The Stitches of Life: "The Wishing Thread" by Lisa Van Allen

In February & March I spent three concurrent weeks in Helena, MT for training for my new job.  To say it was difficult is an understatement.  I learned a lot of new information and was exhausted at the end of every day and pretty much lived the hermit life in my hotel room.  However, one of the afternoons I ventured to a local used book store in the historical district of Helena.  It was a bit higher priced than I'm used to, but I still found a couple of fantastic books to add to my collection.  The first book was "The Wishing Thread" by Lisa Van Allen.  The plot intrigued me, and at the time, I was ready for a book that mixed magic with happy.  I learned while reading this book that sometimes the way our lives are stitched together is completely out of our control....hello, most of the time. Who are we kidding here?

The book takes place in Tarrytown, New York.  The main characters are the Van Ripper sisters named Bitty, Audrey and Meggie.  They have been blessed with the ability to weave magic spells into pieces of clothing they knit.  The magic has been present for generations and the book opens with the matriarch Aunt Mariah passing away.  Aunt Mariah has been the keeper of the magic knitting needles and the family's yarn store called The Stichery, all while raising her nieces.  Aubrey is the only sister who has remained in Tarrytown as an adult as well as kept with the tradition of magic and knitting. The other two sisters reluctantly find their way back to Tarrytown to pay their last respects to Aunt Mariah and the crazy begins.  We soon find out that these sisters are all very different from each other and they kind of resent their heritage and magical powers.

One of the things I really loved about this book, was the rebuilding of friendships among the sisters. Bitty has come to visit with her children and neglects to tell her sisters that she's also left her husband and their stay is a to-be-determined gig.  She's emotional and tired and trying to navigate her next steps in life while her daughter is starting to catch on that magic lives in this family.  She slowly opens up to Aubrey about her marital problems and eventually decides that it's in her family's best interest for her to stay in Tarrytown.  Meggie is all over the place and knows she should stay with her sisters to help settle the estate, but doesn't want to face her past either.  She reconnects with one of her friends from childhood and together they rekindle their friendship and mend their own broken pieces.

The second thing I liked about this book was it's beachy-read, happy nature.  Sometimes I just need to be able to get lost in a book and this definitely fits the bill.  I enjoyed knowing that when I picked up this book that it wouldn't leave me feeling down or drained emotionally.  While I was reading this book, I was still in a lot of transition in my personal life with changes continuing to be thrown at me from all directions.  This book was a nice escape from the adulting that forced me to have all the feels when I was just too tired to deal.

The end of this book was really sweet and had an ending that added to the pleasantries of reading it. It wasn't Hallmark-movie-cheesy, but it definitely warmed my heart and reminded me that there is always a bit of magic in our own lives, if we will look for it.  The plot of this book takes the reader through an interesting conflict and ultimately, the town comes together with the sisters to stand up for this magical place that has blessed so many lives.  I definitely think that can apply to real life  Sometimes, we just need to know that we have those people in our community and family who will stand behind us even when we might be a little bit different and/or crazy.

My recommended reading group would be age 12 and above.  It really is a great PG read that would appeal to multiple audiences because of the magic, family unity and knitting.

The moral of the story: Life has a way of changing courses and knitting new plot lines for us. It's our job to make the best of it and turn to those who know us best and will always be there when we need them.

Happy reading, my amazing, geeky lovelies!
-R

Missed last week's book review? Click here to read it!



Other Books by Lisa Van Allen