When the world feels complicated, knitting is the perfect escape - follow the instructions and you end up with exactly what you want and expect. Life on the other hand doesn't come with a pattern. Kathleen, Sari and Lucy are close friends stumbling their way into adulthood, Kathleen is beautiful, flighty and lives off her famous actress sisters. Lucy once wanted to be a vet but instead became a scientist who dissects rats. Sari works at an autism clinic, providing the support her own autistic brother never got. The girls meet once a week to knit and talk - and now they need these get-togethers more than ever. Cut off financially from her family, Kathleen sets out to seduce her wealthy boss. Lucy finds herself torn between emotion and reason when her lab is attacked by animal rights activists and the bully who tormented Sari's brother now desperately needs her help. The girls forge their way in a world of tough choices, drawing strength from their friendship. Along the way they fall in love, they make mistakes, they get drunk, they have sex, they go shopping, they laugh, they cry...and they knit.
I expected this book to be a lighthearted "chick lit" book with a crafty twist, and it was. But it was also much more. Not only were the characters well-developed, but the storylines were much deeper than I would have expected. The crafty twist was there, but was definately second to the real stories being told, which kept it from being "kitschy". The book was centered around three women, Kathleen, Lucy, and Sari, who bonded over their weekly knitting group. Kathleen struggled to find her own way in the world, without the easy support of her family, while Lucy questions her romantic life and her career. Sari deals with family issues and struggles to reconcile tragedies of her childhood with the changing feelings toward the very man that had caused her such pain. The storylines were well thought out and developed and there were things about each character that I could identify. I did have a little trouble getting into it at the beginning, but once I did, I couldn't put it down!
Reading updates
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Started reading
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13 October, 2010:
Finished reading
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13 October, 2010:
Reviewed