Plain Truth by Jodi Picoult

I LOVED this book! You probably know Jodi Picoult as the author of My Sister’s Keeper. It was the first of her books that I read and I was hesitant to read any others because I thought they would never live up to My Sister’s Keeper. With that book I couldn’t stop reading because of all the emotional drama and cried my eyes out. With this one I couldn’t stop reading because I was enthralled with learning more about the Amish culture and I just had to figure out the truth!

The book tells the story of a dead infant found on an Amish farm and the big city attorney that immerses herself in the community as she defends her young unmarried Amish client against murder charges. Her client is determined to be the infant’s mother and the investigators say the child was not a stillborn and was most likely smothered to death. But as you learn more and more about the Amish beliefs and values the more impossible it seems that an Amish girl would be capable of doing something like that. So what is the truth?

Ellie, the big city attorney, doesn’t even want to take on the case at first and ends up having to move in with the Fisher family as part of Katie’s bail agreement. She gets a first hand look at the Amish lifestyle and their values as she tries not only to come up with a defense for her client but comes closer and closer to the truth of what really happened.

There are so many twists and turns as more and more pieces of the story are revealed. I loved learning more about the Amish and how for them community and fitting in are everything. They just want to live a good Christian life and fit in with the rest of the community and serving each other. I loved piecing the clues together to try to figure out where Katie’s baby came from, what happened to it, and where her life would go after the trial. It was great. I am officially a Picoult fan now!

Another 5 out of 5 stars for Picoult!