Synopses & Reviews
As a rash of suspicious barn fires target his Amish community, a young boy wrestles with a frightening secret in this simply told, deeply affecting novel from the author of A STONE IN MY HAND and THE CALLING.On the Amish farm where he lives and works with his family, ten-year-old Simeon Zook hears and feels things other people miss things like the quiet sounds of birds and animals or even the subtle sense that something is not quite right. It is just that kind of unease that draws him out to the barn one night, the night his passionate concern for the family's animals collides with the glare of a stranger's flashlight, a sudden crackling blaze, and two harsh, threatening voices that scare him into silence, well after the barn has burned to the ground. Surely Simeon's family will be safer if he tells no one what he saw and heard? But then another fire breaks out in the neighbor's barn, where the Zooks' horses and cows are temporarily housed. . . .
With compassion and insight into a child's inner struggles and the nuances of Amish traditions, Cathryn Clinton tells a powerful coming-of-age story of family, loyalty, and faith in the face of fear and prejudice and the enduring strength of one boy's dreams.
About the Author
Cathryn Clinton is the author of the critically acclaimed and award-winning A STONE IN MY HAND, as well as THE CALLING, her first novel, which was named a Publisher's Weekly "Flying Start." Of SIMEON'S FIRE, she says, "Has fear kept you from figuring out the right thing to do, much less doing it? I've struggled with this, and like Simeon, I've found, to my surprise, that new truths can come through familiar voices. If we can still ourselves to listen to our hearts and our communities, we will find the way to love."