"uplifting inspirational yarn"
When Lydia Hoffman was a teen she conquered breast cancer
but though chemo helped, it was the woman in the next
treatment chair who gave her the needed edge; she learned
to knit. Eventually, she opened up a shop A GOOD YARN
about a year ago that has done well and has met a man Brad
Goetz she likes, but his former wife is back in town. One of Lydia's students, retired librarian Elise Beaumont
lives with her daughter Aurora as her ex husband gambler
Marvin the "Maverick" lost everything they possessed. The
two women battle over whether Aurora should allow her
father into her life. Another pupil Bethanne Hamlin faces a midlife crisis since
her spouse left her and their teens for another woman.
Her confidence is shattered. Finally overweight teen Courtney Pulanski is depressed
that her grandmother intercedes in her life by dragging
her to senior citizen events like knitting. She wants
nothing to do with the old losers in the class. The sequel to THE SHOP ON BLOSSOM STREET is A GOOD YARN
that contemporary women's fiction readers will
appreciate. The characters are fully developed so that
the audience feels their pain and fear as they go through
the phases of a group until they "perform" by helping each
other gain self esteem by the high regard they begin to
display to one another. Though the viewpoint between the
four prime characters can be difficult to follow, readers
will observe their differences and commonality as Debbie
Macomber returns to Seattle with an uplifting
inspirational yarn. Harriet Klausner
Reviewed by Harriet Klausner
Posted June 29, 2005
SummaryMacomber revisits the cozy Seattle yarn store of 2004's The
Shop on Blossom Street in another heartfelt tale of crafts
and camaraderie. After a slow beginning, this sequel clips
along satisfyingly, as shop owner Lydia, a cancer survivor,
and her no-nonsense sister, Margaret, meet three new and
conveniently quite different friends and bond over the
complications of life. Overweight, depressed teenager
Courtney Pulanski has found herself plopped into a new town
for her senior year, living with her grandma while her dad
works in Brazil. Bethanne Hamlin, a recent divorcée, and
Elise Beaumont, who's been single for years, are both still
suffering from their broken marriages. Serving as sounding
boards and sources of endless support for each other, the
women find friendship and, of course, resolution for their
problems (the latter a little too easily). Readers will miss
The Shop on Blossom Street's spirited Jacqueline, who plays
a minor role here, and a few things—like the character of
Elise's ex-husband, Maverick—strain credibility. But the
author's trademark warm treatment of the lives of women will
satisfy her readers. Despite occasional draughts of treacle
and a too-easy denouement, this should be another Macomber
bestseller.
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