I've read several books by this author and think he is one of the best Amish Fiction Authors out there. That might be because he was raised Amish. This is why his books ring true.
In this story we have a young Amish girl, Susan Hostetler, who has decided to become English. Her reasons are simple. She was to marry Thomas Stoll, until she caught him kissing her best friend. She runs off to New Jersey where she gets a job working in a bakery and living above it. She is trying hard to blend both of her worlds. She is trying to stay true to her faith and the values she has learned growing up Amish, yet blend in with her new English world. She loves working for Laura and her son Robby. Robby is good at listeing to her and she is good for trying to straighten him out. When a young unmarried pregnant girl named Teresa comes into the bakery, Susan's new life runs into her old life. Teresa has not had the best home life and she wants her baby to have a chance in life. To her that means she having her baby adopted by an Amish couple. Since the only Amish person she knows it Susan, she asks for her help. Susan agrees to help her. One of the things that irritate me was that Teresa's boyfriend wants nothing to do with her until she gets rid of the baby. I wanted to smack Teresa upside the head and scream at her, do you realize that he is a piece of garbage if he feels this way? Susan takes Teresa back to Indiana with her. Eventhough her parents are kind and caring to Teresa, that doesn't mean the rest of the community will be. This is a well thought out book. The conflict is real. You don't have to be Amish to have similar conflicts. The ending makes you pine for the next one in the series.
I received a copy to facilitate my reviews. The opinions expressed here are my own. ( )

Sarah Hostetler left her Amish community to distance herself from her boyfriend after witnessing him kissing another woman. Suddenly in the Englisha community, Sarah decides that if she is here, she needs to become Englisha. She gets her GED, wears Englisha clothing, and learns to drive. She dates an Englisha man, and she encounters a young, pregnant girl that wants her child brought up in the Amish community. Sarah tries to become Englisha, but home still pulls her.

Sarah's views of the Englisha world add an interesting twist to the story line, as she tries to stay focused on the Lord, and live a life she believes acceptable, throughout all the changes going on around her. Missing Your Smile is the first in a series of three, and leaves the reader hanging with an incomplete story, which means, since I enjoyed reading this one, I'll definitely get the next two. I would recommend this to readers who enjoy an interesting story wrapped around a mild, Christian romance.

Received Galley from NetGalley.com ( )

Susan Hostetler's plans were to marry her beau Thomas and take over the running of her datt's farm. Things change though when she catches Thomas kissing one of her friends. She decides the only thing to do is get away and with the help of an Englisher friend leaves the farm in Indiana and moves to Asbury Park New Jersey. She goes to work in a bakery for a very nice woman named Laura, who also happens to be the sister of the English friend that helped her leave home.Life seems to be going ok, she has an apartment, a pretty good job and meets a nice Enghisher man named Duane. She decides to try and get her GED and drivers license, and with the help of Laura's son Robby it seems as if she might achieve her goals. A young pregnant girl named Teresa starts coming into the bakery. Teresa has a fascination with the Amish and when she learns that Susan is Amish she asks Susan to help her find an Amish home for her unborn child. To help Teresa, Susan soon realizes she will have to take a trip back home. Meanwhile Thomas is missing Susan and decides to take a trip to Asbury Park. How will the relationship between Duane and Susan work out? Will the Amish community accept Teresa and her unborn child, and will Susan move back home? What about the relationship between Susan and Thomas, will they ever get back together? Your just going to have to read the book and find out!
I am a huge Amish fiction fan and Jerry Eicher is quickly becoming one of my favorite Amish writers. He has the ability to pull me into a story and make me feel as if the characters are people I know. As Susan's story unfolded it was easy to see she wasn't really settled with living away from the Amish, but she didn't let that stop her from trying to move forward with her life. I thought Susan did a good job of trying to steer Robby in the right direction, and actually I sort of hoped a relationship might develop between those two. There were a few secondary stories going on that kept me turning the pages to see how things would work out. I thought the story line with Teresa was quite interesting, I can't help but wonder if she will find what she is looking for in Amish country.With a few unanswered questions at the end of the story, I will easily say the author knows how to leave me wanting more! I can't wait to read the next book in the series titled "Follow Your Heart" due out May 2012.
rating 5/5
I was provided an e-book from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. ( )

This is the first book in Jerry S. Eicher's new series "Fields Of Home" . I find this book very interesting about the AMish life and Jerry can tell it as no other because he grew up Amish. Susan Hostetler left her home after she broke up with her boyfriend Thomas Stoll. She wanted to get a taste of the Englisha life so she moved to Asbury Park, New Jersey. She begins to live the full English life and ever bought a car and learned to drive. Her parents were so sad and upset about her moving away and leaving the Amish life she grew up in.

Susan met a young unmarried woman that was expecting a baby and wanted her baby to be adopted by an Amish family. When she returns home to help find a family for the baby, she also felt led to move back home and to her Amish way of life. There was also the young man Thoman still waiting for her, so she was very comfused if about wheather she wanted to return back to the Englisha way of life or just stay where she really belonged.

Very interesting book as all of Jerry's are. Thanks so much to Harvest House Publisher and Jerry S. Eicher for sending me this me to read and I chose to post this review.