Simon & Schuster, Apr 2001, 21.00, 400 pp.
ISBN: 0743202570
Everyone familiar with the hobby respects the famous quilting retreat at Elm Creak Manor in Waterford, Pennsylvania. Strangers come there to camp and life long friendships have formed such as the accidental meeting of the Cross-Country Quilters who vow to return next year.
The group consists of people from a wide variety of lifestyles. Long time attendee octogenarian Vinnie has been at Elm Creek every year since it opened. Julia the actress needs to learn the art for a part. Award winning Grace suffers from a nasty medical diagnosis that has left her with a quilter's mental block. Megan earned a week at the camp as a prize from a quilting magazine and is accompanied by her cyber-friend Donna, escaping from a daughter that is worrying her to death. Even after the camp ends, the participants stay in contact encouraging, boosting, and cheering each one's triumphs.
Jennifer Chiaverini has written a special book that demonstrates the resiliency and courage of an extraordinary group of determined women. Although Elm Creek manor is not the star of the story line, it serves as they catalyst that generates the development of subplots into a cohesive tale.
THE CROSS-COUNTRY Quilters is a powerful women's mainstream fiction at its literary best.
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Tone of book?
- upbeat
Time/era of story
- 1980's-1999
Romance/Romance Problems
Yes
Training/promotions story
Yes
Life of a profession:
- actor
Strong "rags to riches" component?
Yes
Family, struggle with
Yes
Struggle with:
- Mother (or standin)
Internal struggle/realization?
Yes
Struggle over
- vague finding self/purpose in life (i.e. no plot to book)
Is this an adult or child's book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Job/Profession/Status story
Yes
Ethnic/regional/gender life
Yes
Brain/Body disability?
- physical disability
Woman's story?
Yes
Main Character
Gender
- Female
Profession/status:
- artist
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events?
Yes
Ethnicity/Nationality
- White (American)
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- average physique
Main Adversary
Identity:
- none
Setting
United States
Yes
The US:
- Northeast
Misc setting
- fancy mansion
Style
Person
- mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death?
- no torture/death
Unusual Style:
- a lot of stream of consciousness
Amount of dialog
- significantly more dialog than descript
