Wonderful gut!

As you know, I've been working through the Harry Potter series and I am currently in the middle of the fifth book. However, one of those days I was at my folks last week , while my parents were working, I took my boys to my parent's church's nursery to play a bit since it was SO hot outside. The church library was right outside the nursery, so I browsed over the books and somewhat randomly picked one up and started reading it, thinking it would merely give me something to read for the hour that the boys played. Well, two days later I am finished with the book - I got totally caught up in it. It is by Christian author Beverly Lewis called The Shunning. It's about the Old Order Amish - a truly fascinating group.
Oh my... I stayed up way into the wee hours last night finishing it up because I couldn't put it down - crying the last four chapters. And now I can't get it out of my head. And even though I am not totally surprised by how the book turned out (well, I kinda am, but I don't want to get into that and give anything away), I am completely shocked at my reaction to it. I mean, it was interesting enough to keep me reading whenever I had a free moment... but the book itself was, um, I'm not sure how to describe it. Even keel. Kept plodding along. No highs or lows. Mild. I felt that while it was good, I was more reading it just to see how it ended that the fact that I was loving the book.

But then, come the last four chapters or so, I find that I am completely invested in these characters, sobbing with every page turn. What in the world?! I hadn't found a book that did that to me since I read the Zion Covenant books by Brock and Bodie Thoene. Now those books need to be read - only once... at least for a long time 'cause they are still very much with me. Anyway - it was just one of those books that I got wrapped up in and needed to share. Now I'm off... I have to jump on our library website and see if I can put a hold on the next book in the series.