The Oysterville Sewing Circle by Susan Wiggs

The Oysterville Sewing Circle by Susan Wiggs
Published by William Morrow ISBN 9780062425584
Hardcover, $26.99, 365 pages

You don't need to know anything about sewing to appreciate Susan Wiggs' latest novel, The Oysterville Sewing Circle, as the sewing circle is not exactly what the name implies.

Caroline Shelby is trying to make a name for herself as a designer, working in New York City for popular designer Mick Taylor. He has used many of her designs for his sucessful line, and Caroline is on the cusp of becoming famous herself as she is entered into a contest for new designers, and poised to win with her creative designs for pregnant women and new moms.

Her new life takes a turn when Taylor steals her designs and then her best friend Angelique dies, leaving Caroline with two young children to care for. Caroline drives Flick, six years old, and Addie, five years old, across the country to her family home in Oysterville, Washington.

Caroline's family takes them in, even though Caroline hasn't been close to them since she left town for New York ten years ago. Her mom and dad own a restaurant on the waterfront, and her two sisters and two brothers are all a part of the restaurant business.

The first person Caroline runs into as she enters the town is the man she has loved since she was a young girl. Will and Caroline were best friends as children, and just as they were beginning to become something more than friends, beautiful Sierra moves into town and sets her sights on Will.

Will, Caroline and Sierra were best friends, until Sierra and Will became a couple and a heartbroken Caroline stepped aside, never telling Will of her feelings. With Caroline back in town, they all resume their friendship, but things have changed.

Caroline comes to love Addie and Flick, and has to decide whether to pursue legal guardianship of them. When she designs some cute outfits for them to go to their new school, the parents at the school love them and Caroline soon finds herself designing children's clothes.

She also feels guilty about her friend's death, and wants to help women who are suffering from domestic violence- thus, The Oysterville Sewing Circle is born. With the help of her sisters and some friends, they create a safe space for women to come and share their stories and get help.

Wiggs creates characters that are believeable and in this time of such discord in this country, it's wonderful to read a story about people who genuinely care for each other and root for each other to win. Even in the conflicts between characters, each one is a good person trying to be true to themselves.

The difficult subject of domestic violence is handled with honesty and dignity, and it reminded me of Dorothea Benton Frank's The Hurricane Sisters, which also dealt with the subject. (My review is here.)

I hope that Wiggs' returns to Oysterville again, as there are more stories to be told here; I'd like to know more about the Shelby siblings. I recommend The Oysterville Sewing Circle for anyone who likes a story of resilience and friendship.

Thanks to TLC Tours for putting me on Susan Wiggs' tour. The rest of her stops are here: 

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Review Stops

Tuesday, August 20th: Bibliotica

Wednesday, August 21st: Reading Reality

Thursday, August 22nd: Laura’s Reviews

Friday, August 23rd: bookchickdi

Monday, August 26th: I Wish I Lived in a Library

Tuesday, August 27th: Books and Bindings

Wednesday, August 28th: A Chick Who Reads

Thursday, August 29th: Kahakai Kitchen

Friday, August 30th: Girl Who Reads

Friday, August 30th: Write – Read – Life

Tuesday, September 3rd: Ms. Nose in a Book

Wednesday, September 4th: Iwriteinbooks’s blog

Thursday, September 5th: Into the Hall of Books

Friday, September 6th: A Bookish Way of Life

The Friday 5ive- August Florida Edition

The Friday 5ive is a blog post about five things that caught my attention during the week.
Last weekend we were at our home in Longboat Key Florida for a relaxing four days, and although it rained at some point each day, we still had fun.


1) Our landscaper is doing a terrific job at the house, Leo, Edgar and their crew are keeping the place looking great. We have lots of pretty flowers blooming right now, it was such a lovely sight to see.

2) A few weeks ago we went to see a Beatles tribute band and had a fantastic time, so we tried our luck with a Neil Diamond tribute at the Longboat Key Club. Tim McCaig performed lots of Neil Diamond hits, including songs from The Jazz Singer, one of my husband's favorite movies. He sounded a lot like Neil Diamond, and had the crowd up and dancing all night.

3) Our first stop in Longboat Key is dinner at the Dry Dock Waterfront Grill, and we had our traditional bottle of Cakebread Cellars Chardonnay. We also had a dinner at Euphemia Haye, which has such a beautiful dining room with pretty white lights inside.

4) I have two favorite reading spots in Longboat Key. When the sun is shining, I walk two miles down the beach to the Longboat Key Club and sit under an umbrella by the Gulf of Mexico. The sound of the waves is so soothing. If the weather is iffy, I pull out the big pool chair and read while I float around our pool. It's very peaceful and quiet, an antidote to the craziness of New York City.

5) While in Florida, I read Susan Wigg's latest novel, The Oysterville Sewing Circle, about a young  fashion designer who ends up leaving New York City with the two young children of her best friend in tow. She goes back home to Oysterville, Washington to try and pick up the pieces of their shattered lives and ends up helping women who are touched by domestic violence. It was a good read, and I'll post a review next week.

I started Jenna Bush Hager's newest Today Show Read With Jenna Book Club pick, Patsy, by Nicole Dennis-Benn. Patsy is a Jamaican woman who leaves her home and young daughter behind to try and make it in New York City and reconnect with the woman she loves. It's much more difficult than she thought it would be, and her daughter is so unhappy to be left behind. The writing is just exquisite, and I'm torn between wanting to see how it ends and not wanting to leave this book.

I hope you had a good week, there will be more exciting bookish things coming up in next week's edition.