Maybelle In Stitches | A Quilts of Love book.

Maybelle Kazinzki can’t sew. She was after all, the only girl in the seventh grade Home Economics class to sew the zipper in the neck hole of the A-Line dress they were supposed to make. But when she finds an unfinished quilt in the attic of her mother’s house she gets the crazy idea to finish it—somehow, come heck or high water. She thinks it will help fill the lonely nights while her husband, Holden, is serving overseas during World War II.

Her recently departed mother’s quilt is made from scraps of material Maybelle traces back to her mother’s childhood, her grandmother’s childhood and her own childhood. She tries to add one of Holden’s stripes to it but the sewing is not going well and neither is her life. After receiving some harsh news, Maybelle’s faith falters and she puts the quilt away and stops trusting God. But God is faithful- no matter what. And it’ll take a group of neighborhood women armed with quilting needles to help Maybelle believe that.

Learn more and purchase a copy at the Quilts of Love site.

Joyce Magnin is the author of the Bright’s Pond novels, including the award-winning The Prayers of Agnes Sparrow. A member of the Greater Philadelphia Christian Writers Fellowship, Joyce is a frequent workshop leader and the organizer of the StoryCrafters fiction group. She lives near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Maybelle in Stitches by Joyce Magnin

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

WWII is a historical period that I never tire of reading about. Oftentimes, historical novels focus on Europe of even Asia, but the U.S. is generally omitted. At least, that is my experience. This Christian novel takes a lighthearted look at the women left behind when their young husbands went off to war. Maybelle is a woman who appears to be caught in the wrong era. She seems more suited to masculine tasks rather than domestic feministic tasks. It was somewhat amusing to read about her misadventures, and the pathos of a military wife comes through as well. I was grateful that the author chose to include some tragedies in the story, but Maybelle’s story appears to be a fairy tale at times.

Although this book is Christian, I was disturbed to see one minimal use of profanity. Moreover, the gospel message was there, but greatly down-played. The book was entertaining enough, but I would have preferred a stronger reliance on God from the main characters. But if you are searching for a book on WWII that is easy to read, this may be the book for you.

I was sent a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. I was not financially compensated, and all opinions are 100 percent mine.

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