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thecheapreader

The Cheap Reader

The Cheap Reader is Alison. She works in a library and dreams of one day becoming a Youth Services Librarian. She loves reading and has a soft spot in her heart for YA and MG fiction.

A World Away

A World Away - Nancy Grossman For some reason I really enjoy fiction about the Amish people. I was so excited to read this book because it’s about a young Amish girl! I don’t think I’ve read YA Amish fiction before. A World Away was just perfect. The book starts with Eliza at home and going stir-crazy. Grossman does a great job of painting the Amish lifestyle but soon enough I felt Eliza’s anguish of being cooped up. I wanted out as well.I loved the way Grossman was able to describe our way of life. I’d imagine it would be incredibly hard to look at our life and describe it as an outsider. I loved the way she could describe the media that Eliza experiences and without being too specific. I knew exactly what she was talking about.The characters were fantastic. I really grew to love most of them. They felt like my friends. I felt Eliza’s excitement about trying this new life. I was excited for her to experience everything. Josh was sweet without being too creepy (like how guys in romance books can be). Josh’s friends all seemed like 100% real kids. I knew those kids in school. I laughed with them, I cried with them, I felt devastated with them.The actual story was good. To a certain extent the plot was a bit predictable. Oh we have an Amish girl living in the English world? You know there’s going to be an English boy who falls for her, she’s going to be confused with mall, there will be teen drinking, blah, blah, blah. Despite all that, I was completely in love with the story. The author even threw in twists that I never saw coming. I felt just as hurt and confused as I would have if I had been living it. Now that’s good writing. The ending was lovely. I was really hoping things would end like that. I was a bit worried that the author might mess things up.The bottom line? I loved it. Highly recommended for YA contemporary fans.