Haven, The: A Novel (Stoney Ridge Seasons) [Paperback]

Suzanne Woods Fisher (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 2012 | Series: Stoney Ridge Seasons (Book 2)

When Sadie Lapp steps off the bus in Stoney Ridge after being in Ohio for the winter, she is faced with a decision--one that goes against her very essence. Yet it's the only way she can think of to protect a loved one.

Schoolteacher Gideon Smucker has been crazy about Sadie since boyhood. But his response to her surprising decision undermines his own reputation--and his relationship with Sadie.

College student Will Stoltz is spending the spring at the Lapp farm as a guard for a pair of nesting Peregrine Falcons--courtesy of the Lancaster County Game Warden. Will needs to get his life back on track, but his growing friendship with Sadie threatens his plans.

The lives of these three individuals intertwine, and then unravel as unexpected twists create ripples through the town of Stoney Ridge . . . and through Sadie's heart.

Once again, bestselling author Suzanne Woods Fisher intrigues and delights with a story that explores the bonds of friendship, family, and true love. Readers will enjoy every surprise in Sadie's story as they search for the truth hidden within these pages.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Fisher's style is light and engaging. Her setting may be a simple Pennsylvania Amish community, but the struggles of faith, trust, and forgiveness are common to a wide-ranging audience. Moral elements are so deftly woven into the plot that most readers will learn the lesson before realizing there is one." - Publisher's Weekly

"Adept at introducing modern themes into stories of the Amish, Fisher has crafted a gentle romance complete with love triangles and unexpected plot twists. As her characters learn from their mistakes, readers will hear the resounding message that relationships can be restored and hearts renewed through forgiveness." - Booklist

From the Back Cover

Spring brings new life, young love, and second chances to Stoney Ridge.

On a warm spring day, Sadie Lapp returns home to her quiet, unassertive life in Stoney Ridge after spending the winter in Ohio.

Gideon Smucker, an awkward schoolteacher, has been in love with Sadie since childhood and eagerly awaits her return. But does Sadie feel the same about him?

Will Stoltz, a charming and impetuous college student, has been banished for a semester and sent to babysit endangered peregrine falcons nesting at the Lapp farm. He'd rather be anywhere else . . . until he befriends Sadie.

As the hopes and ambitions of these three young people converge, life in Stoney Ridge may never be the same.

Once again, bestselling author Suzanne Woods Fisher intrigues and delights with a story that explores the bonds of friendship, family, and true love in this captivating series.


"A heartwarming story of faith, family, and renewal filled with characters that come alive on the page like old friends, The Haven will captivate fans of Amish fiction and readers who love an endearing romance."--Amy Clipston, bestselling author of the Kauffman Amish Bakery Series

"The Haven is a warm, touching novel about the power of familial bonds. Once you dip into this novel set in the charming town created by Suzanne Woods Fisher, you'll be hooked."--Beth Wiseman, bestselling author of the Daughters of the Promise series

"Suzanne Woods Fisher's novels are always such a joy to read! I found The Haven charming, humorous, and compelling--so much so that I had to remind myself to put the book down and get back to work! I'll be joining her many fans by the calendar, anxiously awaiting her next book to be released."--Shelley Shepard Gray, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author


Suzanne Woods Fisher is the bestselling author of The Choice, The Waiting, The Search, and The Keeper, as well as nonfiction books about the Amish, including Amish Peace. She is also the coauthor of a new Amish children's series, The Adventures of Lily Lapp. Suzanne is the host of internet radio show Amish Wisdom and a columnist for Christian Post and Cooking & Such magazines. She lives in California.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Revell (August 1, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0800719883
• ISBN-13: 978-0800719883
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.8 x 8.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (94 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #297,956 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

In no particular order, Suzanne Woods Fisher is a wife, mother, writer, lifelong student of the Bible, host of Amish Wisdom (a weekly radio show), raiser of puppies for Guide Dogs for the Blind, a gardener and a cook...the latter two with sporadic results.

Suzanne has loved to write since she was a young teen. After college, she started to write for magazines and became a contributing editor for Christian Parenting Today magazine. Her family moved to Hong Kong for four years, just as the internet was developing, and she continued to write articles in a 44-story high-rise apartment, sending manuscripts 7,000 miles away with a click of a key.

After returning from Hong Kong, Suzanne decided to give her first novel a try. For four and a half months, she worked on an antediluvian computer in a cramped laundry room. She didn't even tell her husband what she was up to. When the novel was completed, she told her family at dinner one night that she had written a book. "That's why there's no food in this house!" said her slightly insensitive sons.

Undaunted...Suzanne found a small royalty publisher for that book and wrote three more (all earned multiple). With help from an agent, she has five books currently under contract with Revell. On September 1st, Amish Peace: Simple Wisdom for a Complicated World, a non-fiction book of stories and examples about the Old Order Amish, will be released by Revell. The Choice, a novel about the Amish, will follow on January 1st.

Writing, for Suzanne, is a way to express a love of God and His word. With every book or article, she hopes readers get a sense of what faith really looks like in the daily grind. She hopes they realize that life can be hard, but God is good, and never to confuse the two.

Suzanne can be found on-line at: www.suzannewoodsfisher.com

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Refreshing summer read August 2, 2012

By A. K. Shorey

Format:Paperback

Sadie Lapp plans a surprise return to Stoney Ridge after a visit to Ohio. Little does she know that part of the surprise will be on her. Although her family is delighted to see her, little sister M.K. starts a rumor fire with unthinking remarks about Sadie's baggage.
Shy Gideon Smucker is delighted to know Sadie is back in Stoney Ridge, but every move he makes around her only seems to upset her. He suspects her chilly attitude toward him has something to do with the wildlife intern living on the Lapps' farm.
Will Stoltz, the intern, discovers Sadie to be refreshingly different from the girls he's known, and before long he finds himself looking for excuses to spend time with her. However, he's hiding a secret that will endanger his position on the Lapp farm, as well as betray the trust Sadie's family has placed in him.
The Haven is a delightful story of a family who lives by their faith and love for one another. In these days of ever more graphic fiction in the general market, I found The Haven to be just that--a haven of gentleness. I wish I could sit down at the supper table with the Lapps and absorb some of the peace that fills their lives.
I give The Haven two thumbs up, and recommend it for family reading.

My thanks to Revell for providing my review copy.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable Amish fiction August 10, 2012

By Julieanne at JoyInOurJourney-dotcom

Format:Paperback

The Haven is a sequel to The Keeper, which was a wonderful story of an Amish family living on Windmill Farm, near the small town of Stoney Ridge, Pennsylvania. This story has many very surprising twists, even from the first page!

Sadie, the oldest daughter living in the home with her younger sister (Mary Kate), her widowed father, Amos, and their housekeeper, Fern, has just returned from staying with her older sister, Julia and Julia's husband, Roman, at their home in Ohio. Sadie has returned home with a secret, one not kept for long with a very curious little sister who somehow ferrets out secrets and answers very quickly! It begins by affecting the whole family, then all their friends and neighbors, and all the members of the local Amish community. Sadie feels completely misunderstood and is very sad that her friends have turned against her without even knowing the facts of the situation.

Will Stoltz, a young intern to the local Game Warden, has been appointed to keep track of a falcon family which is laying eggs and apparently will raise their new family on the farm. The falcons are an endangered species and have attracted huge public interest in their new habitat and activities. Will, who has some secrets of his own, is invited to live in a small cottage on the farm and, of course, ends up becoming very attracted to Sadie, a girl unlike any other he has ever known in his "English" world. In addition to his "falcon duties" he is ordered to be useful to Amos with the physical labor involved in keeping a farm up to snuff! He has never done physical labor before and has a lot to learn!

Gideon (Gid) Smucker is the schoolteacher at Twin Creeks Schoolhouse where Mary Kate (M.K.) is a student. He has always intended to eventually court and marry Sadie and is extremely happy she has returned home from her stay in Ohio. He, however, also turns against her as he believes the rumors and lies which have swirled about her since her return to her home.

This is a fast-moving story with much serious discussion over thought-provoking situations, and much humor due to the many antics of the younger sister and her friends (and of some of the adults, like elderly Uncle Hank). The secrets are slowly revealed and resolved in an amazing way. A huge part of the story involves forgiveness on the part and hearts of many of the characters; seeking God's forgiveness for wrongs committed and discovering how relationships can change drastically when this has been properly practiced from the heart. A great read! The Haven is book #2 in the Stoney Ridge Seasons series.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Life is full of turnarounds August 3, 2012

By Gin (New England, USA)

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I like books that are simple and yet so many takeaways, you can see yourself in this simple family living, the fun, the gentleness despite challenges. The Bible verses are also worth including in this book and you don't feel that the faith is being forced in you. This is the kind of books you would like growing kids to read as well as older people to look back or look forward in life with. The life's turnaround in the story will give you a little surpise! Can't wait for the next book, oh how I love MK!