The Sweetgum Knit Lit Society: A Novel [Paperback]

Beth Pattillo (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 20, 2008

Sometimes life has to unravel before you can knit it together…

On the third Friday of each month, Eugenie, Ruth, Esther, Merry, and Camille meet at the Sweetgum Christian Church to enjoy the two things that connect them: a love of knitting and a passion for books. Their camaraderie remains unthreatened until Eugenie, the town librarian, introduces an angry teenager into their midst. Eugenie also gives them a new reading list: the classic novels of girlhood that young Hannah has never read. Little Women. Pollyanna. Heidi. Books that remind the women of the hopes and dreams they have lost along the way.

With each click of their needles, the ladies of the Knit Lit Society unravel their secrets: A shadow from Eugenie’s past haunts the controlled order of her life. Merry’s perfect little family is growing again–but will she continue to feel her identity slip away? Camille dreams of leaving town but is bound by ties of love. And the sisters, Ruth and Esther, must confront a lie they have lived with for over thirty years.

As Hannah is reluctantly stitched into their lives, the women discover the possibility that even in sleepy Sweetgum, Tennessee, they can still be the heroines of their own stories.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Take five knitters, put them in a book club, expand it to include a rebellious teen and you've got this agreeable "yarn" by Pattillo. Eugenie Pierce is a 60-something "tough love" librarian in Sweetgum, Tenn. who finds the neglected 13-year-old Hannah Simmons tearing out pages of a library book. In reparation, Hannah must attend Eugenie's "Knit Lit Society" at Sweetgum Christian Church. Pattillo offers a mélange of additional characters: Merry McGavin is an overwhelmed mother; single gal Ruthie Allen is 55 and at odds with her sister, Esther Jackson; Camille St. Clair is a 24-year-old committed to caring for her terminally ill mother. All five women harbor secrets that Hannah's presence in the group will prompt them to reveal. Though the plot can be predictable, the story grows smoothly in Pattillo's competent hands. As each woman's situation comes to a crisis point, the tension never escalates past a gentle simmer. Pattillo, a Rita Award-winning writer author (Heavens to Betsy) creates a sweet story of redemption that will go down well with knitters as well as the knitting-challenged.
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Review

"Take five knitters, put them in a book club, expand it to include a rebellious teen and you’ve got this agreeable “yarn” by Pattillo. Eugenie Pierce is a 60-something “tough love” librarian in Sweetgum, Tenn. who finds the neglected 13-year-old Hannah Simmons tearing out pages of a library book. In reparation, Hannah must attend Eugenie’s “Knit Lit Society” at Sweetgum Christian Church. Pattillo offers a mélange of additional characters: Merry McGavin is an overwhelmed mother; single gal Ruthie Allen is 55 and at odds with her sister, Esther Jackson; Camille St. Clair is a 24-year-old committed to caring for her terminally ill mother. All five women harbor secrets that Hannah’s presence in the group will prompt them to reveal. Though the plot can be predictable, the story grows smoothly in Pattillo’s competent hands. As each woman’s situation comes to a crisis point, the tension never escalates past a gentle simmer. Pattillo, a Rita Award-winning writer author (Heavens to Betsy) creates a sweet story of redemption that will go down well with knitters as well as the knitting-challenged."
-Publisher's Weekly, May 2008

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: WaterBrook Press (May 20, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1400073944
• ISBN-13: 978-1400073948
• Product Dimensions: 5 x 0.9 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #81,136 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Beth Pattillo's love for Jane Austen was born when she studied at the University of London, Westfield College, for one glorious semester. Her passion quickly became an obsession, necessitating regular trips to England over the past twenty years. When not dreaming of life 'across the pond,' Beth lives in Nashville with her husband and two children.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Yada Yada crowd meets the Elm Creek quilters, May 24, 2008

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Sweetgum Knit Lit Society: A Novel (Paperback)

In Sweetgum, Tennessee, the Sweetgum Knit Lit Society consists of women who have been hurt in their relationships, but share their love of knitting and formed a book club. Sexagenarian librarian Eugenie Pierce has never even tasted love. Sisters Ruthie Allen and Esther Jackson will probably take sibling rivalry to the grave. Twentyish Camille St. Clair may not have the years of kicking the can experiences like the others, but her life is currently on hold as she cares for her dying mother. Merry McGavin seems happy with her loving family, but loving family means hiding the truth behind a façade as she is overwhelmed. Finally there is newest member thirteen years old Hannah Simmons, who has no future except to repeat the ugly past culminated with a temper fit in the library tearing out pages from books. As each faces a personal crisis caused in part by secrets they hide, their knit lit pals encourage and support one another.


This Yada Yada crowd meets the Elm Creek quilters in a Mossy Creek like Tennessee small town is a fine ensemble tale starring fully developed women in personal crisis who finds their knit lit members being there for them. The story line is well written, but though smooth, the author never explores deeply any of the ensemble cast while touching on all of them. Fans will enjoy the sisterhood as each helps one another.

Harriet Klausner

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Moving novel about different women growing together, June 26, 2008

By 

Christina Lockstein "Christy's Book Blog" (Oconto Falls, WI USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Sweetgum Knit Lit Society: A Novel (Paperback)

The Sweetgum Knit Lit Society by Beth Patillo is the newest in a flourishing genre of chick lit books focusing on a handicraft. In this case knitting, plus a book group. Eugenie, the long time town librarian runs the society with an iron fist, so when she brings in teenager Hannah, troubled and caught tearing pages out of a library book, to do penance by attending the meetings and cleaning the library, all of the other members are changed by her presence. Esther and Ruthie are sisters who couldn't be more different. Esther is picture perfect, but her husband is in love with free-wheeling Ruthie. Camille is only 24 but has given up her dreams of leaving small town Sweetgum to take care of her ailing mother. Merry is an overstressed mother with a faltering marriage and a surprise pregnancy. These different women all come to the society for their own reasons and find the same thing: family, acceptance, and love. But only after Hannah forces them to drop their facades and really see each other and themselves. Not too much attention is paid to the books read or the knitting, just enough to keep the plot moving without dragging. These women were so real; they shop next to you in the grocery store and sit next to you in the church pew. Patillo captures their hopes and dreams and makes all of them (even Esther) sympathetic. I hope that this is only the first in a series, because I want to know these characters better and watch them grow.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Page-Turner!, November 27, 2008

By 

Lois Lain (San Francisco Bay Area, CA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Sweetgum Knit Lit Society: A Novel (Paperback)

This book is so much better than the Friday Night Knitting Club, the Shop on Blossom Street, the Jane Austen Book Club, or any other knitting/book club book out there -- and I've read them all! The characters are true, interesting, quirky, and far less than perfect. The Christian theme is very subtle, and the plights of these characters kept me up way past my bedtime as I turned pages to see what would happen. I will be reading more of Beth Pattillo's books.