SummerHill Secrets volume 1 by Beverly Lewis has been reviewed by Focus on the Family’s marriage and parenting magazine. It is the first compilation in the “SummerHill Secrets” series.
SummerHill Secrets volume 1 by Beverly Lewis has been reviewed by Focus on the Family’s marriage and parenting magazine. It is the first compilation in the “SummerHill Secrets” series.
Volume 1 in the “SummerHill Secrets” series holds five books about Merry Hanson, a modern 15-year-old girl living in Lancaster, Pa., near Amish country. Through each book, Merry is challenged in her relationships with others and with her faith in God.
Whispers Down the Lane
Merry’s classmate Lissa Vyner appears on her doorstep beaten and in tears. With the help of her Amish neighbor and friend Rachel Zook, Merry helps to lead Lissa — and her family — down a road of healing. Meanwhile, Merry struggles with her own bottled grief over the childhood death of her twin sister and questions the reality of God’s love.
Secrets in the Willow
The Zooks’ family farm is vandalized. Along her journey to unveil the perpetrator, Merry meets Elton, an autistic classmate with a gift for art. Later, he saves her from a fire in the Zooks’ barn, but he is accused of starting the blaze. Merry fights for Elton’s innocence, and when another Amish boy named Ben Fisher is discovered to be the true culprit, Merry learns an incredible lesson about the power of friendship.
Catch a Falling Star
Merry and her childhood friend Levi Zook have a complex relationship. When Merry is asked to complete a family tree for school, she enlists the help of the Zooks, with whom she shares a distant heritage. Hurt that Lissa has taken an interest in Merry’s secret crush, Jon Klein, Merry gives her attention to Levi instead. Merry suddenly finds herself torn between two worlds: the modern world where she lives and Levi’s Amish lifestyle. Levi begins to explore contemporary traditions, and Merry believes their relationship may be expanding beyond “just friends.”
Night of the Fireflies
Merry is delighted when Susie Zook takes an interest in her company, especially because the little girl is the striking image of Merry’s deceased twin sister. While hunting for fireflies one night, a terrible accident threatens Susie’s life, and Merry relives memories of her own sister’s tragic death. Inspired by a poem written by Grandfather Zook, Merry eventually accepts her past. Susie recovers, but Grandfather Zook passes away in his sleep. Merry begins to understand that death is not an ending but a beginning.
A Cry in the Dark
A distraught young mother leaves a baby named Charity in Merry’s gazebo. When the baby’s parents are finally found, they sign away their parental rights and place the child for adoption. At first, Charity appears to be just what Merry and her family need to heal, especially Merry’s mother, who never fully recovered from the death of her daughter. Meanwhile, newlyweds Curly John and Sarah Zook experience heartbreak after they miscarry their first child. In the end, they adopt Charity.
Each book in this collection is grounded in Christian truths, such as the supremacy of God, the truth of His Word and the belief in salvation through faith. Whispers Down the Lane focuses on the love of God and on the forgiveness of others. Secrets in the Willows emphasizes the beauty of friendship and on the use of talents to worship God. Catch a Falling Star deals with the consequences of envy while Night of the Fireflies explores themes of grief, death and healing. Finally, Cry in the Dark revolves around selflessness and sacrifice. Throughout these novels, the Amish culture is introduced and explored. Although sometimes legalistic, the Amish believe in the one true God and His Word.
In Catch a Falling Star Lissa mentions that her parents are experimenting with the occult through the study of mysticism, crystals and mood rings. The author references reincarnation, “folk healing” and the use of charms and incantations to promote health.
In Whispers Down the Lane, Lissa’s father, who is also a police officer, starts out as an abusive alcoholic. As a result, Lissa fears authority and hides from the police. She distrusts counselors and doctors as well, convinced that their only agenda is to put her in a foster home. Throughout each novel, Merry’s elderly neighbor, Ruby Spindler, is portrayed as a meddler and neighborhood nuisance; however, in A Cry in the Dark, readers are shown her motherly side. As far as parental figures are concerned (and except in Lissa’s initial situation), they are painted as faithful sources of love, advice, reassurance and comfort.
Physical abuse is prevalent in Whispers Down the Lane. Scenes involving the destruction of property, a trash can fire at school and a burning barn resulting in physical injury are played out in Secrets in the Willows. A car accident occurs in Night of the Fireflies. Each story avoids gruesome images and there is no profanity. At one point, however, mildly derogatory terms are used to describe a boy with developmental delays.
There are only two points in this collection where characters kiss. The first is done within the context of courting (Secrets in the Willows), and the second is between two parents, married to each other (A Cry in the Dark).
Get free discussion questions for this book and others, at FocusOnTheFamily.com/discuss-books.
This collection deals with difficult themes, such as the death of a child, cancer, unwed pregnancy and child abandonment.
You can request a review of a title you can’t find at [email protected].
Book reviews cover the content, themes and worldviews of fiction books, not their literary merit, and equip parents to decide whether a book is appropriate for their children. The inclusion of a book’s review does not constitute an endorsement by Focus on the Family.
