What do You think about The Runaway Quilt (2003)?
I love historical novels, and I really enjoyed this one. I am planning to read the other books in the series. Sylvia, the owner of a home that predates the Civil War, discovers an old family journal in her attic. As she reads her ancestor's account, she learns that her family history is not quite what she thought it was. The journal's author explains that she feels the need to record her family's history, despite the possibility of the truth hurting her family. The protagonist learns of her family's involvement in the underground railroad. I really enjoyed reading about Sylvia's ancestors and their struggle to help a runaway slave. This book has some great twists, and I loved learning more about this time in our country's history. The love life of the protagonist is pretty uninteresting, and I kept wishing the author would stop telling me about that and spend more time on the story of the ancestors in the journal. There is a scene that explains that a slave was raped by her "owner." It does not go into detail, but lets you know that it did happen, that the slave fought back, and it is very important to the story.
—Ariana
DAMN HER.Judy brought me the first Elm Creek Quilters novel and I was kind of disgusted with it in the beginning, but the story turned gripping and I couldn't help myself. I wound up liking it. This has been the story with every single freakin' Elm Creek Quilts book I've read consequently, and number four was no different. I approached it with a "Here we go again" attitude, and yet couldn't help myself from reading it.In this novel, Sylvia Compson is approached at a lecture by a woman who has an antique quilt which she claims has significance to Elm Creek Manor. She claims that the quilt was passed down through her family and legend has it that it served as a signal that Elm Creek Manor served as a station on the Underground Railroad. Sylvia is disturbed and goes home to root through her attic, wherein she stumbles upon her grandmother's sister's diaries and 3 more quilts. As Sylvia reads through the diary, she learns about a troubling period in her family's past and comes to question her very existence. Ok, I must admit, this was my least favorite of the Elm Creek Quilt books so far. The best part of the book was the diary of Sylvia's relative. In this book, the dignified and revered Sylvia devolves into a needy, self absorbed idiot. The twist at the end, when it is revealed that Sylvia herself may in fact be 1/8th African-American, and wherein she calls the apparently one A-A person she knows, who responds with a tepid, "Welcome to my world" was just plain stupid. Sylvia meanwhile ignores and/or fights with her friends, ignores the campers, and ignores love interest Andrew. What's worse is that apparently at one point in the book, my favorite characters from the last book were at the camp and scarcely get a mention. This, to me, would have been a great time to provide a little series continuity, but instead, Chiaverini glosses over their attendance and focuses on Sylvia's despair over her family sellouts. UGH!! Not her best. I already hate myself for wanting to read #5, and it better be better than #4.
—Kate
I loved this series, and I can't remember all of the ones I read, but this must have been the first one in my reading spree (frenzy?) two summers ago. This one stands out in my mind because it talks about how slaves would communicate by creating quilts that were basically maps for the Underground Railroad during the Civil War. It fascinated me that something so seemingly simple as what most classify as a bed throw could be utterly and obviously subversive. I've made quilts, and it boggles my mind how intricately made quilts were pre-fancy computerized sewing machines. I tried my hand at hand-quilting one time, and it's enough to convince me these ladies were masters of their craft. The plots of these books are really good, and I think the only that detracts is the titles themselves. I'm always wary of series because the plots seem to get old, but Chiaverini tells each story from different main character's perspective, and she ties in the characters' personal histories to historical events. Good stuff! I would read any of these books again, just knowing how enjoyable they were the first time through (especially if you like to sew!).
—Lydia
