Book Review (Almost Amish)

Okayyyy. Short review tonight. 

Julie Charlton is at the breaking point. She's overwhelmed and burned out, and in today's unrelenting society, her kids are, too. When her sister-in-law Susan, a Martha Stewart-in-training, lands the chance to participate in a reality TV series promoting simple living, and needs another family to join her, it seems like the perfect opportunity.

The location is an idyllic farm outside an Amish community in Tennessee. Julie, with her two children, joins Susan and her teenage daughter for a summer adventure. Susan needs to succeed in order to become self-sufficient after an ugly divorce, Julie needs to slow down long enough to remember what her priorities are and regain a sense of purpose and meaning. It becomes clear from the start that "living simple" is no simple matter. With the camera watching every move, Susan's drive for perfection feels a lot like what they left behind, while Julie suddenly finds herself needing to stand up for slowing down. With each new challenge, their season of "going Amish" gets more and more complicated, as each woman learns unexpected lessons about herself and her family.

First of all, this isn't one of my usual reads because the main character is middle-aged. No bias-ment but my usual reads are YA novels. I haven't been reading Amish fiction that much lately either. 

Julie Charlton hates her life. With her constant busy schedule, she doesn't have time for actually living with her husband, her daughter (16), and her son (13). When her sister-in-law Susan offers her the chance to join a reality TV show where Julie and her sister-in-law, plus their kids, will have to live "almost Amish" for a whole summer. During this time, both families grow closer to each other. And they really change. 

I feel like almost every kind of personality was portrayed in this book from fun, relaxed Julie to uptight Susan (but as I said changes *wink wink*). It portrays the struggle that I think almost every person goes through--the struggle to find their place in the world and who they really are (Gosh, I sound corny). Also, it gives a unique look into what it would feel like to live without electricity, modern clothes, or a normal stove.

And the clothes. Yeah. A new perspective on the difficult, simple lives of the Amish. While this book definitely wasn't action-packed it had that sort of wholesome feel afterwards that makes you sit back and go, "Yeah, this author understands people." 

4/5 STARS