The Shop on Blossom Street

Rating:
Summary: A Good Yarn!!
Review: Debbie Macomber does a superb job of weaving together a tale of women from different age groups and backgrounds. Each of the women shows moments of courage, fear, turmoil, truimph, and love. If you were a fan of Thursday's at Eight, you'll love this book too.
The group starts out knitting a baby blanklet and ends up creating a friendship. I loved the way each of the characters relates to each other in their struggles (health, infertility, broken relationsips, etc.). In both little and large ways, the friendship that is created is stronger and more lasting then any of the blankets knitted.

Rating:
Summary: deep character study
Review: Lydia Hoffman has defeated cancer twice. To celebrate life, Lydia opens A Good Yarn, a knitting supplies store in Seattle. She also teaches a class on knitting. The first lesson is "How to Knit a Baby Blanket".

Jacqueline Donovan reacts poorly to her son's news that she is to be a grandmother for the first time. She does not like her daughter-in-law Tammie Lee. Maybe her bitterness is because she knows her marriage to Reese, a partner in an architectural firm, is dying. She must make amends with her son Paul so she joins A Good Yarn knitting class.

Desperate to become pregnant, Carol Girard joins the class seeking hope that her and her husband Doug's final attempt with in vitro pregnancy succeeds. This is her last chance to have the child she craves.

The court ordered Alix Townsend to do community service as part of her sentencing. She decides that knitting for the Linus Project should satisfy her case worker. However, she needs to first learn to knit so she joins the class too.

This four diverse women bond in friendship and love as they work on the baby blanket. Though their individual dreams may not be answered, a group dream forges as each learns the meaning of life.

THE SHOP ON BLOSSOM STREET is a fabulous deep character study that rotates the narration between the women so that the audience has four subplots that cleverly knit together into a powerful look at the ups and downs of modern day living. Though not all dreams are fulfilled and some change for instance to cooking, fans will enjoy Debbie Macomber's strong tale of four females struggling to overcome different setbacks.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: Full of hope.
Review: Lydia Hoffman wants a fresh start in life, so she opens a knit shop. The shadow of death has loomed over her for too long, even though she is very young. It seems appropriate that the project she advertises as the first for her classes is to knit a baby blanket.

Her students are a mixed lot. Jaquie is about to become a reluctant grandmother. Carol desperately hopes for a baby, though the odds are against it. Alix is there to perform community service, knitting for the Linus project. Despite their glaring differences, the four women not only knit blankets but friendships and knit the bridges in their other relationships.

*** Debbie Macomber, whether her heroines are spirit beings or ordinary women, always writes about angels, messengers of God. Her stories are full of hope, and though not billed as inspirational, per se, they never fail to inspire. This is a sterling example of that rule. ***
Amanda Killgore

Rating:
Summary: She's done it again!
Review: This is a heartwarming book about four very different women who come together in a knitting class. It is classic Debbie Macomber, a compelling story that gives the reader hope for the future as each woman comes to terms with her lot in life, finds the gumption to succeed -- no matter what her aspirations -- and learns to understand and appreciate the people around her. I'd love to see the story go on to the women in the next class. I loved it!

Rating:
Summary: THE SHOP ON BLOSSOM STREET
Review: WOW! Another one from Debbie. You can never go wrong in one of her books. When you are reading it, it makes you feel like you are there. Heart warming. Get this book. When you do get two. Share one. I did.
Thanks again Debbie