Wanda E. Brunstetter
Barbour Publishing (2008)
ISBN 9781597898980
Reviewed by Brianne Plach (age 10) for Reader Views (7/08)
Have you ever had a bad day? Rachel Yoder sure did. Every day she gets in trouble. When her best friend and cousin Mary leaves for Indiana, a new girl named Audra Burkholder from Ohio arrives. Even receiving a faceless doll from Mary doesn’t seem to help Rachel with her loneliness problems. Rachel Yoder doesn’t think there is a chance that she and Audra could someday get along with each other. Worse yet, then Audra moves to Rachel’s best friend’s desk. Rachel is so crabby after Mary leaves. Orlie used to be Rachel’s friend, but since the whole lunchbox dilemma, he isn’t anymore.
Rachel is bitten by the green-eyed monster. She is envious of Audra’s friends. It seems like Rachel is losing all her friends to Audra. Rachel is dealing with a lot of anger since her friend Mary moved. Nobody seems to like her anymore. Is there a way that Audra and Rachel could ever become friends rather than rivals?
Wanda E. Brunstetter has created a book for young readers dealing with her favorite subjects. She has written many books about the Amish society; it’s exciting to see that she now writes books for younger readers too. Ms. Brunstetter has an easy-to-understand writing style. She includes a glossary of words from the Pennsylvania Dutch dialect and their meanings to help young readers understand the book more.
“New Beginnings” shows a glimpse into Amish society and how, even if your best friend moves away, you can always make new ones.
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