An Amish Surprise - (Berlin Bookmobile Series, the) by Shelley Shepard Gray (Paperback)

About the Book

"Miriam and Calvin Gingerich have been trying for a baby for several years, but the Lord hasn't seen fit to bless them. Though Calvin claims he's content with their childless state, Miriam knows he's not, and when he starts spending more time off their farm, she worries he's found someone else. But just as she finds herself at her lowest point, she discovers the ultimate surprise. Unable to confide in anyone who might tell Calvin-out of fear she'll disappoint him with another miscarriage-Miriam turns to bookmobile librarian Sarah Anne Miller-and any books she may have on pregnancy and childbirth. Calvin has been keeping a secret from his wife, but it's not another woman. It's a little boy. One afternoon when visiting Sarah Anne's bookmobile, he meets Miles, a ten-year-old living with a foster family down the road. But after spending more time with the boy, Calvin learns that his foster family has no plans to adopt him. Calvin feels a connection with Miles and yearns to give the boy a home, but he's afraid to tell Miriam, knowing she's devastated they can't have children of their own. As weeks pass and Sarah Anne learns that Miles has nearly given up hope of ever finding a real home, she knows it's time to intervene. It's going to take some fancy footwork and a whole lot of prayer, but she knows she can help make this struggling couple into a happy family of four"--

Book Synopsis

In the second installment of the "enjoyable and charming" (USA TODAY) Shelley Shepard Gray's delightful Berlin Bookmobile series, librarian Sarah Anne Miller returns to Berlin to help a childless Amish couple form the family they've always prayed for.

Miriam and Calvin Gingerich have been trying for a baby for several years, but the Lord hasn't seen fit to bless them. Though Calvin claims he's content with their childless state, Miriam knows he's not, and when he starts spending more time off their farm, she worries he's found someone else. But just as she finds herself at her lowest point, she discovers the ultimate surprise. Unable to confide in anyone who might tell Calvin--out of fear she'll disappoint him with another miscarriage--Miriam turns to bookmobile librarian Sarah Anne Miller--and any books she may have on pregnancy and childbirth.

Calvin has been keeping a secret from his wife, but it's not another woman. It's a little boy. One afternoon when visiting Sarah Anne's bookmobile, he meets Miles, a ten-year-old living with a foster family down the road. But after spending more time with the boy, Calvin learns that his foster family has no plans to adopt him. Calvin feels a connection with Miles and yearns to give the boy a home, but he's afraid to tell Miriam, knowing she's devastated they can't have children of their own.

As weeks pass and Sarah Anne learns that Miles has nearly given up hope of ever finding a real home, she knows it's time to intervene. It's going to take some fancy footwork and a whole lot of prayer, but she knows she can help make this struggling couple into a happy family of four.

Review Quotes

"An Amish Surprise is a journey you won't want to miss! Heartache meets its match when love searches for ways to heal the brokenness."--Cindy Woodsmall, Christy Award-winning and New York Times bestselling author

"[A] lovely second in her Berlin Bookmobile series... Gray's fully realized characters, believable situations, and delicately woven biblical themes make this a standout. Gray's fans will be thrilled."-- "Publishers Weekly"

"Shelley Shepard Gray never shies away from tackling hard subjects in her novels, yet she does so with a winsome touch. In An Amish Surprise, Gray shows the effect of infertility on a young couple, adds in the strain of raising foster children, and finishes it off with a charming late-in-life romance. Don't miss this gem of a book--it's a story to remind us that happily ever afters can and do happen, at any age."--Suzanne Woods Fisher, bestselling author of Mending Fences

About the Author

A practicing Lutheran, Shelley Shepard Gray is the New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author of more than one hundred novels, translated into multiple languages. In her years of researching the Amish community, she depends on her Amish friends for gossip, advice, and cinnamon rolls. She lives in Colorado with her family and writes full time.