Back on Blossom Street, by Debbie Macomber, 2007, MIRA (Harlequin)

Back on Blossom Street
Back on Blossom Street

Another heart-warming story about Lydia and the friends she makes in her knitting classes. This time they are knitting prayer shawls. Each person is participating for a different reason and plans to use the shawl for a different purpose.

As they knit together, bonds form between them. Gradually their stories emerge and develop. They support one another in their struggles.

Chapters alternate between three Points of View: Lydia, Alix, and Colette. I met Lydia and Alix in the first book of the series. Although I haven’t read books 2 and 3, I didn’t notice anything missing as I picked up on their lives. This may be partly because of Macomber’s writing style. She ensures each story stands alone by subtly filling in bits of backstory. Colette is going through a complex period in her life, lending some intrigue to the story.

Macomber expertly integrates spiritual life lessons into the raw events of life like they happen, without glossing over actions, thoughts, feelings, and words. This is what I love about her writing. Plus, Blossom Street is in Seattle, not too far south of Western Canada where I live, so I can relate to the west-coast climate and culture she describes. Women of all ages are included among the characters, as well as the men in their lives. Themes are secrets, pregnancy, weddings, accidents, forgiving, bonding, death, and trust, interspersed with joys of life such as tea, seafood, and ocean breezes.

To learn more about Debbie Macomber and her novels, visit www.DebbieMacomber.com.

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The Shop on Blossom Street, by Debbie Macomber, 2004, MIRA

The Shop on Blossom Street
The Shop on Blossom Street

The shop on Blossom Street has opened. Lydia is excited. Her very own little yarn store. Knitting is her favorite hobby, an anchor to her soul through her struggles with cancer.

She starts a knitting class, and three, truly diverse people sign up. Two are from opposite ends of Seattle’s social spectrum–a high society older lady and a young woman on probation who’s barely scraping by. The other is a 30-year-old person who longs for a baby.

As they embark on their first project, a baby blanket, Lydia finds she’s more than a knitting coach–she’s coaching relationship building as well.

Although I’ve never been interested in knitting, I loved this book. I almost want to take up knitting and open a shop. It was wonderful to enter the stories of the characters with their struggles and victories. I look forward to reading more in the series.

This is the first book I’ve read by Debbie Macomber. I’ve heard her books recommended, so when I found a couple of them at a thrift store, I grabbed them. So happy I did.

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