The Singing Quilt by Kathi Macias
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Jolissa Montoya lives an isolated life with an uncle who is verbally abusive and a stammer than makes talking almost impossible. When her job is cut from full-time to part-time, she wanders into a local church for the first time and meets Eva Pedrosa. Eva, full of the spirit, recognizes God’s hand in bringing them together. She takes Jolissa under her wing and shares with her the story of hymn writer Fanny Crosby with the aid of a quilt made in honor of that famous woman. Their friendship blooms and Eva becomes Jolissa’s adopted grandmother.
There are no unexpected twists or turns in this story. It’s very straightforward if a little too predictable. The gospel message is loud and clear. These types of stories – I think – are well suited to a church book club. Lots of opportunities for discussion with the topics it illustrates.
Three stars only for its predictability and its too-easy answers to all the problems at the end. Not a bad book, but not gripping either. A good read for when you don’t want to think too hard about a story.
Pegg Thomas 