The grown ups by Robin Antalek. New York: William Morrow, 2013.    ***

"It was the summer all the children in the neighborhood caught a virus."

Suzie Epstein's 15th birthday party was derailed by an argument between her parents. Some speculated that Suzie started it all because she was the first to get sick, others wondered if there had been an adult supervising the party, others would not have caught it too. Or was it Suzie showing Sam Turner the box of photographs hidden in a closet on the top shelf in her father's room? How many mothers in the neighborhood were included in this private collection and what did inclusion mean? Suzie and Sam sharing their first serious kiss seem to seal an unspoken agreement, but Sam is not sure what he has agreed to.

 That summer of 1997 when vacations got cancelled, summer jobs started late and attendance at camps postponed; set in motion a chain of events with far reaching consequences masterfully crafted by Analtek. Told in alternating voices of Sam, Suzie and Bella, Analtek takes us on a journey of seemingly daily nondescript events, which add up to friendship, first love, marriage, heartbreak and family.

Antalek has certainly created powerful voices for her main characters, each vying for the opportunity to tell his or her story. Sam, Suzie and Bella grow up in the 15 years represented as time marches on.

I enjoyed this book, but it left me not quite satisfied with the story. Perhaps, it is my perspective and age, but I felt that at times it lacked the depth needed to convince me that the characters are "real." There were times when Antalek was a craftsman and I wanted more of that "voice." When I read fiction, I want to continue the story or wonder what the character is doing, saying, feeling now after the book ends. This book just didn't do that for me. I will look forward to reading additional work by Antalek and see her progression as a writer.

Look what I received today and they even come gift-wrapped!
Let the Summer Reading Challenge begin...

Summer Reading Challenge 2015

I've signed up to participate in a Summer Reading Challenge 2015 in an effort to increase my blogging efforts and to align my book reviewing with my blog. These are the books I will be reading and sharing and the dates the review will appear:


1. The Grown Ups by Robin Antalek. May 18.
2. Wishful Thinking by Kamy Wicoff. May 25.
3. The Balance Project by Suse Orman Schnall. June 1.
4. Eight Hundred Grapes by Laura Dave. June 8.
5. Worthy by Catherine Ryan Hyde. June 15.
6. Pieces by Marai Kostaki. June 22.
7. Summer Secrets by Jane Green. June 29.
8. It's You by Jane Porter. July 6.
9. Maybe in Another Life by Taylor Jenkins Reid. July12.
10. Beautiful Girl by Fleur Philips. July 20.
11. The Road Home by Kathleen Shoop. July 27.
12. The Witch of Bourbon Street by Suzanne Palmieri. August 3.
13. Pretty Baby by Mary Kubica. August 10.
14. Anchored by Bridgette Quinn. August 17.
15. Satisfaction by Andee Reilly. August 24.
16. A Window Opens by Liz Egan. August 31.
17. Star Craving Mad by Elise Miller. September 7.
18. The Year My Mother Came Back by Alice Eve Cohen. August 24.

I hope that you will join me and share your thoughts along with mine.

New Year, new technique!

From time to time, I have played around with English Paper Piecing. I was invited to review a book on the subject, which was very well-written with many beautiful projects and easy to understand instructions. Before I knew it, I was hooked! Coincidentally, Mickey Depre has introduced a new EPP project for her 2015 on the road year long project. Mickey makes life so easy by providing the templates or the paper pieces in her store. I have ordered the templates and am trying to decide my color scheme. I will document the process and my progress as I accomplish each step if you would like to follow along. Something new and fun for the new year. In the meantime, I am attempting to clean up the mess called "my sewing studio." My project today is to baste my Downtown Abbey quilt in anticipation of the premier of Season 5. I have finally decided to hand quilt it. I have gotten better at machine quilting, but there is something about hand sewing that relaxes me.

These are a few of the quilts I finished for Christmas. There were 5 quilts under the tree and three donated to charity. A fun endeavor, but I am eager to start new quilts for the new year!

This is a week for finishing things...Read book three in the Cousins O'Dwyer Trilogy series, "Blood Magick." Loved the trilogy and was so sad when it ended, I kept stretching it out to savor it to the end. Romance, magic, time travel, good versus evil and happy endings....loved it all!

Finally finished three rag quilts as Christmas presents. Not my favorite quilt to make, not very creative, heavy to sew and lots of lint! I'm in the process of making other presents, stay tuned, can't spoil any surprises. My sister has shown me how to make coiled fabric baskets and I'm hooked. So much fun and easy to make. Will post pictures soon.

I just finished reading the book, Walking Home: A Pilgrimage from Humbled to Healed by Sonia Choquette. I have been a fan of hers for a couple of years and had the opportunity to hear her in person and loved her spirit and her message. But, nothing prepared me for this book and her experience. An absolutely amazing 800 kilometer walking journey over the Pyrenees and across northern Spain. (the legendary Camino de Santiago)