Rating: 
Summary: one of my VERY favorites
Review: Read this book is all I need to say. But, I could add, this is one of the best books in the world, and that's all I would really need to say to describe this book! Chiaverinni couldn't have told a story better than she told this one...every page held me with suspense, and when I reached the last one, my heart sank knowing that this book would be set down for good unless I read it again. Anyways, Sarah McClure is just a few years passed the newly wed stage when she and her husband Matt move to Waterford, Pennsylvania. Well, Sarah is frusterated because she can't find a job, but her husband has gotten one that pieces the story together. Matt has been restoring a mansion called Elm Creek Manor, and Sarah descides to visit the place with him. She finds the old Mrs. Compson, the owner, a crochety and lonely old woman, and descides to help her clean out the many rooms of the mansion so the old woman can sell it. Well, part of the payment goes with the tallented Mrs. Compson teaching Sarah how to quilt. Then, the story unfolds! Sarah and the book reader learn all about Mrs. Compson's tragic past of herself, her family, and of the mysterious Elm Creek Manor. This book was really wonderful, and made my heart glow at how sweet it was. READ!
Rating: 
Summary: --I really wanted to like this story but--
Review: This book was a huge disappointment. It's beautifully packaged with a neat title, attractive cover and interesting story line, but Jennifer Chiaverini did not develop her characters or deliver a believable story. The main, character, Sarah McClure moves to a small Pennsylvania town with her husband, Matt who works as a landscaper. Sarah's not happy about the move, does not get along with her mother, and can't seem to find a job that she wants. She does a lot of whining about her various problems which is a big bore. Matt introduces Sarah to his client, Sylvia Compson, a mature lady who is an accomplished quilter, and has a beautiful old estate, called Elm Street Manor. She employs Sarah to help prepare the house for sale, and agrees to give her quilting lessons as part of her salary. The premise of this story is excellent, but Sarah is so self-centered and boorish that it was impossible for me to care about her, or Mrs. Compson who is also difficult to like. By the time that I did start to feel an interest in the characters, the story was almost over. This book had so much promise, but the author dropped the ball. Perhaps her next book will show her characters to have more depth and not be so childish.
Rating: 
Summary: Quilters will love this
Review: Jennifer Chiaverini has a knack for pulling you into the story and making you lose your sense of the present. Her characters become very real and I found myself actually gasping out loud when a dramatic event occured. I wish the pattern was included with the book for the spotlight quilt. She is an excellent writer and offers an escape everytime you pick up the book.
Rating:
Summary: A wonderfully warm, easy read
Review: Although the character development left a little to be desired, all in all this was a good story. It's very easy to read; not "dumbed down" or written poorly or simply, just smoothly. Everything flows. As a quilter, I enjoyed having all the quilting terms and techniques incorporated into the story. I was impressed at how even the 'quilting' parts of the book still flowed with the story. (A non-quilter friend of mine read the series and fell in love with them, and is now starting to quilt!) I think that even if you don't know people similar to the characters, they are still believable...although as I said before, they should have been developed a bit more. I think the next books in the series accomplish that a bit better. I really recommend this book and the series that follows it. Although the endings are tied up fairly neatly, it is done with grace and style and leaves you feeling happy, content and wanting more, rather than feeling as if you'd wasted your time. (I've read books that are TOO neatly tied up and it made me SICK!) My suggestion: read the whole series, or at least the first 3 books together rather than stopping after the first and judging the rest based on the first.
Rating: 
Summary: A Little Disappointing
Review: While the descriptions of quilt making are fascinating, I found myself questioning the characterization. Personalities tend to adapt their outlooks to make a sweet ending without credibility.
Rating:
Summary: A Cozy, Simple Read
Review: This book gave off a comforting feeling while I read it, maybe like an old pair of comfy slippers. I enjoyed its rhythm and simplicity. The topic inspires creativity, just when I hear the word quilt, I think of pretty colors and a sense of peace. The book talks of a relationship between a young married woman and an elderly lady, who has been bereft of a social life for quite some time. The beginnings of the two start out on a rocky road, but smooth out through time and intimacy. The talks the two women have, take them down memory lane. They start to realize how to spring off this past history and grow into a happier life. The book inspires insight into the patterns of how you live your life, how they can bring pain, but by talking to someone you feel connected to, the pain can dissolve and new patterns can take place. A nice read, not complicated, simple and calming. Drink some herbed tea, while reading and snuggle up with a warm quilt on a breezy night. You can look up Elm Creek Manor online, the author has pictures of the samplers made in the book. It is really neat, to have a visual picture of what you read about. Lisa Nary
Rating:
Summary: The Quilter's Apprentice
Review: I enjoyed every page. It was very hard to put it down and probably why I read it in a couple of days. As a quilter myself,it was enjoyable to read a book that relates to my craft. Cannot wait until I read the next addition.
Rating:
Summary: Learning quilt and so much more!
Review: The Quilter's Apprentice by Jennifer Chiaverini is the first book in the Elm Creek Quilt series. Although I have never quilted and doubt I ever will, I found the suggestion to read this book a good one. In the tradition of Whitney Otto's book, How to Make an American Quilt and Sandra Dallas' book, The Persian Pickle Club, Jennifer Chiaverini combines a love and knowledge and quilting with the story of two memorable characters. Best part about this book is that there are several more in the series which I now look forward to reading. Sarah McClure moves to a small town in Pennsylvania when her husband takes a new job. With no friends and no job, she agonizes over leaving her former life in a college town. While interviewing for jobs, she is offered a job helping an older woman cleaning and sorting through her now decased sisters home. When Sarah remarks about the beautiful quilts in the home, Sylvia Compson, who grew up in this home, offers to teach Sarah how to quilt. What happens as Sarah learns to quilt, makes friends with other quilters in the area and learns the story and history of Elm Creek ensues is a wonderful book in which the reader is captivated by these wonderful characters and the art of quilting. Jennifer Chiaverini has a real gift in explaining quilting to those who know very little as well as presenting a most intriguing story. And as I continue to read this series, I might very well consider trying to become a quilter's apprentice. Only wish I could find somebody like Sylvia Compson to teach me how to quilt.
Rating:
Summary: Cozy and Charming
Review: The first in the "Elm Creek Quilters" series, "The Quilter's Apprentice" is a sweet story about a naive young woman, Sarah, who relocates to a small Pennsylvanian town when her landscape architect husband gets a new job. As Matt works to restore the gardens and grounds at Elm Creek, a dilapidated old mansion, Sarah, struggling to find a job in her field, finds herself instead as paid helper to the mansion's acerbic owner, Mrs. Compson. At first thorny and uncomfortable, the relationship between Mrs. Compson and Sarah slowly unfolds as the two women create a quilt--Sarah's first. The metaphor of the quilt's patches creating a whole, just as Mrs. Compson's snippets of stories create a picture of her life, is nothing new, and perhaps a bit awkwardly handled in this first novel. It is noticeable in dialogue that nobody in real life would speak--and of the coincidences that probably would never occur. Nevertheless, this book is a keeper, and I look forward to the next in the series. I personally love quilts, although I have never quilted. I found the slow creation of the story's (and Sarah's) quilt fascinating, easy to read, and just simply charming. This is not a fast-paced book, and it is not a work of literary genuis. It is simply a sweet, old-fashioned story, and--I am happy to say--it works.
Rating:
Summary: Great Book!
Review: I found it incredibly hard to put this book down once I started it. The quilting in the title and cover is initially what made me choose the book. The focus isn't just the quilting though. Jennifer Chiaverini really makes the characters come to life. I think I saw a little of myself in Sarah and wanted to see how she handled the problems life threw her way. The book isn't a "happy ever after" read but more showing how you handle life's problems affects how you see the world. What's your view of the world look like? I also read the Cross-Country Quilters and then came on-line to find the rest of Jennifer Chiaverini's books.
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