A Reckless Heart (Amy Clipston YA) (edit title/settings)

• Rated 5 stars

“Young Amish woman and her family struggle with the serious illness of the youngest daughter. The crisis stresses every one, but Lydia bears an extra-heavy burden. The ending is most uplifting.
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• Rated 5 stars

“Author: Amy Clipston
Published By: Zondervan
Age Recommended: Pre-Teen
Reviewed By: Arlena Dean
Rating: 5
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Review:
"A Reckless Heart" by Amy Clipston was wonderful interesting read. There will be illness, misunderstandings, sadness, lots of conflict, faith, family, loyalty and love. The glossary at the front of the book with all of the Amish phrases was real good add giving you the definitions of many of the hard pronounced words.


The novel is set from a modern day Amish community with the oldest of four (Lydia) children has the a lots of responsibilities put on her due to the fact of a illness of a younger sister battling leukemia. Their mother has to leave to take care of the younger child, Ruthie who is in hospital and the father has to who works overtime and still has a finance problems. Lydia who is sixteen year old wants to date and be with her friends but this is not to be and this has made her very unhappy. It seemed that all is falling on Lydia...but was it? There was help from family and Amish friends. I really enjoyed seeing how this community came in with their assistance, however, Lydia felt that it was all on her so she gets into many situations that really she should not have by not listening and obeying the rules ....of her father and even the Amish church which was to obey and respect. Many things come upon Lydia....her drank with Mahlon and his friends where she lied to save her friendship...then meeting the English boy(Tristan) whose family had moved recently into the community..however, was she supposed to be alone with him? Yes, you can see that this was a difficult time for Lydia but sometimes I wondered if she caused some of this because...well, I will stop and just say you must pick up the excellent read that this author did with "A Reckless Heart" to see how this story will turn out for Lydia .... her reputation, sister, family and future who was only yearning for the 'normal' life Lydia once had. Will she get it back? Will she be able to face these challenges?

This was be a new read for a lot of us ...being Amish, different...and coming to us from a young Amish view. Being a teachers' assistant and also working the other times in her grandmothers bakery.. now having to take care of two younger siblings and the home...and even giving the family her money... Lydia earns to help her family... Wow! that was a lots for Lydia...Will she be able to handle all of this and what about her friendship with Joshua?

The characters were for the most part very realistic and intriguing. I was kept turning the pages to see what was going to happen next.

This was a excellent christian novel that has a glossary in the front of the read and Amish recipes at the end. Oh! I really like the pray chains that were so active in the read. OK, yes I enjoyed the read and learned a lot so..... I would recommend "A Reckless Heart" to any Preteen...YA.... and even Adult ....Enjoy!
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• Rated 5 stars

“I truly fell that his it a good read. You learn about Lydia youngest sister Ruthie and Lydia struggles. You may to start crying while reading this book. I now I did. I felt like i was a part of the story myself. We also meet the Kauffman's Family.

We meet some of the Kauffman Family member from the Kauffman's Amish Bakery series. This story is about the Elizabeth and Eli granddaughter Lydia Bontrager.

Find the rest here: http://nrcbooks.blogspot.com/2012/05/review-reckless-heart.html”

• Rated 3 stars

“Lydia's life - as she once knew it - is falling apart. It starts with a poor choice one lonely night at a youth gathering. Then horrible news crashes down on her family, and Lydia finds herself trying to juggle work with worries about her sister, her reputation, and her future. She yearns for the "normal" life she once had - but is that what she truly needs?

Reckless Heart is a book with plenty of conflict - from illness to forbidden friendship, misunderstandings, and unrequited love. With lots of trouble to deal with, the characters don't always come across as very likeable, but they're still an interesting mix. (Lydia's siblings are precious!) The resolution is a bit fast and "tidy" in some respects, and I would have liked to see a certain romantic relationship given more attention throughout the story rather than having the explanation for its existence brushed off in the end. But the plot and relationships are intriguing and complex in a "curious-to-find-out-what-happens" way.

I appreciate the glossary (as well as the family-tree charts) at the beginning of the book, but I think the Amish phrases/wording might be a bit overdone at times (especially for a Young Adult book, where the repetition and possible need to constantly flip back to the front for definitions can be a bit tedious). And while I appreciate this story from Lydia's perspective, I think there might have been an added benefit to getting more viewpoints from other characters (including some of the adults). Overall, though, Reckless Heart emphasizes caring and community in an interesting Amish-themed, teen story of the heart.

*With thanks to Candice Frederick with DJC Communications and the publisher for providing me with a copy of the book in exchange for my honest opinion.* ”