Anything But Plain

Title: Anything But Plain
Author: Suzanne Woods Fisher
Major Themes: Amish, Pennsylvania, ADHD, Organic Farming
Synopsis: Lydie can’t seem to hold a job for very long—can the local doctor, her neighbor, figure out what is different about her and help her?

In general, Amish fiction is my least favorite genre. However, I have read one or two of Suzanne Woods Fisher’s Amish fiction books and enjoyed them, so when I read reviews of Anything But Plain that made it sound like a book I would enjoy, I got hold of a copy. I can’t rank this as one of my top ten this year, but I would definitely say that, for Amish fiction, it’s very good.

Lydia Stoltzfus has a problem. She can’t seem to keep a job for very long at all. She starts out well, but quickly loses focus and makes big mistakes which get her fired. What can her father David, the bishop, do? When his sister, who left the Amish to become a doctor, asks for Lydia to be a temporary receptionist, David is worried. How will Lydia handle this? Then, Dok realizes that Lydia shows symptoms of a problem that is either not common or not diagnosed among the Amish. Can she help?

Meanwhile, Nathan, Lydie’s neighbor, has become convinced that organic gardening is the way to go. His father and brother, however, are just as convinced that chemicals are the only way to go to make a profit, and the more the better. How can he follow his dream and still live in peace with his family? Will Lydie’s help be a help? Or a hindrance?

The people are portrayed much more realistically than most of the books I have read in this genre, and there isn’t nearly as much of the “cutesy” language that really irks me. Instead of certain words always being “Dutchy”, this author used full sentences and then translated them. I like that a lot better. I really enjoyed watching Lydie learn to live with her ADHD, and it made me wonder if I have a touch of it myself! I also love the part of the story about organic farming. That is a subject is close to my heart so I enjoyed it especially. There’s a lot more to Anything But Plain than romance, which I really liked. The main plot of the story revolves around Nathan trying to convert the family farm to organic, despite the opposition of other family members, and Lydie’s ADHD.

I received a review copy of this book from NetGalley, and these are my honest thoughts about it.

WARNING: Chapter 4: mention of men ogling indecent pictures in National Geographic. Chapter 8: mention of a kiss. Chapter 24: description of a kiss.

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