This is the third book in the Stoney Ridge Seasons series. Mary Kate Lapp (known as MK to her friends and family), is now 19 years old. The only things of interest to MK in her quiet Amish community is the unexplained death of a sheep farmer, which coincides with the arrival of Chris Yoder, a mysterious young man who seems to be keeping a secret. MK's curiosity leads her take solving the mystery of the crime into her own hands, but as usual, her habit of not thinking before she acts gets her into trouble.As a result of her impulsiveness, she accidentally runs into school teacher Alice Smucker on her scooter. (When her father asks her how that was possible, MK replies, "Well, there's a lot of Alice to run into!") This puts Alice out of commission to teach school, and the school board decides that MK will take her place, and being a school teacher is the last thing MK wants to be. It's sure to a be a recipe for failure, but MK just might surprise everyone, and herself too.I first "met" MK from the first two books of this series, when she was just a young girl. Even though she was a secondary character in those stories, she always had me laughing, and she quickly grew to be my favorite character ever in Amish fiction. I was very happy when she was finally given the spotlight in this book with her own story to tell. This book works as a stand alone story, but I recommend that you read The Keeper, and The Haven first; it gives you a background to all the characters in this book which greatly enriches the enjoyment of this story.This was my favorite book of the series, and it had several plot twists I never saw coming. I also enjoyed the secondary storyline of Chris and his younger sister Jenny. **This is the conclusion to the Stoney Ridge Series**Story Description:Baker Publishing Group|January 1, 2013|Trade Paperback|ISBN: 978-0-8007-1989-0In her wildest dreams, spunky and impulsive nineteen-year-old Mary Kate Lapp never imagined herself behind a school teacher’s desk. A run-in (literally) with the school teacher compels her to act as a substitute teacher, just as her restless desire to see the world compels her to apply for a passport…just in case. The only thing of interest to M.K. in the sleepy Amish community of Stoney Ridge is the unexplained death of a sheep farmer that coincided with the arrival of a mysterious young man into the community. Frustrated that no one takes the crime seriously, she takes matters into her own hands. Unfortunately, as tends to be the case for M.K. she jumps headlong into trouble. Centered on one of Suzanne Woods Fisher’s most loved characters, this is the story fans have eagerly anticipated. The precocious M.K. is all grown up (well, almost) and ready to take on the world – with surprising results. Fisher’s trademark plot twists and turns are as unexpected and satisfying as ever in this third book in the Stoney Ridge Seasons series.My Review:Every time I read one of these novels with M.K. as the star I just shake my head. M.K. or Mary Kate Lapp is now nineteen-years-old but still has the propensity for getting herself into trouble. At every single turn of the page she is into someone else’s business and accusing someone of something only to find that she jumped head first into the fire and should have waited, then spends half an hour saying “What have I done….what have I done now?”After running into the school teacher with her scooter, the teacher needs time off to recuperate and the Board of Education believes that M.K. would be the best person to fill-in as a substitute but M.K. does not want to teach school and is dreading every single moment of it. She was slowly counting down the days until her time was up when she overheard one of the students say something terribly derogatory about her teaching ability that soon changed her tune and she began to take the job more seriously.Then, a young man moves into the community just as a farmer is killed and of course good ‘ol M.K. doesn’t think the Sheriff is doing a good enough job at solving the crime and decides to get involved herself. Next thing you know some innocent person is being dragged off to jail in the back of a police car all thanks to her. Once again, “what has she done!”M.K. makes me laugh out loud. She just can’t seem to mind her own business and is so busy conducting everyone else’s that she doesn’t pay enough attention to her own.My only complaint with this third in the series was the ending. It was totally abrupt. I turned the page expecting to read more and there was nothing. I felt the author left us hanging and should have added at least another chapter at the end to tie up some loose ends but I suppose it’s been left up to our imaginations. I, personally, would have preferred to see the story continue on for a bit. Other than that, this was a crackerjack read and you’ll enjoy it immensely!"Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc. Available at your favourite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group".
What do You think about The Lesson (2013)?
I learned some stuff. Nice to see Amish kids acting like all kids. Really really enjoyed.
—niki
The continuing story of the Lapp family and friends and we all really need God's grace.
—Sejal
Nice to see the conclusion for all 3 sisters
—muhammadaboss
