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32 of 34 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Another wonderful addition to the Elm Creek series, April 12, 2010
Hawaii is about as far away from Pennsylvania as you can get. And in this book, that's exactly where Elm Creek quilter Bonnie Markham is headed. (Avid readers will recognize Bonnie as the one-time owner of the Grandma's Attic quilt shop, as well as being one of the founders of the Elm Creek quilt camps.) Bonnie and her husband Craig are in the middle of a contentious and stressful divorce. When Claire, Bonnie's old Penn State roommate, invites her to spend the winter on the island of Maui in order to help establish an Aloha Quilt Camp, Bonnie takes her up on the offer. Why not exchange a few months of Northeastern snow for a warm and sandy beach in Paradise?
Bonnie soon finds herself in the unique position of being perched in a vacation destination, where she is neither tourist nor resident. With her friends Claire and Eric, she explores some of the tropical landscape. But at the same time, she and Claire must hunker down and do all of the planning for creating a brand-new quilt camp, based in Claire's large, restored inn. Claire's savvy native assistant Midori introduces Bonnie to the intricacies of crafting Hawaiian-style quilts. Midori's nephew, Hinano, serves as a native guide and historical expert for Bonnie as well, even though the two of them often end up arguing about something. One question continues to linger throughout the storyline: Will Bonnie really return to Elm Creek Manor when her consultation duties are done? Or will she instead decide to relocate to Maui and teach full-time at the Aloha Quilt Camp?
The best fiction is enlightening as well as entertaining. Purists scoff whenever Ms. Chiaverini dares to move her plots away from the safe cocoon of Elm Creek Manor in central Pennsylvania, either geographically or historically. But that's exactly the way Life works. Rarely does a group of individuals remain static. Its members have obligations far and beyond their affiliations with one another. Following those threads away from the center gives these characters (and us) a chance to learn more about their personalities. It also helps us discover the various traditions of quilts in other places and at other times. Kudos to Ms. Chiaverini for once again providing another interesting insight into the universal heritage of intricate stitchery.
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34 of 38 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
I wish I had liked it more..., April 20, 2010
I'm a long-time series fan, but I have to say, I think this is the book that's going to turn me from purchasing Chiaverini's books on the first day, to waiting to borrow from the library. If I could give 2.5 stars, I would.
I respect how Chiaverini challenges herself to explore new venues as an author, in both emotions and settings. I loved The Lost Quilter: An Elm Creek Quilts Novel (Elm Creek Quilts Novels) and A Quilter's Holiday: An Elm Creek Quilts Novel However, a lot of this book read like an awkward tour guide book. Descriptions of Hawaiian history and quilting lie flat in matter-of-fact paragraphs, or worse, forced into stilted dialogue. Chiaverini's historical fiction (especially The Runaway Quilt (Elm Creek Quilts Series #4) and The Quilter's Legacy (Elm Creek Quilts Series #5)) is quite good- I think her gift lies in creating relatable, human, historical characters, rather than having present-day folks lecture eachother about the past.
Bonnie Markham is not among the more dynamic Elm Creek Quilters. I found it hard to warm to her, though admittedly she's starting the novel in bad circumstances. Her friend Claire in Hawaii is enjoyable and their friendship seems authentic. I don't buy Bonnie's relationship with Hinano, her new love interest, though. They're both testy and argumentative with eachother. I get that Chiaverini is trying to show Bonnie's growth from Craig's doormat to an independent (even opinionated) woman, and is all the more deserving of love. But it's a bit predictable and not really exciting.
I'm sorry for anyone who is upset by this review- I know there are some die-hard fans out there who won't hear a word against the series. But this all is my honest opinion, and I wish someone had told me to read the book before spending money on it. I hope there is a next one, and that it is better! This author and series have so much to give.
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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Bless you, Jennifer Chiaverini, for another great book, April 20, 2010
"The Aloha Quilt" is the sixteenth book in the Elm Creek Quilts series. In this installment, the focus is on Bonnie Markham, the owner of Grandma's Attic quilt shop (now defunct) and an original partner in Elm Creek Quilts. Bonnie finds herself in the middle of an ugly divorce from her husband and dealing with the emotions of losing her business. When her college roommate contacts her to spend the winter in Hawaii and offers her the opportunity to work as a consultant in opening a quilting camp there, she jumps at the chance. This is definitely Bonnie's story with the other Elm Creek Quilters taking a very minor role and typically only reference from time to time.
I really have to give Jennifer Chiaverini a tremendous amount of credit for maintaining such high quality books over an amazingly long span. Most series seem to lose their steam around book six or seven and need to be ended at that point (even though many authors don't and the reader often continues to suffer along because it's hard to stop even when they get bad). While loyal readers may be disappointed to have the story moved away from Elm Creek Manor, I think these forays into other locales and the focus on a single character are what has kept the series so strong and is a stroke of brilliance by the author. I remember the television series M*A*S*H and its long run - it was always hard to see a beloved character go and someone new come in, but without the new blood, the series would have ended much sooner. I think the same thing is true here - there is no end in sight and as long as she can keep writing, there will be stories to tell.
While I loved the book from start to finish, my one complaint was the telling of the history of Hawaii. I loved reading about it and was glad it was included, however, the way it was done at times felt more like a history lesson rather than seamlessly woven into the fabric of the novel. Some of it felt forced and I actually thought "here comes the history lesson" which took me out of the novel and disrupted the flow. It didn't last for long, but I wish it were done more smoothly.
Overall, and excellent novel and one that fans of the series will definitely enjoy !
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