ISBN: 9780063080799
Publisher's Synopsis:
Summer Sullivan, the youngest founding member of Elm Creek Quilts, has spent the last two years pursuing a master’s degree in history at the University of Chicago. Her unexpected return home to the celebrated quilter’s retreat is met with delight but also concern from her mother, Gwen; her best friend, Sarah; master quilter Sylvia; and her other colleagues—and rightly so. Stymied by writer’s block, Summer hasn’t finished her thesis, and she can’t graduate until she does.Elm Creek Manor offers respite while Summer struggles to meet her extended deadline. She finds welcome distraction in organizing an exhibit of antique quilts as a fundraiser to renovate Union Hall, the 1863 Greek Revival headquarters of the Waterford Historical Society. But Summer’s research uncovers startling facts about Waterford’s past, prompting unsettling questions about racism, economic injustice, and political corruption within their community, past and present.
As Summer’s work progresses, quilt lovers and history buffs praise the growing collection, but affronted local leaders demand that she removes all references to Waterford’s troubled history. As controversy threatens the exhibit’s success, Summer fears that her pursuit of the truth might cost the Waterford Historical Society their last chance to save Union Hall. Her only hope is to rally the quilting community to her cause.
The Museum of Lost Quilts is a warm and deeply moving story about the power of collective memory. With every fascinating quilt she studies, Summer finds her passion for history renewed—and discovers a promising new future for herself.
MrsK's Review: Historical Fiction Series
Summer is returning to her Pennsylvania hometown and her treasured Elm Creek Manor. She is sure that the ladies at Elm Quilt Manor will help her move beyond her self-doubts. The realization that her doctorate program was creating doubts, struggles, writer's block, and stress beyond what she could deal with... so why not spend some time with her mother, the quilting ladies, and the summer quilting groups. Hopefully, she will get her doctorate paper finished before its due date. A small, yet desperate inkling of hope was bubbling forth once the taxi entered the turn off. Will she find what she is needing at Elm Creek manor?
The Waterford Historical Society has been working hard to restore the Union Hall in spite of Gregory Krolich's. Summer learns that the Loyal Union Sampler could help the society get Union Hall on the National Register of Historic Places. Upstairs the society has proposed opening a gallery to the public as a quilt exhibit that showcases "intriguing ties to local history." This could be the revenue source that would let the society keep Union Hall. What is needed is a curator... and Summer is more than qualified. Will she be able to locate, verify, arrange and write the history cards for the historical quilts and finish her doctorate work?
With the trusted "storyteller" craft that Jennifer is known for, this book has beautiful details about the art of quilting. Jennifer's historical details consistently add a unique and endearing depth to her stories. With an excitement for a new Elm Creek book, I eagerly began the summer in my newly designed garden room... snuggled in with an iced green/peach tea and began my summer journey back to Elm Creek. What I quickly discovered was the bonus pages in which Summer writes the historic object placards for each quilt. Those historical additions were fascinating and inspiring. Thank you, Jennifer, for never disappointing your readers! *Jennifer took a break from Elm Creek and began writing Historical Fiction about the everyday lives of extraordinary women throughout the centuries... be sure to read those books in which history of women who have walked before us can still reach across the ages to inspire and ignite an inner strength that is truly dignified with graciousness.
Read on....
MrsK
Meet the Author:
Jennifer Chiaverini is the New York Times bestselling author of thirty-three novels, including acclaimed historical fiction and the beloved Elm Creek Quilts series. She has also written seven quilt pattern books inspired by her novels. A graduate of the University of Notre Dame and the University of Chicago, she lives with her husband and two sons in Madison, Wisconsin. About her historical fiction, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writes, "In addition to simply being fascinating stories, these novels go a long way in capturing the texture of life for women, rich and poor, black and white, in those perilous years."
ISBN:9781250144232
Publisher's Synopsis:
Amy Lennox doesn't know quite what to expect when she and her mother pick up and leave Germany for Scotland, heading to her mother's childhood home of Lennox House on the island of Stormsay.Amy's grandmother, Lady Mairead, insists that Amy must read while she resides at Lennox House—but not in the usual way. It turns out that Amy is a book jumper, able to leap into a story and interact with the world inside. As thrilling as Amy's new power is, it also brings danger: someone is stealing from the books she visits, and that person may be after her life. Teaming up with fellow book jumper Will, Amy vows to get to the bottom of the thefts—at whatever cost.
"The monster had slept for many, many years...
... now the time had come for the monster to open its eyes once more."
MrsK's Review: Fantasy YA
Amy Lennox and her mother, Alexis, quickly gathered some items as they headed back to her mother's homeland of Scotland. Amy knew little about her mother's life other than she had left home when she was pregnant and seventeen. This sudden departure meant that she would have to decide to leave her books, only her beloved Momo and Pride and Prejudice would accompany her on this journey.
Alexis has experienced a jarring break-up. All she knew was that it was time to return to Stormsay. As soon as they were at the gate of Stormsay, Alexis knew the next steps were bringing her back to a life she did not want to return to... yet here she was.
For Amy standing in the hallway of her grandmother's mansion was surreal. Leaving the small flat that she called home, her fake-friends, and a completely humiliating school year had left a hole inside. So being on this journey to her mother's home, which she now realized was on a small Scottish island and was her grandmother's mansion... a grandmother she didn't even know was alive, Amy pondered why her mother had kept all of this hidden from her.
Lady Mairead is Amy's grandmother. She is proud of the family name, mansion, and the "very special library" on Stormsay. Some of the texts are unique, some were rescued from the Library of Alexandria, and most are considered the greatest classics ever written. Alexis only said one thing to her mother... "That you give her a completely harmless children's book... where absolutely nothing can happen to her." What does that mean?
Deep, deep underground... Amy steps into an enormous bibliophile's cavern of dark wood, scrolls, leather books, and the smell of old paper. Here was a place full of "whispered words... the lure of stories waiting to be read.... and the rustle of promise that hung in the air."
Glen is the teacher of the Lennox and Macalister families. Amy would be given lessons? Right away she is led to a bookcase in "a far corner." It would be a red leather book that cries out to Amy, "Read me!"
There are two other learners in the library, William and Betsy Macalister. Will they be friends or foes?
Betsy Macalister is quite stuck up. Does not like anything about Amy. Giving her a chance is not an option for her. She would do anything to cause Amy grief... anything? To what length will she let her prejudgments sabotage Amy's time on the island?
Will Macalister isn't as despondent to Amy as his sister. He's not sure if she is a foe or just a girl that has arrived at the worst time. Amy just might the one who can help Will locate his missing friend. If he watches her, maybe... maybe she might be the one in whom many mysteries could be solved. Can he trust her? After all, being a book jumper is not for the faint of heart!
With all fantasies it must contain a well-woven story thread. Perfected word choice must be enticing. Characters must come to life. This story will surpass any reader's expectations. Yet, I warn you... you will want a sequel! I must add that I echo Amy's first response as she enters the Secret Library... I too would ponder "how many adventures were hidden in paper and in ink... how many great love stories.... how many epic battles!"
"Do you vow that whenever you read you will strive to protect stories...
and to do nothing that might destroy or alter them?"
Meet the Author:
Mechthild Gläser was born in Essen in the summer of 1986. She lives and works in Ruhrgebiet, where she is dedicated to her studies and now and then dances ballet badly – but only when nobody is watching. She started writing at an early age, and her laptop is still on the rose-coloured desk pad on which she wrote her first stories. She finds inspiration everywhere, but best with a cup of peppermint tea.
ISBN:9781982198435
Publisher's Synopsis:
At thirty-six, Hope McKenna-Smith is no stranger to bad news. She lost her mother to cancer, her husband left her, and her bank account is nearly depleted. Her own dreams of becoming a lawyer long gone, she’s running a failing family bakery on Cape Cod and raising a troubled preteen.Now, Hope’s beloved French-born grandmother Mamie is drifting away in a haze of Alzheimer’s. But in a rare moment of clarity, Mamie realizes that unless she tells Hope about the past, the secrets she has held on to for so many years will soon be lost forever. Tantalizingly, she reveals mysterious snippets of a tragic history in WWII Paris. Armed with a scrawled list of names, Hope heads to France to uncover a seventy-year-old mystery.
What follows is “an immersive and evocative tale of generations struggling to survive” (Publishers Weekly) as Hope pieces together her grandmother’s past bit by bit. Uncovering horrific tales of the Holocaust, she realizes the astonishing will of her grandmother to endure in a world gone mad. And to reunite two lovers torn apart by terror, all she’ll need is a dash of courage, and the belief that God exists everywhere, even in cake.
"Life changes you, even if you don't realize it while it's happening."
MrsK's Review: Historical Fiction
For Hope, September has arrived in Cape Cod. She has inherited her family's North Star Bakery which became her home after three life-changing events. Baking comes naturally for Hope, it also provides the much-needed peace while she adjusts to all of her life changes. Her daughter Annie, well she continues to make doubtful choices since the divorce.
Matt is the regional vice-president of the local bank. He is also Hope's ex-high school boyfriend. For Hope he is a "comfortable" grounding force. Yet, Matt continues to hope that one day they might become more than friends.
Gavin is a handyman. Someone who can help in your time of need... when Hope is need of someone to fix a water disaster... she meets Gavin. Is seems as if he is always at hand whenever Hope is dealing with some type of emergency. Can a handyman be a "fixer" of needs that aren't just items?
Annie is Hope's daughter. Divorce has totally unraveled her life. As a seventh grader, life is hard enough without a divorce rocking your foundation. Will there be any way for Annie to find what she needs, considering her "icy veneer" has quaked a wide gap between her and her mom.
Mamie is Hope's grandmother. The baker who taught her everything. Dementia took a turn for the worse after her daughter died and now, she lives in a care facility. Annie has started seeing her without telling her mother, yet when Mamie keeps calling her Leona, Annie had to ask her mom who Leona was? Rose is one name that Mamie remembers, of course her daughter's name remains clearly etched within her mind, Josephine the one she failed. Alzheimer's "grabs the memories" which once were a lifeline to all you knew. Rose knows that it is time, time to speak truth.
"I must know what happened to my family."
When one of those "clarity" days, a very special day so long ago, Rose wrote down seven names. Today would be the day that she would ask Hope to go to Paris and find out the truth about what happened to her family. Would Hope forgive her once she learns the truth of her life before America?
Life isn't always as it seems. Children never have a complete understanding about their parents. Every one of us is uniquely individualized with our own versions of childhood. Yet oftentimes there's a painful back story... a moment of complete joy... waves that echo through time... shadows of days gone by. There is always another thread to our stories of life... and within those threads there are always uncompleted dreams of what we could have been. This book can soothe and heal that which you've been waiting for... a treasure of a woman's life that no one could have known.
Excellent storytelling about life worth living and hoping for that which is blessed,
MrsK
Meet the Author:
Kristin Harmel is the New York Times bestselling and #1 international bestselling author of THE BOOK OF LOST NAMES, THE WINEMAKER'S WIFE, and a dozen other novels that have been translated into numerous languages and sold all over the world. Kristin was born just outside Boston, Massachusetts and spent her childhood there, as well as in Columbus, Ohio, and St. Petersburg, Florida. After graduating with a degree in journalism (with a minor in Spanish) from the University of Florida, she spent time living in Paris and Los Angeles and now lives in Orlando, with her husband and young son. She travels frequently to France for book research (and—let’s be honest—for the pastries and wine) and writes a book a year for Gallery Books/Simon & Schuster.
Brave Books
Freedom Island
Publisher's Synopsis:
Our mission is to be the brand parents trust with their children's imaginations by creating a world, characters, and stories that not only enthrall them but build their character while doing so.MrsK's Review: Family Read-Alouds (all ages)
These books are well crafted, beautiful-engaging illustrations, exceptional story lines, as well as educating/reinforcing character strengths, values, weaknesses, and truths. These titles are a must for families who have story time as a treasured priority. Any Grandparent, Aunt, or Uncle should gift these books for birthdays, Christmas, or at Easter. For educators and homeschoolers, it is so important to have books that will engage and educate the strengths of a learner's character... please consider these well-crafted stories. Find out more at this link
