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katkinney's review against another edition
5.0
This is the sort of book you just want to get lost in forever. I love Debby Dodds' characters because they're delightfully imperfect, and yet so lovable and easy to relate to. You feel Sam's insecurities and slowly fall in love with Zack right along with her. You can't help but sympathize with the trouble she has in her relationships with her mom and Madison. And that's the other area Dodds really shines. This book isn't just about the English versus the Amish or a girl falling for a guy who's really different from her, but about relationships. Buding romantic ones like the one she has with Zack, which is just so sweet you can't read enough of it, friendships that have their highs and lows, and family relationships, where it seems every single character struggles. Absolutely loved this book and look forward to more from Dodds.
Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book.
Please forgive typos. Entered via screen reader.
Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book.
Please forgive typos. Entered via screen reader.
mororke's review against another edition
4.0
I really want to make sure that I don’t spoil any parts of the book, so I’ll do my best to be a bit vague.
The book is about Sam, who has been in trouble in the past, but with a new city is trying to turn over a new leaf. While trying to get into the “in crowd” she learns a lot about herself, her friends, and the other cultures around her.
Sam, as a character is a great one. While some of her actions lead to issues, she works hard to not only understand her different relationships better, but also tries to be a better person and help those around her become better versions of themselves as well.
The story is well written with a few plot twists I wasn’t expecting. The only reason I didn’t give it five moose tracks is from a couple of plot jumps and fall backs. In one part, she’s having lunch and it states she has her food and is picking out the tomatoes. In the next chapter, same lunch, it says she’s gets back to the table as the food is being delivered.
Overall, I highly recommend Amish Guys Don’t Call. It’s a fast read, and a cute story that hits on some major themes for teenagers. From trying to fit in, to fighting to stand out, I feel like most readers will identify with the elements of the story, pulling them further into the book.
Like my reviews? Read all of them at the-pink-moose.com
The book is about Sam, who has been in trouble in the past, but with a new city is trying to turn over a new leaf. While trying to get into the “in crowd” she learns a lot about herself, her friends, and the other cultures around her.
Sam, as a character is a great one. While some of her actions lead to issues, she works hard to not only understand her different relationships better, but also tries to be a better person and help those around her become better versions of themselves as well.
The story is well written with a few plot twists I wasn’t expecting. The only reason I didn’t give it five moose tracks is from a couple of plot jumps and fall backs. In one part, she’s having lunch and it states she has her food and is picking out the tomatoes. In the next chapter, same lunch, it says she’s gets back to the table as the food is being delivered.
Overall, I highly recommend Amish Guys Don’t Call. It’s a fast read, and a cute story that hits on some major themes for teenagers. From trying to fit in, to fighting to stand out, I feel like most readers will identify with the elements of the story, pulling them further into the book.
Like my reviews? Read all of them at the-pink-moose.com
emitchellwrites's review against another edition
5.0
This was delightful! My husband and I planned to read it aloud to each other. Well, he took too long. So what did I do? I snatched the book from his side table and read it myself.
I couldn't put it down, and I couldn't turn the page fast enough! Debby Dodds has a way with words that kept me enchanted with her relatable characters from the get. I understood Sam because I once was Sam. I'd had those feelings and thoughts, but damn, I wish I'd been that clever about it. Between her love of all thing horror and her awkwardness, Sam keeps you on the edge of your seat, always wondering what she'd say (or not dare to) next. Zach is a doll. He's so swoonworthy. If I was a decade and some change younger, I tell you.
And who knew I could learn so much from a YA RomCom? But I did! I loved every moment of this laugh-out-loud debut novel. I cannot wait to see what Ms. Dodds comes out with next.
I couldn't put it down, and I couldn't turn the page fast enough! Debby Dodds has a way with words that kept me enchanted with her relatable characters from the get. I understood Sam because I once was Sam. I'd had those feelings and thoughts, but damn, I wish I'd been that clever about it. Between her love of all thing horror and her awkwardness, Sam keeps you on the edge of your seat, always wondering what she'd say (or not dare to) next. Zach is a doll. He's so swoonworthy. If I was a decade and some change younger, I tell you.
And who knew I could learn so much from a YA RomCom? But I did! I loved every moment of this laugh-out-loud debut novel. I cannot wait to see what Ms. Dodds comes out with next.
umbrellaladyreads's review against another edition
4.0
Really enjoyed this book! I'm not usually a huge fan of YA but requested this on Netgalley because it seemed a bit different and intriguing. Amish Guys Don't Call gives an interesting insight into Amish culture, which I've always had an interest in, so I was hooked on this right from the start. It also covers topics such as cyber-bullying and teenage life among very different cultures. It's a great novel and different from the usual teen romances that I read a lot of in the past.
ayargeau's review against another edition
3.0
Here is a confession for you on this fine Wednesday... I used to be obsessed with the Amish and their culture. I think it began when I read Plain Truth by Jodi Picoult. I read a ton of stuff including fiction and non-fiction. When this popped up on my Netgalley account, I thought I would give it a shot, even if it was supposed to be a teen story. Turns out, it was just alright. The story was cute, but it wasn't very thought out. Some of the characters were sort of simple. Very average.
*This book was provided free for review by the NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
*This book was provided free for review by the NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
andreinaisabel's review against another edition
3.0
Esto es una pequeña historia de la que no esperaba mucho, pero terminé disfrutándola. La verdad lo que me llamaba la atención no era la relación amorosa que sabía que el libro tendría, yo sólo quería aprender un poco sobre la gente Amish, y eso lo logré.
La protagonista se me hizo un poco insoportable, pero creo que no es su culpa, tiene 16. La storyline que tenía que ver con sus amigas se me hacía medio tediosa, pero creo que es porque ya pasé el punto de mi vida donde quiero desesperadamente ser aceptada por la gente popular, así que esa parte era muy aburrida para mí.
A veces me parecía que la autora se esforzó mucho por incluir todo tipo de problemáticas en una sola historia y a veces eso no salía taaaan bien porque parecía demasiado que manejar en libro de tamaño promedio. De todas formas, al final salió mejor de lo que esperaba.
La protagonista se me hizo un poco insoportable, pero creo que no es su culpa, tiene 16. La storyline que tenía que ver con sus amigas se me hacía medio tediosa, pero creo que es porque ya pasé el punto de mi vida donde quiero desesperadamente ser aceptada por la gente popular, así que esa parte era muy aburrida para mí.
A veces me parecía que la autora se esforzó mucho por incluir todo tipo de problemáticas en una sola historia
Spoiler
(religión, delincuencia, divorcio, amistad, etctheoceanrose's review against another edition
4.0
So cute. The setting of the book is actually somewhere that I've spent a LOT of time on family vacations, so I connected a lot, making it special for me. It did pull at my emotions a bit too. Great book.
enidsorko's review against another edition
4.0
This was a fun YA to read, but it also covered lots of deep topics. I really liked the main characters, and especially loved the nerdy references to things like Buffy and horror movies. Even though the reader is able to figure out that Zach was raised Amish early on, it takes Sam a bit to figure it out- but it is believable that it would take her this long to piece together the clues. All of the characters are flawed in their own ways, which makes them seem like people you really would have known in real life during high school. My 12 year old daughter is eager to read this, and now that I have read it, I am comfortable letting her go ahead and read it- I think it will give us lots to talk about- cyberbullying, the importance of being true to yourself, the drive to fit in with the cool kids, how you can be friends with people very different from you, how people can change, how everyone has problems, etc.
samwlabb's review
3.0
Following her parents divorce and a scape with the law, Samantha and her mother relocate from Philadelphia to Lancaster AKA Dutch Country. While she is attempting to navigate a complicated social structure, she meets Zach, who may be “the guy” she needs to accomplish Plan P — the search for her first boyfriend. While everything else in her world appears to be unravelling, Samantha also begins to worry that Zach may return to his Amish life. Will yet another person leave her behind?
When I saw this title, I was very intrigued. As a kid, I visited Dutch Country often, have quite a love for shoofly pie, and been interested in the ways of the Amish. This was an interesting portrayal, because Dodd opted to show all sides of the Amish. She shared the good things and the bad things. I thought she did a good job weaving these info bites throughout the story.
In fact, Dodd tries to show multiple perspectives on many of the issues in the book. I appreciate that approach, because it gives me something to consider and think about by presenting multiple angles. I really enjoyed Dodd’s afterword, where explained some of the choices she made in the book, as well as her inspiration. It confirmed things I thought, and also cleared up other things.
I really liked both Samantha and Zach. I found that they complemented each other quite well, and shared a lot of common issues. I honestly felt Zach brought a little more to the table, as his different experiences often helped Samantha see things with in a different light. It was pretty great how he could share parts of his culture with her in order to help give her clarity.
The romance between those two was very sweet and endearing. I loved seeing it slowly unfold, and the more time they spent together, the more each of them healed from their pasts.
I love a good redemption arc, and Dodd allowed so many characters to redeem themselves. There were a lot of character behaving badly in this book. Sam’s father left without a trace, while her mother was playing some kind of part-time role. Her friend was divulging her secrets and allowing them to be used against her, while another so-called friend was cyberbullying Sam. Sam also had her moments of bad behavior, but then someone stepped in, and set the redemption ball in motion. So, although there is the poor parenting and mean girls stuff, these characters all grew and changed for the better over the course of this book, and I am always glad to see that.
I found this to be a sweet and charming story of first love, friendship, and family.
**Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the review copy.
BLOG|INSTAGRAM|BLOGLOVIN| FRIEND ME ON GOODREADS
When I saw this title, I was very intrigued. As a kid, I visited Dutch Country often, have quite a love for shoofly pie, and been interested in the ways of the Amish. This was an interesting portrayal, because Dodd opted to show all sides of the Amish. She shared the good things and the bad things. I thought she did a good job weaving these info bites throughout the story.
In fact, Dodd tries to show multiple perspectives on many of the issues in the book. I appreciate that approach, because it gives me something to consider and think about by presenting multiple angles. I really enjoyed Dodd’s afterword, where explained some of the choices she made in the book, as well as her inspiration. It confirmed things I thought, and also cleared up other things.
I really liked both Samantha and Zach. I found that they complemented each other quite well, and shared a lot of common issues. I honestly felt Zach brought a little more to the table, as his different experiences often helped Samantha see things with in a different light. It was pretty great how he could share parts of his culture with her in order to help give her clarity.
The romance between those two was very sweet and endearing. I loved seeing it slowly unfold, and the more time they spent together, the more each of them healed from their pasts.
I love a good redemption arc, and Dodd allowed so many characters to redeem themselves. There were a lot of character behaving badly in this book. Sam’s father left without a trace, while her mother was playing some kind of part-time role. Her friend was divulging her secrets and allowing them to be used against her, while another so-called friend was cyberbullying Sam. Sam also had her moments of bad behavior, but then someone stepped in, and set the redemption ball in motion. So, although there is the poor parenting and mean girls stuff, these characters all grew and changed for the better over the course of this book, and I am always glad to see that.
I found this to be a sweet and charming story of first love, friendship, and family.
**Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the review copy.
BLOG|INSTAGRAM|BLOGLOVIN| FRIEND ME ON GOODREADS
dilema's review
2.0
I was pretty excited to read this book and to understand more about how Amish people might engage in an act like dating, but I was disappointed with the execution and I found the style of this book to feel quite stilted.
Sam was so judgemental. I couldn’t get over it. She talked about how she wasn't judging her friend Madison all the while judging every single other person. She misportrayed weed completely--weed doesn't actually screw you up completely and while sure, maybe the author didn’t want to encourage it use, but I think there could have been much more research done to aptly portray its effects.
Her relationship with Zach seems so juvenile. I read a lot of YA and I love hearing about the experience of falling in love with the first time. However, liking someone because they're the first person to ask you out is dumb, and yes, Sam says that at some point.
I felt like this book could be aptly renamed "High School Girls Don't Call" because I experienced more about high school drama than I did the Amish community. I enjoyed the few tidbits I did get of what it's like to be Amish, but overall I felt like I didn't get a true sense of it or an understanding, and instead just read about things I could have googled. The drama was really quite superficial and I was expecting more.
While the end did have a strong message, it came across as quite preachy and was hard to buy. I ended up rolling my eyes and skimming. I think this had a great concept but was executed rather poorly and I'd like to see another book about an Amish romance. However, this was not the one I hoped for.
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Sam was so judgemental. I couldn’t get over it. She talked about how she wasn't judging her friend Madison all the while judging every single other person. She misportrayed weed completely--weed doesn't actually screw you up completely and while sure, maybe the author didn’t want to encourage it use, but I think there could have been much more research done to aptly portray its effects.
Her relationship with Zach seems so juvenile. I read a lot of YA and I love hearing about the experience of falling in love with the first time. However, liking someone because they're the first person to ask you out is dumb, and yes, Sam says that at some point.
I felt like this book could be aptly renamed "High School Girls Don't Call" because I experienced more about high school drama than I did the Amish community. I enjoyed the few tidbits I did get of what it's like to be Amish, but overall I felt like I didn't get a true sense of it or an understanding, and instead just read about things I could have googled. The drama was really quite superficial and I was expecting more.
While the end did have a strong message, it came across as quite preachy and was hard to buy. I ended up rolling my eyes and skimming. I think this had a great concept but was executed rather poorly and I'd like to see another book about an Amish romance. However, this was not the one I hoped for.
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.