The shop on Blossom Street

by Debbie Macomber

Large Print, 2004

Publication

Don Mills, Canada : Mira, c2004.

Collection

Eiland Center

Call number

Large Print Fiction M

Physical description

575 p.; 22 cm

Status

Available

Call number

Large Print Fiction M

Description

Fiction. Romance. HTML: Four lives knit together... There's a little yarn store in Seattle called A Good Yarn. It's owned by Lydia Hoffman, and it represents her dream of a new beginning, a life free from cancer. A life that offers a chance at love... Lydia teaches knitting to beginners, and the first class is How to Make a Baby Blanket. Three women join. Jacqueline Donovan disapproves of the woman married to her only son, but knitting a baby blanket would be a gesture of reconciliation. For Carol Girard, the baby blanket brings a message of hope as she and her husband make a final attempt to conceive. And tough-looking Alix Townsend (that's Alix with an i) is learning to knit her blanket for a court-ordered community service project. These four very different women, brought together by the age-old craft of knitting, make unexpected discoveries--about themselves and each other. Discoveries that lead to friendship and acceptance, to laughter and dreams. Discoveries only women can share....… (more)

Media reviews

Publishers Weekly

The religious overtones of Macomber's novel may throw some readers, but the author should attract her usual sizeable readership and pick up some fans of Chiaverini's Elm Creek Quilts series.

User reviews

LibraryThing member MarlaF

Very easy, pretty patterns with little stories from the books. Proceeds from purchasing these books go to Warm Up America.

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LibraryThing member Mychiefthemama

I liked this quick, easy read.

LibraryThing member Jthierer

Gender stereotypes, ahoy! Seriously, I think if you can turn off the part of your brain that goes "well, not all women would want that.." I think it would be enjoyable enough of a read, but I just couldn't.

LibraryThing member ankhet

Two-time cancer survivor Lydia decides that she is going to live life to the fullest (well, we'll see about that) and open up a yarn & knitting shop in Seattle. Through her shop & the beginning knitting class she offers she makes friends & we see the lives of four very different women - who aren't

really all that different in the end.

My initial thoughts while reading it were as follows:

(around page 114) - This book has quite a few thoroughly unlikeable characters, but I feel myself drawn to read on. Maybe I'm hoping they will realize the error of their ways and repent by the end of the novel?

(around page 247) - I don't really like the way the narratorial voice switches from first-person POV for Lydia's chapters to third-person POV for the other three main characters. Also, Lydia doesn't quite like to stay speaking in the past tense. It bothers me, and makes me think Ms. Macomber's editor could have done a better job.

My thoughts now that I've finished it:

Yes, it has some trite moments, and the writing style bothers me at points, but I'll be reading the next book in the series, and I think I'll give her Cedar Cove series a try, as well. Perhaps even her romances. Knowing that Debbie Macomber is a romance writer, I knew that there were going to be happy endings pretty much all 'round - and I wasn't disappointed. Everyone (except one character) ends up happy. The one thing that bothered me was Alix's transformation from semi-punk girl to "pretty" girl in order to be happy. Yes, the young man she ends up with liked her before the transformation, but it bothered me that Macomber felt the need to physically transform Alix before giving her the happy ending. What's wrong with a punk/goth girl being happy?

Overall, this book is a feel-good read for knitters and non-knitters alike. Knitters will understand the friendship that knitting provides, and non-knitters will still like the story following the four women. If you don't mind semi-predictable happy endings, go for this book - I mean it!

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LibraryThing member Spoo

Ugh...I guess I am in bad company here. I must be way too cynical to appreciate this. I didn't like the writing, and found it rather trite. And yes, I am a knitter of 15 years.

LibraryThing member wyvernfriend

An interesting story that probably isn't what I should be reading the day I go in for the results of my annual checkup.

After several bouts with Brain Cancer and after losing her father Lydia decides to open her own wool shop. When she starts a knitting class little does she know that this is the

start of some friendships that will change the lives of the women involved forever.

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LibraryThing member Brandie

Since I read the second book, I decided to go back and read the first one to fully understand everything.
Again, a cute book. One of those happily ever after endings. Again, just what I am seeking in my reading right now ...
I liked it a lot!

LibraryThing member readabook66

Love this book! Can't wait to read the others in the series.
May 2007

LibraryThing member Mzkitty570

I love reading this author also. I have read all 3 of the books in the series. A young woman decides to open a yarn shop in a newly developing area, much to her sister's dismay. Her sister never has anything nice to say. The woman decides to start a knitting class and 3 woman sign up for it. The 3

woman are from very different classes in life, but eventually make the most of it. The young woman who owns the shop even comes to find love in a very strange way. I hope she writes a book #4.soon.

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LibraryThing member callmejacx

Very fast paced enjoyable read. I was in the right mood to be able to enjoy a book like this. Next read is the next in the series. I am hoping I will enjoy it just as much as this one.

LibraryThing member litelady-ajh

This is my 1st Debbie Macomber book and I really enjoyed it. I like to read a happy ending every once in awhile. I will definitely read the rest in this series.

LibraryThing member ovistine

Four women meet at a knitting shop in Seattle, and over the next year and a half, become very good friends, each of them becoming a better person because of their friendships. It's a simplistic-sounding plot, but the story's told very well, the writing is good, and the people are believable (even

if some of the plot resolutions take a little bit of suspension of disbelief). One of the women has a very realistic struggle with infertility which was pretty heartbreaking. I'd love to see an Asian-American or African-American character in one of the next books in the series, which is a hope you can't always hold out for in a mainstream book, but I'm definitely going to pick up the next one.

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LibraryThing member Louise_Waugh

Everyone thought I would like this one because it is about knitting, but its really NOT. Its another chick-book about "relationships" and has some knitting trendiness thworn in.

LibraryThing member drebbles

Cancer survivor Lydia Hoffman opens a yarn shop on Blossom Street. In order to attract customers, she decides to hold knitting classes, with a baby blanket being the first project. Three people sign up, all with different reasons for being there. Unhappily married Jacqueline Donovan dislikes her

new pregnant daughter-in-law, Tammie Lee, but decides to knit the baby blanket to show her son she is making an effort to accept his new wife. Carol Girard desperately wants a baby, but has been unable to conceive and is about to undergo her third and final IVF procedure. When she sees the sign for knitting a baby blanket, she takes it as a good omen and joins the class. Alix Townsend had a rough upbringing, has had a bit of trouble with the law, and is living from paycheck to paycheck. Although she can barely afford it, she decides to sign up for the knitting classes because she can donate the blanket to charity and use it against her court ordered community service hours. Lydia is a bit concerned that these totally different women won't get along, but they all become close in ways none of them imagined.

"The Shop on Blossom Street" was a funny, but light read, what I call cotton candy for the brain. Of the four characters I liked Lydia and Alix the best. Lydia's troubled relationship with her sister and the affect the cancer has had on her life, especially in her relationships, were interesting. The story of Alix's troubled childhood makes her a sympathetic character and readers will want her to succeed in her relationship with youth minister Jordan Turner. Carol's struggle to have a child is heartbreaking, although I found her character to be a bit bland. I found Jacqueline to be a stereotypical rich, shallow person at first, concerned only with her standing in society, but her character grew on me by the end of the book.

Debbie Macomber's story telling ability is her strong point. She creates characters that you care about and readers will eagerly turn the pages to find out what happens to them. Unfortunately at times she resorts to cliched characters like Jacqueline, which is a shame when the other three characters are so believable and likable. Some of the plots in this book are also cliched and one particular plot, involving Alix and her roommate, was too convenient and totally unbelievable.

"The Shop on Blossom Street" is a nice but fluffy read.

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LibraryThing member mumstheword

This was an okay light read. One of those books you turn to when you have read something involved and you need a rest. Standard characters, predictable situations, it was entertaining nonetheless.

LibraryThing member wolffamily

Fun read about woman starting knitting shop with classes - Ann

LibraryThing member lexxa83

I thought that the characters in this book were excellent, however while reading I kept feeling like I wasn't as pulled into the "Blossom Street" world as much as I had anticipated. I think that is because, while the characters are interesting, and the plot plausible, the setting of the store

itself is not particularly interesting. Unlike similar series such as Elm Creek Quilts, the location of the shop is not nearly as fascinating, and for me that left the rest of the book feeling a little lacking. I am still planning on reading the rest of the books in this series, but probably not until I read some things first.

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LibraryThing member mrs.wood

This book was a first from this author for me, and I have read several of her books since. I enjoyed this book and how the relationships that evolve so quickly. I loved Alix and her bad girl attitude, and that her and Jacqueline end up being such good friends in the end. I really liked Tammie Lee's

character, and loved that in the end that it was Alix that changed Carol's life.

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LibraryThing member mommablogsalot

Although it did feel a bit predictable and formulaic at times, I enjoyed reading this book and found myself rooting for each of the characters and their desired outcomes. It was a nice light read, despite some rather heavy material.

LibraryThing member SharonSommers

If you knit as I do you'll understand why this hobby is so enjoyable and The Shop on Blossom Street is just icing on the cake for us knitters. If you haven't tried to knit, the book will most certainly make your itchy fingers drive down to the locat knit shop where the folks there will gladly share

this wonderful hobby with you. I just loved this book and the way Ms. Macomber descibed the three disparate women seeking something more in life. I would gladly recommend this book to anyone.

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LibraryThing member kerrycarter76

In the book "The shop on blossom street" the author had told a story that is surrounded by 4 women. Each woman has a pain that troubles her deeply. There's Lydia a cancer survor who is the owner of a shop entitled "A good yarn". Then there is Jacqueline who is very wealthy and is estranged from her

husband. There's Carol who having failed twice is hoping to become a mother. And last there's Alix an outcast that has been ordered by the court to spend her time on community projects. The more you read the more these women's began to mix with each other. It's a wonderful story that I'm sure you will enjoy.

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LibraryThing member dhoneybuny

I feel so close to the characters. The pain and anguish that Carol Girard feels is so real. Debbie Macomber really did her homework.

LibraryThing member KathyBrandt

This is another wonderful book by Debbie Macomber. This is the first in a series on Blossom Street about the people who live in the area or own some of the store fronts on Blossom Street. Three gals join in another kitting group, plus the knitting store owner and her sister are all portrayed in

this book, weaving their stories together.

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LibraryThing member punxsygal

Lydia Hoffman opened her little yarn shop on Blossom Street in Seattle with the hopes and fears of a cancer survivor. Her first knitting class for beginners attracts three women, Jacqueline Donovan wants to knit something for her grandchild in an effort to makeup with her daughter-in-law. Carol

Girard is making the baby blanket filled with her desires for a child of her own. And Alix Townsend is knitting her blanket as a part of a court-ordered community service project. During the course of the lessons these women begin to have a profound difference in each other's lives.

I'm a lifelong knitter and lover of women's literature so I fully expected to love this book. But for me it just didn't work. I found the characters to be rather flat, they didn't affect me. And the relationships they built were predictable. I knew the ending to each story early in the book. I don't think I will be reading any of the others in the series.

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LibraryThing member auntieknickers

Sometimes, after reading a long historical novel fraught with disasters or a dark detective tale -- never mind the news of the day -- you just need a light and enjoyable story. In just such a mood I picked up The Shop on Blossom Street, the first of Macomber's series about a Seattle yarn shop.

Since my daughters are knitters, my most recent (far too long ago) trip to Seattle included stops in quite a few yarn shops, so I was familiar with this milieu. (I don't knit, but I like to look at all the colors.)
What I enjoy about Macomber's books, of which I've read two or three a year for the past few years, is that she always injects a healthy dose of reality into the romance. In this case, her 30-ish protagonist is a two-time cancer survivor who has recently lost her father. Her life has been on hold for far too much of the time since her first diagnosis at age 16, and she takes a giant leap in opening a yarn shop in a transitional urban neighborhood. To get things going, she offers a knitting class on making a baby blanket. The three women who sign up all have different reasons for wanting to make one. One is a young married woman with fertility problems, desperate for a baby; one is a society matron whose only son's "unsuitable" wife has just announced her pregnancy; and one is a street-smart, prickly video store clerk who will donate the blanket to the Linus Project as part of her court-mandated community service hours. The ways these women interact, the friendship they find, and how they help solve each other's problems in surprising ways make for a quite enjoyable read. Yes, they find romance too, but it seems that the community of women is the main focus of the book. The Seattle setting is evocative without being a travelogue. I'll probably pick up the next in the series the next time I need a break. Recommended for people who like this kind of book.

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