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Anna Beiler has spent 3 years living in the English world. Now she is returning to her Amish home with a baby girl and lots of secrets. The baby girl is hers, but not by birth. She is returning home to seek sanctuary from the child's violent father (but doesn't feel she can share that with her Amish community). She can't decide to stay or eventually leave again. But as she reconnects with her family and childhood friend Samuel, she finds it harder and harder to make a decision about where she belongs.

This is a young woman you would have met in the previous stories. I really appreciate how this author shows the turmoil and thought process of folks in the Amish community and how hard it would be to make that commitment after being in the English world. I also appreciate their emphasis upon forgiveness and how important that is in anyone's life. I can appreciate this author's Pennsylvania Dutch roots and her life spent in rural Pennsylvania as she writes a realistic view of the Amish community. ( )

In this third installment, Anna returns to the Amish community and her family after being gone for three years in the English world. But she does not return alone. Bringing a baby and fearfully running from the baby’s father, she flees to the world she left, seeking refuge. Stronger in mind and determination but also having her headstrong tendencies tempered by thoughtful restraint, she tries to again be Amish. But she is torn by her reasons: does she really want to regain the faith and community she left or is she just looking for a safe haven for herself and her baby? Anna soon finds herself drawn into the lives of those she loves, into their joys as well as their sorrows and problems. And into the affection of her sister-in-law’s brother. Can she leave all this again? And will the danger she fled find her anyway? A well-crafted story, thought-provoking as well as entertaining, this meaningful tale gives us a taste of what it really means to be part of the Amish community. ( )

I'm enjoying this series about the Amish of Pleasant Valley, PA. Marta Perry's characters are real and she keeps me turning the pages. I liked that she had Anna grow up because of a baby, but it wasn't the typical pregnant teenager thing. ( )

Book three of The Pleasant Valley Series has Anna Bieler returning to her home and family with a child. Anna adopted the baby when her friend died and now the baby's father, who signed the adoption papers before the baby was born, wants her back and has tracked Annie home.

Marta Perry has again succeeded in bringing her characters to life. I was confident I knew how the book would end but still found myself unable to set the book aside for long. There were tears in my eyes as Sam faced Pete (the baby's father) in the barn. ( )