LYDIA'S HOPE – Marta Perry
The Lost Sisters of Pleasant Valley – Book 1
Berkley Books
ISBN-13:  978-0-425-25356-4
June 2013
Amish Fiction

Pleasant Valley, Pennsylvania – Present Day

Lydia Beachy has grown up knowing she was adopted by her aunt and uncle, Joseph and Anna Weaver, after her parents were tragically killed in the automobile accident when Lydia was five years old.  Today, her great-aunt Sara reveals that Lydia's mother, Diane, had three children, all girls.  Lydia believes Aunt Sara is talking nonsense, but when she confronts Anna, she learns the truth.  Eli and Diane Weaver had three daughters born to them.  Each child was adopted by a different family.

Lydia is shocked!  How could she have grown up without her sisters or even knowing of their existence?  Ana explains and asks Lydia to leave well enough alone; unearthing these secrets might ruin lives in the process.  Lydia is not listening.  She is determined to find her sisters!  Anna's confession leaves a heavy weight on everyone's shoulders, and Lydia knows she should just forgive and move on.  But right now she is angry.

As it turns out, the truth is not an easy thing to handle.  For reasons thought best by everyone involved, Lydia was adopted by the Weavers.  A childless Amish couple in another community adopted Lydia's sister, Susanna, and her third sister, Chloe, was taken away by their Englisch grandmother to live in Philadelphia.  All of this, and Lydia has the added shock of learning her mother was born Englisch!  Then there is the certain knowledge that the whole of the Pleasant Valley Amish community has known the truth all these years, but not one of them ever thought to reveal it!  Beside herself with shock and grief, Lydia turns to her husband, Adam, for advice.   He asks Lydia to put it behind her and move on.  But Lydia won't listen; she is determined to find her sisters and then reveal the truth to each of them!  Meanwhile, Adam has a secret of his own, but in light of Lydia's distress, he decides to wait a few days before telling her.

LYDIA'S HOPE is finding her lost sisters.  She knows where Susanna is, but how will she ever find Chloe?  The Englisch world is lost to most Amish without the Internet or the ability to travel long distances at a moment's notice.  Defeated, Lydia believes she might never find Chloe until she mentions her problem to her neighbor, Seth Miller, a friend who jumped the proverbial Amish fence to become Englisch.  Seth is taking care of his mother and sister on their farm next door, and he volunteers to research Chloe's whereabouts, a move that has Adam in a jealous state as he fears locating Lydia's Englisch sister will only bring heartache for their family.

The Lost Sisters of Pleasant Valley is the newest trilogy by Marta Perry that will win the hearts of readers everywhere (as it won mine)!  SUSANNA'S DREAM will be next in February 2014, and Chloe's story will follow Susanna's.  I can't wait for the next book in this delightful series!  A fresh look and a fresh new story, LYDIA'S HOPE is a must buy!

Diana Risso