Lenny Gingerich leaves the interstate during a storm and finds himself 100 years in the past, or so it seems. An accident leaves him stranded on an Amish farm. Within days, he is driving a six-horse hitch and caught up in an old-fashioned love triangle. Bishop Mose tells Lenny to stay away from the girls, but try as he might, that is not easy. Lenny and his sidekick, a dog named Russell, both … have a knack for getting themselves into trouble and everything becomes a tangled mess. While farming with horses, Lenny hears a catbird singing beautiful spring songs, which turn into an annoying meow as summer heats up. Life becomes difficult for a young man who doesn’t understand catbirds or Amish girls.
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CATBIRD SINGING by Thomas Nye is the second book in the Amish Horses series. It’s the story of Lenny Gingerich – how we comes to be back in Bulltown and why he stayed to help out his Amish relatives.
Finishing his first year of college, Lenny is headed home for the summer looking forward to finding a summer job and catching up with his family. Was it a storm or was it fate that had him leaving interstate? Maybe just a drive through Bulltown to see how things were not expecting to see anyone. The memories of his summer staying at his Uncle Alvin’s and working the horses in the fields under the guidance of his grandfather as well as his promise to Perry to return the next summer to help him learn the horses flooded his mind. When he got his car stuck, there was no place to turn but to his Amish relatives who welcomed him back with open arms.
Seeing his Uncle Noah’s situation and he’s need for help, when asked to help out, Lenny decides to stay and help any way he can. It reminds him how much he loved the feel of the reins in his hands, the satisfaction of doing a good days work, how everyone worked together making work seem like fun and also his feeling for Leah.
While there, Bishop Mose makes it clear that Lenny, an Englischer, is to stay away from the Amish girls and to walk the straight and narrow. Of course, he didn’t bother to tell his granddaughter that which proves for some sticky situations and humor as well. Then there is Russell, the dog, whose antics and devotion you can’t help but fall in love with. Even Aunt Ruth, who never allowed dogs in the house before, seemed to be more accident prone in dropping food on the floor while cooking when Russell was around.
Although he figure out who he was on the last visit, he still hadn’t figured out what he wanted to do with his life. Will the simple Amish lifestyle, working with Tug and Train again as well as breaking in a set of new horses he soon learns are his and the feeling for one Amish girl help him figure that out? Lenny matures in this book from the fresh out of high school boy he was on his last visit or even when he arriving back in Bulltown this time. It was wonderful to travel with him through his journey to knowing what he wanted to do with his life.
CATBIRD SINGING can be read as a standalone, but I’m sure you will enjoy it so much that you will want to read the whole series. Thomas Nye has such a wonderfully descriptive writing talent that as you read it you will feel as if you can picture the scene before you and hear the Pennsylvania Dutch as they speak. You will feel like you are right there beside Lenny almost like you are him at times. If you want an authentic view of the Amish lifestyle you will love this series. Loved the first book in this series, UNDER THE HEAVENS, and I absolutely fell in love with CATBIRD SINGING. I can’t wait to read the third book, ENGLISH RIVER. Highly recommend this author, Thomas Nye, this series, Amish Horses, and this book – CATBIRD SINGING! Definitely FIVE STARS!