Review: A Simple Song

Title:  A Simple Song
Author: Melody Carlson

Publisher: Revell Books
Publication Date:  June 2013

Reviewer: Carissa  

Summary: Katrina Yoder loves to sing, but her Amish parents view singing as vainglory and a sin. Katrina’s best friend, Bekka, is convinced Katrina should try out for American Star, a televised singing competition that Bekka has been secretly watching. Katrina resists the temptation until her father’s health worsens. He desperately needs a surgery the family cannot afford. Katrina decides she must go against her parents’ wishes to win the money needed to help her father. But how will she handle herself as an Amish teenager out in the world?
Teen girls will be swept into the excitement as Katrina ventures out of her quiet Amish world to become a reality television star. Will she be successful? And will she be accepted back into her community when it’s over?

Review: Katrina Yoder has a beautiful singing voice, but her Amish beliefs discourage singing. Singing is believed to be prideful, so Katrina doesn’t sing often. Her father’s bad back prevents him from working, but the procedure to fix it is expensive. When her friend Bekka urges Katrina to try out for the hit show, American Star, Katrina is hesitant to go against her beliefs and enter the world of the English. But when Katrina hears about the prize money, more than enough for the surgery, she goes for it! Katrina convinces her parents that this is her ‘rumspringa’ the time when Amish kids experience the English.

            Katrina wins a full-expenses-paid trip to Hollywood to compete on American Star!!

            I really enjoyed reading A Simple Song by Melody Carlson. The plot is original, and I loved how the book acted like a window into the Amish world. I also loved the twist about Katrina’s deceased grandmother!

            All Ages, 9/10 stars!

-Carissa