Friday, October 24, 2014

Quilted By Christmas: Quilts of Love-Jodie Bailey

Quilted By Christmas: Quilts of Love
Jodie Bailey
Abingdon, Oct 21 2014, $13.99
ISBN 9781426796142

In Hollings, North Carolina, middle school teacher Taryn McKenna deeply believes that only her grandma Jemma loves her; the dumping by so-called loved ones, her parents and her high school sweetheart Justin Callahan, prove her assertion.  Expecting nothing from others except her unconditional love showered on her by her grandma, Taryn’s life goal is for her students to remember how much she helped them. 

When Jemma suffers a heart attack, tests show she is dying.  An upset Taryn will do anything to comfort her grandma even as she fears being totally alone.  Jemma’s only request is for her granddaughter to help her complete an Irish chain quilt that tells a family history.  Having returned from the military, Justin wants a second chance with the woman he left behind so he assists Taryn with learning the story of the quilt and showing her how much he, Jemma and much of the townsfolk cherish and adore her, and that God never left her.

The latest Quilts of Love inspirational (see Hidden In The Stars by Robin Caroll and A Grand Design by Amber Stockton) is a charming contemporary.  Taryn’s attitude about how others perceive her will remind fans of James Stewart’s George Bailey (surname coincidental?) in It’s A Wonderful Life.  With a strong support cast and a likable troubled lead, this second chance regional romance affirms once again that this is a stupendous series.

Harriet Klausner

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