I just finished reading Annie's Truth, and could not put it down...it was done in less than a day. Now I'm wanting more!
As the story begins Annie Beiler is about to find out that she was adopted. Annie and her sister Hanna got their Mother's permission to go the attic and go through their hope chests. In doing so, Annie opens her bible and finds that her birth date is not filled in. When she goes and finds her Mom and Dad to find out the circumstance of her birth...she is thrown into a tizzy and yearns to learn more of why?
With her Mother's help she leave and goes to another city to find out as much as she can. She stays with a former Amish family who seem to want to help her, and she does learn a lot! She finally decides to return to her home and family.
You will wonder what has happened since she left and if she is going to be shunned? She was in a relationship with John Yoder before she left, and while away she has found how much she has missed him. You will find yourself rooting for her...no matter what. We meet tough Deacon Zeke...and a Sweetheart Bishop Omar.
You will find yourself immersed in this Amish Community very fast, and never want to leave. Enjoy!

I received this book from the Publisher Charisma Media, and was not required to give a positive review. ( )

As Annie and her sister Hannah get permission from their mother to go through their hope chests containing items for their future weddings, Annie finds her childhood Bible wrapped up in hers. When she opens the front cover to compare her child-like handwriting, she notices that among her family's tree containing birth, wedding and death dates, her birth day is missing. Only her birth month and year have been noted.

When she inquires to this missing bit of information, she learns that she was left in a field one night and was found by her father. No one has ever known how Annie had come to be found in that field that night but her best friend John Yoder, believes God always knew where Annie would be best raised. Yet Annie has her doubts. When her father Amos, forbids it, Annie presses her mother to help her. Providing her with some time, money and a place to stay, Annie's mother Sarah reminds her that she has always had a home with them. She hopes Annie will chose to come home soon because in her mind nothing has ever changed about the way she loves Annie.

Now that she has made a decision to try and find her birth parents, Annie is staying with a family who has left the old Amish community. Getting help from Rudy, Annie keeps trying to find the missing piece of her puzzle to help her find out why she was left behind 18 years ago. Only the longer Annie takes, it may result in her being shunned by her own community and leaving behind the opportunity to find happiness and marriage with John Yoder. Only her sister, Hannah is more than willing to help John forget all about Annie. Will she find out the truth before it's too late to come home?

In the first novel in the Touch of Grace Series by Beth Shriver, Annie's Truth takes the reader into a different type of Amish novel. This one dealing with the subject of adoption. Is Annie truly Amish or do the feelings she has inside, speak of a different lifestyle than she has ever known before? I love Beth's Amish novel and it shows just how vastly different the Amish and English lifestyles are, especially for Annie's character who has never even ventured out on a Rumspringa, or a period of seeing what life is like outside the Amish community before becoming baptized into the church. I can relate to Annie's frustration with her father's unwillingness to help her and when he refuses to even say goodbye to her when she is leaving, I can feel the pain in her heart at being torn in two.

I received this novel compliments of Christian Fiction Blog Alliance for my honest review and have to say again, I really enjoyed this one. It's a different take on your Amish love story and tells the story of what it feels like to find a sense of belonging when you don't know who you are or where you come from and the reader is taken on that search in Annie's Truth. I rate this one a 5 out of 5 stars and look forward to the rest of the books in this series and even more characters to come to adore and love like family and friends. ( )