This is a series of children's books which I had read years ago, probably in the 7th grade. I re-read them sometime during October but have
The books all read like children's mystery novels, but not all the plots of each book are mystery. The first book, Whispers Down the Lane, involves Merry's friend Lissa, who has run away from home and has asked Merry to hide her. Merry finds herself torn between her desire to help her friend, and the possible consequences of harboring a runaway. Book two is Secret in the Willows and this book is indeed a mystery novel. Someone had been vandalizing an Amish home, and Merry believed the wrong person was being blamed for it. Catch a Falling Star (book three) deals with the details of a middle school love triangle, or hexagon, or whatever convoluted shape teenage crushes can create. Although that is not really a stage of my life I am interested in reliving, I did find the author's depiction of the complexities of middle school relationships to be quite accurate. Book 4 is Night of the Fireflies and deals with Merry's backstory of losing her twin to cancer, and the events in the present which dredge up those past memories. It is a significant book for helping readers in its target age group to identify feelings they might be having and discuss them openly with their parents, although it is still fiction and belongs in the children's fiction section of a bookstore, as opposed to the bereavement/grief or parenting sections. Book five is A Cry in the Dark and continues with that theme when Merry discovers an abandoned baby in her gazebo.
In every book, there is a clear explanation, in terms middle-schoolers can understand, of Amish beliefs and practices and how they differ from "English" people (all non-Amish). The books are engaging even for an adult to read, although many complex ideas an adult would think of are ignored (the lack of involvement of child protective services when a baby is discovered, simply because Merry's father is a doctor is one that comes to mind). However, it is refreshing to go back to that child-like mindset and just forget all the complicated things for a while.
These books are very entertaining, and I would recommend them to teenage girls, teenage boys who aren't afraid to be caught reading a book with a female character, and anyone interested in Lancaster Amish lifestyles written from a child's simplistic viewpoint.
