Saturday, April 12, 2014

World War II story -- Maybelle in Stitches

Maybelle in Stitches is a quick, historical read in the Quilts of Love series.  It is set during World War II and shares some really interesting details about life during that time that were new to me -- such as the abundance of women working in the ship yards and the practice of renting rooms to help workers stay closer to their jobs and the homeowner earn some much-needed cash.  The theme of the crazy quilt and the memories attached to it was an interesting highlight of the story.

It was hard, though, for me to get through this book because it moved pretty slowly and didn't have much flow to it.  The characters fell sort of flat, and much of their actions and dialogue was pretty repetitious.  So I would call it an okay book, but definitely not near the top of my list.

Thanks to Litfuse Publicity Group for providing a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Read what others think about Maybelle in Stitches here.

About the book (from publisher): 
 
Maybelle Kazinzki can't sew. She was after all, the only girl in the seventh grade Home Economics class to sew the zipper in the neck hole of the A-Line dress they were supposed to make. But when she finds an unfinished quilt in the attic of her mother's house she gets the crazy idea to finish it---somehow, come heck or high water. She thinks it will help fill the lonely nights while her husband, Holden, is serving overseas during World War II.

Her recently departed mother's quilt is made from scraps of material Maybelle traces back to her mother's childhood, her grandmother's childhood and her own childhood. She tries to add one of Holden's stripes to it but the sewing is not going well and neither is her life. After receiving some harsh news, Maybelle's faith falters and she puts the quilt away and stops trusting God. But God is faithful---no matter what. And it'll take a group of neighborhood women armed with quilting needles to help Maybelle believe that.

Learn more about this book and the series at the Quilts of Love website.

About the Author: 
 Joyce Magnin is the author of the Bright's Pond novels, including the award-winning The Prayers of Agnes Sparrow. A member of the Greater Philadelphia Christian Writers Fellowship, Joyce is a frequent workshop leader and the organizer of the StoryCrafters fiction group. She lives near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Learn more about Joyce at: http://joycemagnin.blogspot.com

2 comments:

  1. I just got through writing down all the titles to this Quilt series and do plan to read through them. Never heard of this series and most of the authors but enjoy meeting new Christian authors so I thank you for your review.

    Denise Glisson

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  2. Glad to be of help. I've read 3 or 4 in the series, I think. And I have A Promise in Pieces in my TBR pile.

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