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21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
WARM AND HOPEFUL - GOOD LISTENING, May 3, 2007
Those eagerly awaiting a return to Seattle's Blossom Street will be pleased with Macomber's sequel to The Shop On Blossom Street. Many remember that cancer survivor Lydia Goetz opened a shop, The Good Yarn, which soon housed a knitting class of four women who forged friendships and helped each other through life's rough spots. The same kind of caring and helpfulness are found in Back On Blossom Street. Those who enjoy a feel-good listen will find it here.
For those who don't understand the healing properties knitting offers, Lydia explains it thusly, "Knitting was my salvation. That's something I've said often, I know, but it's simply the truth. Even now, after nearly ten years of living cancer-free, knitting dominates my life. Because of my yarn store, I've become part of a community of knitters and friends."
She is now beginning a new knitting class and this time the work is on prayer shawls. Among the knitters are Colette Blake, a young widow employed at the new shop next door that offers flowers and floral arrangements. Colette had been romantically involved with her previous employer who is now frequently ordering flowers - all too much for her to process. Clicking needles right along side her is Susannah Nelson, the owner of the flower shop.
Making a return visit is Alix Townsend, the daughter of ne'er-do-well parents who is now engaged to Rev. Jordan Turner. The wedding, which she had imagined as a small, meaningful occasion is quickly becoming a major social event. Now, just a few months before her walk down the aisle Alix is beginning to wonder whether or not she is cut out to be a minister's wife.
Add to these worries Lydia's sister's daughter being the victim of a car jacking and Lydia's gradual awareness that her history of cancer may prevent her from ever having children of her own.
However, according to the author's premise, there is healing in friendship and often a solution to one's problem is discovered in the words of another.
"Back on Blossom Street" is a warm, pour yourself a cup of tea listening experience, especially as read by Laural Merlington, a voice performer with some 30 years of experience who narrates with grace and good humor.
- Gail Cooke
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28 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Knit your problems away, April 25, 2007
I may be a man, and not just a man, but a fireman, but even firemen need to wind down after battling five-alarm blazes, prying victims out of wrecked cars, and saving little kitties down from trees, and I can think of no better way of winding down than to knit one, purl two, or read about others knitting and purling as they discuss their domestic problems and find solutions that celebrate the joys of friendship, understanding, and, of course, knitting.
I have been a fan of Debbie Macomber's Blossom Street series ever since reading the very first book, "The Shop on Blossom Street", and with each new book have eagerly revisited that Street where Lydia, the proprietor of the title shop, A Good Yarn, holds a knitting class where fellow knitters come to knit, share their woes, and find both companionship and the answers to their problems.
"Back on Blossom Street" continues the fine tradition of the first two books in the series, and we meet new, likeable characters who enter into the comforting world of Blossom Street and A Good Yarn seeking a good knit but finding so much more. Lydia has troubles of her own concerning her beloved niece and the possibility of never bearing children, and finds that what works for her students also works for her as she opens up to her class with her own problems.
At the firehouse I've often tried to initiate the kind of heart-felt, open discussions of problems and feelings that take place in A Good Yarn, but the guys just ignore me, tell me to stop acting like a "wuss", or string me up the flagpole by my underwear. Because of such callous and macho attitudes, I am always buying new underwear, as well as thanking Debbie Macomber that at any time I can pick up her book and find myself, dare I say it, back on Blossom Street.
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Another Good Yarn, May 4, 2007
In the third book of this series, Lydia Goetz has started a new knitting class in which each member will make a prayer shawl. While the class is going on, each one is living through a difficult time in her life. Alix is engaged to be married but her best friend and her prospective mother-in-law are planning the wedding without any regard for the wishes of Alix and her fiance, Jordan. Colette is till mourning the death of her husband and is confused about her feelings for her former boss, who seems to be involved in illegal business transactions. Lydia and her sister Margaret are concerned about their mother's health and also about Margaret's daughter, Julia, who is the victim of a violent crime. The women knit together, share their problems, and form close friendships. The characters in this book are not quite as compelling as some of the previous ones, but it is still a good read.
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