The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs

I just finished reading The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs for my Lakeshore Mom's Book Club . . . just on time since my book club meeting is tomorrow night!!

Georgia Walker is an independent woman who owns her own knit store "Walker and Daughter" and struggles with trying to raise her 12-year old daughter Dakota. A core group of Walker and Daughter patrons organize the Friday Night Knitting Club where a little bit of knitting gets done, but also a lot of bonding. The book tells the story of the main group of Club characters, but focuses usually on Georgia, Dakota, and Georgia's mentor, Anita. When Dakota's father James reenters Georgia's life, things are brought to a turmoil.

I thought this book was a great story of female friendship. I also thought it was a good story that was true to life . . . as in life doesn't always go according to plan, but we make the most of it. One thing that can keep us all together is our bonds with others. These bonds are most important during times of crisis. I won't say more than that you need a box of kleenex with this book!

My only complaint is that I felt that some of the secondary characters were not developed enough. I loved some of them. . . Gran reminded me of my Great-Grandma Kile and Anita was a terrific friend. Others had good starts of stories (Cat-Georgia's "frenemy" from the past, Darwin-doctoral student with woes, Lucie-a woman starting out as a single mother), but they weren't well rounded or fleshed out behind 2-D characterization. A lot of questions were not solved by the end .. . hopefully they will be more developed in the sequel, Knit Two.

Overall I thought this was a great book and I really enjoyed reading it. I read online that this may become a movie starring Julia Roberts - one can only hope!