Summer Reading Review #2

Well, the second book that I have read this summer on my summer reading plan is A Merry Heart by Wanda E. Brunstetter. I first came upon this author when I was pregnant with my last child. The last week of my pregnancy, I read all three books in her daughters of Lancaster County series. That series was so good that I wanted to read other books by her. She writes about the Amish and she reminds me of the same style of writing as Beverly Lewis. A Merry Heart is the first book in her brides of Lancaster County series. The book is based on the scripture Proverbs 17:20, "A merry heart doeth good like a medicine." The book centers around a young woman who has become an old maid and the school teacher. She hardly ever smiles and is always unhappy and looks toward negative stuff. Her mom often repeats that scripture from Proverbs to her. She is so unhappy because the guy she was suppose to marry runs off and marries another woman and Miriam, the main character, has never gotten over it. A widowed man who has a young child, who unknown to Miriam has loved her since they were children, wants to court Miriam. But, Miriam wants nothing to do with men after her last experience. A lot of events end up happening, including her meeting an English man that she feels she is in love with and she has to decide if she wants to leave the Amish faith, that help Miriam see that that wise verse in Proverbs is really true as she becomes a new person. Wanda Brunstetter really weaves a tale in this book and she always introduces characters that will carry on her next book yet include old characters. So, I can not wait to read the next book in this series. I read this book in 2 days. Her stories are so good the story goes really fast for me. So, I guess you could say that I really enjoyed this book! Here is a recipe from the story:

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Miriam's Chunky Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies( from A Merry Heart)

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3/4 cup margarine

1 cup white sugar

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup peanut butter

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 (8 oz.) chocolate candy bar, chopped

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Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat margarine, sugars, and peanut butter until light and fluffy. Blend in eggs and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients and mix well. Stir in the chocolate pieces. Drop rounded tablespoons of dough onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned. Let stand a few minutes before removing from cookie sheet.

Makes four dozen cookies.