A Cry in the Dark

Summerhill Secrets #5

by Beverly Lewis

Merry discovers an abandoned newborn. She faces a difficult decision when her plan for her parents to adopt the baby is revealed. Ages 11-14.

Genres: Amish, Fiction, Christian, Christian Fiction, Teen, Contemporary, Middle Grade

144 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1996

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Beverly Lewis, raised in Pennsylvania Amish country and both a schoolteacher and an accomplished musician, has been an award-winning author for over a dozen years. Her acclaimed novel, The Preacher's Daughter, was a 2006 Quill Book Award finalist in the romance category. Her books have appeared on numerous bestseller lists, including USA Today and The New York Times. She and her husband, David, live in Colorado."

Reviews

[Jennifer Robb · Rating 2 out of 5]

Young adults often make foolish decisions. So do authors. When Merry finds an abandoned baby she tries to hide it from her parents until she can convince them that adopting a baby sister would be a good thing.

I was sad to see that an author would allow her main character to continue this behavior for almost a day, as I don't believe it's a good example for real-life.

[Leah · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't like this story. It is about a little girl being left behind and who will take care of her. Also, something sad happens to a character. It was a surprise, though. Maybe it shouldn't have been. Faith is still a big part of the story.

[Gaby Hernandez · Rating 1 out of 5]

Yeah this one is a definite no for me. That's all.

[Virginia Shea · Rating 4 out of 5]

A tender, faith-filled story about grief, healing, and difficult choices. I loved how Lewis portrayed Merry’s strength in faith!

When an abandoned baby appeared at Merry Hanson’s doorstep, the novel gently explored love, responsibility, and trusting God’s guidance, while her emotional and romantic indecision added realistic tension to an otherwise heartfelt, comforting read! 💌

[Arjaye-Rose Brewer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such a great read and it was nice to learn more about their neighbour who is seemingly quite nosy and misses nothing that goes on. The baby sure ends up being a blessing to not just one family but to many families.

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great ending to this story! I really enjoyed getting to know the old neighbor lady more.

[Donna Bagby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Audio
A cry in the dark
Overall: 5 out of 5 stars Performance: 5 out of 5 stars Story: 5 out of 5 stars
Reviewed: 07-01-23

I enjoyed listening to the further adventures of 15-year-old Merry.
Merry has found an abandoned infant (in answer to her prayers?). As she cares for her, the people wanting to open their homes and hearts grow. Merry has to make a selfless decision as to what / who is best for the child.

own

[Karina (Karina's Christian Reads) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Number of pages: 102

Genre: Amish fiction

Series: Summerhill Secrets #5 (Should be read in order)

Age recommendation: 13/14+

Summary: When someone leaves a baby on the steps of Merry’s home, she thinks that it is God’s way of helping her heal from the loss of her sister. The only problem: convincing her parents that adopting baby Charity is the right thing to do…

My thoughts: I just want to start off by saying that it’s actually been quite a long time since I read this book and I’m only reviewing it now, so it’s more my impressions from what I remember. (It’ll probably be a short review).
I love orphan stories in general, so I really liked that Merry got to deal with an abandoned baby. I don’t think she always made the right/most intelligent decisions, because she really wanted the baby for herself, but she really cared about Charity. I don’t know how she was able to keep the whole situation a secret for as long as she did.
I must say that Merry’s indecision romance-wise drives me crazy. At this point, I still wasn’t sure who she should like, but her wishy-washiness between Jon and Levi is really annoying. Overall, I remember really liking it.

My personal rating: 4/5 stars.

Link to blog: https://karinaschristianreads.wordpre...

[Jerry (Rebel With a Massive Media Library) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series has been hit-and-miss so far. All of the first five books have been at least decent, but this last one is a step up compared to the previous two or three. I'm curious to see how the story goes from here.

EDIT: Here is my review of the entire series:

http://rwlreviews.blogspot.com/2014/0...

[Brenda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I pretty much read this in one sitting, it was that good. This one really lead Merry to grow in her knowledge of love, by quoting probably the most popular verse in the Bible, "Love is patient, love is kind..." and then her realization that her love for certain people wasn't as pure as she believed it was, wow, what a way to get a point across.

[Krystal · Rating 5 out of 5]

The end of this book makes me want to read more in the series looking forward to the next books :)

[Liz · Rating 5 out of 5]

good

[Megan Rang · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has a good lesson about living something enlighten to know you need to let it go.