Stitches in Time

FISHER, SUZANNE WOODS
STITCHES IN TIME

Detachment had worked well as a life strategy for horse trainer Sam Schrock. Until he met Mollie Graber...

New to Stoney Ridge, schoolteacher Mollie has come to town for a fresh start. Aware of how fleeting and fragile life is, she wants to live it boldly and bravely. When Luke Schrock, new to his role as deacon, asks the church to take in foster girls from a group home, she's the first to raise her hand. The power of love, she believes, can pick up the dropped stitches in a child's heart and knit them back together.

Mollie envisions sleepovers and pillow fights. What the 11-year-old twins bring to her home is anything but. Visits from the sheriff at midnight. Phone calls from the school truancy officer. And then the most humiliating moment of all; the girls accuse Mollie of drug addiction.

There's only one thing that breaks through the girls' hard shell -- an interest in horses. Reluctantly and skeptically, Sam Schrock gets drawn into Mollie's chaotic life. What he didn't expect was for love to knit together the dropped stitches in his own heart...

Suzanne Woods Fisher invites you back to the little Amish church of Stoney Ridge for a touching story of the power of love.

My Review:

This latest visit to Stoney Ridge brings so much more than just Mollie and Sam's story! This community! These characters! I honestly don't think I've ever felt so completely wrapped up in the lives of characters that span not just books, but series. These are my people and I LOVE them! David's gentle, intelligent and compassionate approach to his Bishop duties. Luke -- rambunctious lad to rebellious teen to...church deacon???? What a delight! And Fern! I haven't loved a literary 'motherly' character this much since Marilla of Anne of Green Gables fame.

Lest you worry that you'll be lost if you aren't familiar with this Stoney Ridge community, let me assure you that Stitches in Time reads well as a standalone novel BUT if you've met these characters before you'll be over the moon ecstatic with the latest news from this beloved town.

And there's so much to fan-girl over I'm not sure where to start. Maybe with naive, pie-in-the-sky Mollie whose exuberance and ability to find the best in even the most trying of circumstances is tested to the breaking point when she agrees to foster some very challenging children. Her budding friendship with Sam is sorely tested as well. I so love Sam! He's spent most of his life in his gregarious brother's shadow but he comes into his own in this story. A kind and gentle horse whisperer who never thinks outside the box...until Mollie stirs things up!

Then there's Luke and Izzy -- a year married and still figuring things out. Luke is so haplessly clueless at times but so patiently determined to make things right. And overwhelmed by his new deacon duties. His story -- his spiritual growth and his devotion to Izzy -- moved me to tears so many times. And had me laughing out loud too.

And the way the author ties in the 'stitches in time' title is sheer brilliance. So much depth to the inspirational threads -- and yes, there are more than one -- all beautifully woven into the very fiber of the story. Life changing for both the characters and me!

I listened to the audible version of Stitches in Time and Rachel Botchan's narration captivated me from the very beginning. She brought these characters to life which kept me hanging on to every word. Storytelling at its finest!

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

If you would like a chance to win a copy of Stitches in Time, leave a comment below or email me at kavluvstoreadATyahooDOTca. If you add an email to your comment, remember to use AT and DOT instead of @ and . in order to protect yourself from spammers. If you enter the draw via email, please add the title to the subject line so it's easy to spot your entry. Draw will be held and winner announced on Saturday November 9 2019. Offer open to International Readers. Good luck!