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    Leah's Choice: Pleasant Valley Book One
    Unavailable
    Leah's Choice: Pleasant Valley Book One
    Unavailable
    Leah's Choice: Pleasant Valley Book One
    Audiobook8 hours

    Leah's Choice: Pleasant Valley Book One

    Written by Marta Perry

    Narrated by Tanya Eby

    4/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    All of Pleasant Valley seems to think the newcomer from Lancaster County is the perfect match for Teacher Leah. After all, so few new families come to their secluded Amish community, and fewer still unmarried men. That Daniel Glick is a widower with three young children to look after while he manages his farm should make him even more open to the idea of marriage.

    But Daniel's past haunts him at every turn. Though he cannot miss the beauty in Leah's bright eyes and patient ways, he also sees a reminder of the pain he came so far to escape.

    And Leah has a burden on her heart that could daunt even someone as strong and steady as Daniel. Years ago she was engaged to Johnny Kile, a young man who became swept up in the outside world, leaving her behind, alone and heartbroken. Since then she has immersed herself in her love of the children she teaches, forgetting any hopes of having her own family. When Johnny returns, seeking reconciliation, Leah suddenly must decide between two pathways, either of which will change her life forever…

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBrilliance Audio
    Release dateNov 10, 2009
    ISBN9781441808585
    Unavailable
    Leah's Choice: Pleasant Valley Book One
    Author

    Marta Perry

    Marta Perry realized she wanted to be a writer at age eight, when she read her first Nancy Drew novel. A lifetime spent in rural Pennsylvania and her own Pennsylvania Dutch roots led Marta to the books she writes now about the Amish. When she’s not writing, Marta is active in the life of her church and enjoys traveling and spending time with her three children and six beautiful grandchildren. Visit her online at www.martaperry.com.

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    Reviews for Leah's Choice

    4/5

    41 ratings9 reviews

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    • 4/5
      Book one in this series of life with the Amish. The author did a good job and showing the struggles parents, siblings and loved ones have in making a decision to remain Amish, or to "jump the fence" and become an Englisher. Teacher Leah has resigned herself to being an old maid and just enjoy the children she teaches in her Amish community. But two things happen, and Leah will have to choose what she will do. One, a newcomer moves next door to them, Daniel Glick, a widower, with his 3 children. Everyone wants to match up Leah with Daniel. And two, Leah's childhood sweetheart, that she planned to marry long ago, Johnny, returns as an Englisher and needs her help with his new job in the community. Leah actually has a lot going on in this story and I appreciated the struggles she had to deal with. For me, it gave a very real look at how life is for those growing up Amish. I look forward to reading more in this series.
    • 4/5
      In one sense, every Amish person makes a choice to stay within the Amish community by joining the church and agreeing to be subject to the Ordnung. From what I understand, leaving before joining the church has less ramifications than leaving after agreeing to join (as far as interactions with family members and others in the Amish community). Leah has already joined the Amish church--what seems to tempt her most is the learning opportunities that could be hers if she left. Leah's sister, Anna, does not appear to have joined the Amish church yet (based on the fact that she indicates she's in rumshpringa--the running around time for Amish teens. Leah's other choice is in the romance area. When younger, Leah had an agreement to marry John Kile--until he left the Amish behind (after joining the church, apparently, since he appears to be under some of the shunning rules). Now, there is a new widower in Pleasant Valley--a man with 3 children, all of whom are in Leah's classroom. For reasons I don't fully understand, Leah chose not to get involved with anyone else after John left and figures she'll live out her life serving as the school teacher. She's miffed that so many people want to pair her up with the widower.John returns to the area as a member of a team researching the genetics of the Amish. (Because of their history, there are many genetic diseases and because the Amish tend to keep genealogical records, there might be a way to track down information about the genetic diseases in DNA etc.) John recruits Leah to help with information gathering since he feels the Amish community would give her more information than they would anyone on the team. For his part, the widower, Daniel, prefers little contact with the non-Amish world since his first wife left the Amish community and took their kids with her for 2 years. He's trying to return his kids to what he feels is the more stable Amish lifestyle. Leah's role as the children's teacher has her getting more involved with Daniel's family than she might otherwise. In fact, Leah only agrees to help the genetic team because it might benefit children in the community sometime down the road. So Leah's second choice comes between rekindling her childhood love for John or accepting the love of Daniel and his family and remaining Amish. Many life choices are explored in other characters as well. How one person's choice can affect others who love them (John's parent and twin sister as well as Leah were all affected by his choice to leave the community, Anna's employer and her family as well as the Esch family were affected by her choices, Anna and Leah were both affected by their parents's decision to move to the daadi haus since they'd now be living in a house run by their sister-in-law.) How squashing interests in children can be a bad thing (Matthew's love of mechanics worries his father and drives a wedge between them). How keeping things to yourself can sometimes be bad (Elizabeth's perfectionism and worry about causing her mother's death, Leah trying to take on mothering Anna). All-in-all a good book and a bit different than the typical romance.
    • 4/5
      After Johnny Kile broke both their engagement and her heart, Amish school teacher Leah Beiler decided she'll never get married and has dedicated her life to her work and the children she teaches. Her close-knit Amish community, however, isn't convinced that Leah is meant to remain single and when widower Daniel Glick, who has three young children, moves to town, the entire community tries to play matchmaker. Leah is not sure of her feelings for Daniel, feelings which are further complicated when Johnny reappears in her life. Daniel has his own issues - he is tormented by events from his past that he is afraid will haunt him for the rest of his life. Leah has a choice to make - what will it be?While I found it a bit slow at the beginning, by the end I had a hard time putting down "Leah's Choice" because I wanted to find out what was going to happen to Leah and Daniel and Johnny. Author Marta Perry has created some very believable characters and situations. While the Amish setting means the romance is "sweet" Perry never sugarcoats Amish life and the struggles the Amish go through. Leah often questions her faith having lost Johnny to the English life during his Rumspringa and fears she may also lose her younger sister to the English life - fears she tries to keep from her mother who is recovering from cancer. Leah is also concerned with the health issues of the Amish children brought on by years of Amish marrying into the same families, especially so since her brother is marrying into a family affected by those health problems. Daniel is an equally complicated person - his story has a heartbreaking twist that makes him an even deeper character, if a bit stern and rigid at times. The romance portions are nice done, although there's little doubt about who Leah will end up with. I suspect (hope) that Johnny will develop more as a character as the series goes along. While Leah's story is wrapped up by the end of this book, this is the first book in a new series so some plot lines are left open - one in particular will keep me buying future books so I can find out what ultimately happens to one of the characters."Leah's Choice" is a nicely done romance set in the Amish community and fans of Amish romances and sweet romances will enjoy it.
    • 5/5
      This was a good story, however, for all the back & forth during the story it sure had a fast abrupt ending that didn’t match the rest of the story’s back & forth dialogue. It was like the story reached the last chapter & it had to be finished.
    • 4/5
      In this Amish tale, Marta Perry clearly illustrates the divide between the Amish and the English, and the pull that the English world has on the young people of the Amish community. Leah’s steady beau – the man she intended to marry – was drawn into that world. Wishing an education he could not receive as an Amish person, he left the faith behind. But he returns to Leah’s life, not as her beau but as a researcher wanting to help Amish children afflicted with genetic diseases. Now Leah must decide which is stronger: her faith as a young Amish woman or her past love for her now English friend. A dilemma for sure, made more so by a newcomer, a widower with children, who is looking at Leah as the answer to his prayers. An entertaining yet thought-provoking read.
    • 5/5
      This book is one of few Amish books that I think really gets it. By it, I mean it allows the reader to enter the Amish world, yet does not try to push Amish beliefs on them, does not paint the Amish lifestyle as ideal or makes the world feel as if you're living in a bubble. I really enjoyed this book for the realistic way the Amish and the English worlds are portrayed.This book talked a lot about subjects that I have never read in Amish fiction before. The one that stood out the most was the medical issues. This book mentioned a great deal about birth defects and other medical problems that stem from communities that continue to live in close proximity and only marry within that community. This is something I have never read in any other Amish book I have picked up and is a topic that I have always wondered about due to the circumstances of who someone can marry. Therefore kudos to Marta Perry for bringing this up. It may be a sore subject that no one wants to talk about but to deny that it exists because it makes the community look not so ideal is not helping anyone either. Honestly I feel like other authors don't bring it up because it breaks the bubble of the image that they are trying to portray of making Amish lifestyle appealing.I thought I was going to have problems with Daniel due to comments he made early in the book but after finding out about his background, I understood him a lot better. His family's past was unique to the typical Amish storyline and even more so by the way he handled the situation. As for Johnny, I really liked the way his storyline played out. Everyone (for the most part) ends up where they want to be.Honestly this is one of the most refreshing Amish novels I have ever read. I didn't feel as if this book was unrealistically portrayed and the outside world is seen in a positive light for once. If the rest of the series continues to be written in the same manner and tackles difficult but necessary subjects, it might possibly rank as one of my favorite Amish books. That being said, if you want a dose of reality with your Amish fiction, pick up this book.
    • 4/5
      This is pleasant love story in an Amish community.
    • 4/5
      As a newcomer, Daniel Glick, a widower with three young children, is a rare commodity in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. The community soon decides he would be the perfect husband for Teacher Leah. But Leah was once engaged to Johnny Kile, who broke her heart when he left the Amish community. Johnny has returned to the area and Leah is torn as to her feelings toward him. Daniel will not allow himself to fall in love with the pretty teacher. The past he thought he had dealt with and put to rest has come back to haunt him. He realizes he is not over the betrayal and death of his wife and his move to Lancaster County has not helped him move on with his life.I loved this book. It was a quick read and one that I had trouble putting down.
    • 4/5
      Widower Daniel is expected to find a new wife to handle the house and children while he runs the farm. The Amish community thinks that Leah, their current schoolteacher, fits the requirements. Leah is lonely, but still suffering for being jilted just months prior to marriage. Leah’s still single ex-fiancé returns from the English world to try to win her back, but Daniel may have other plans for her. She must decide whether her faith is strong enough to find happiness.