do before, and never will be allowed to do again, if you join the church. As the Mom of a one-year-old I've given no thought to the upcoming teen years. Now I'm terrified! Reading this book made me realize how hard it must be for parents to let go as your kids get older. Right now, I control so much of Ryan's little life. I guess it's a gradual process, but you get to the point where you have to let your kid make the big decisions and take responsibility. I'm not looking forward to that! I guess I have a few years to prepare myself. Anyway, I really enjoyed the book.
I also enjoyed Welcome to the Real World. It was a typical chick lit kind of love story, with one twist. The basic story was aspiring singer sings in bar with her good friend who she's known forever, dated briefly a long time ago, and he's been in love with her ever since. She meets this other, older, rich man and sparks fly. Circumstances keep them apart and you're sure she'll wise up and realize she loves the friend that's been in love with her. Surprisingly, that doesn't happen and she ends up with the other man. It was entertaining.
Right now I'm reading Anybody Out There? by Marian Keyes. I haven't read that much of it. It's part of a series about the Walsh sisters that includes Rachel's Holiday, Angels and Watermelon. She's written quite a few other books that I've enjoyed.
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