The Shop on Blossom Street
by Debbie Macomber
List Price: $7.50
Pages: 416
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 0778321606
Publisher: Mira Books
There's a little yarn shop on Blossom Street in Seattle. It's owned by Lydia Hoffman, and it represents her dream of a new life free from cancer. A life that offers a chance at love...
Lydia teaches knitting to beginners, and the first class is "How To Make a Baby Blanket." Three women join. Jacqueline Donovan wants to knit something for her grandchild as a gesture of reconciliation with her daughter-in-law. Carol Girard feels that the baby blanket is a message of hope as she makes a final attempt to conceive. And Alix Townsend is knitting her blanket for a court-ordered community service project.
These four very different women, brought together by an age-old craft, make unexpected discoveries --- about themselves and each other. Discoveries that lead to friendship and more...
top of the page
1. While the main characters come from very different walks of life, they meet regularly and have a common interest (knitting). Have you ever been in a similar reading/discussion/hobby group? What did you get out of it?
2. Of the four main characters --- Lydia, Jacqueline, Carol and Alix --- is there one that particularly captured your imagination? Why?
3. Taking each main character in turn, decide on 3 --- 4 adjectives that most aptly describe that person (example: courageous, angry, wimpy, disappointed, etc.). How do they manifest these characteristics? How do you feel about these people?
4. Discuss the relationship between Jacqueline and Tammie Lee, her unconventional daughter-in-law. Is her changing opinion reflective of other things happening in Jacqueline's life, or does it cause things to happen?
5. When Tammie Lee tells Jacqueline the Uncle Bubba story (page 305), she ends with the advice that "the power is yours, and you can use it as you wish." What do you think of Jacqueline's solution? Could you have done it?
6. Jacqueline and Reese each made critical decisions 10 years ago (after Reese's affair) that radically affected their lives, together and separately. If you were in a similar situation with your spouse (if you are single, imagine yourself married), how would you handle it? What do you think of their decisions/actions?
7. By the end of the book, the main characters' lives are transformed by the power of love. Discuss how this happens in each instance. Can you share similar examples you have seen in the lives of people around you?
8. Might the stories have created a different impression if they'd been told from the men's points of view? How do you think the men in these pairings would have described their lives at the beginning of the story --- and at the end? (Jordon/Alix, Doug/Carol, Reese/Jacqueline, Brad/Lydia)
9. Alix starts the knitting class at A Good Yarn initially as a way to satisfy court-ordered community service hours, but she winds up being mentored by the other women to varying degrees, and particularly by Lydia. Have you ever mentored anyone in anything? What benefits does mentoring give the mentor as well as the person mentored?
10. The many benefits and pleasures of knitting are revealed in quotations that open a number of chapters. Did this help your understanding of the book? Is knitting a metaphor for anything? (A metaphor is a word or action that stands for something else, or adds additional meaning or nuance to it.) Do you knit and if so, what does it mean to you?
11. The author uses multiple voices to tell the stories. How did this narrative device affect your appreciation of the book? Did it affect the way you read the book?
12. The relationship between Lydia and her sister, Margaret, changes dramatically. Discuss their relationship. Why do you think Margaret behaves the way she does? Do you know anyone like her?
13. What did you think of the means by which Doug and Carol eventually adopt a baby? Were the circumstances believable to you?
14. Lydia's reasons for opening a yarn store were daring, considering her circumstances and recent illnesses. If you were in her position, financial and emotional, what might you do? Do you have a dream you haven't been able to act upon?
15. What is the most important thing you want to get out of reading a book? Did this book satisfy that need?
top of the page
"Debbie Macomber's gift for understanding the souls of women --- their relationships, their values, their lives --- is at its peak here."
—BookPage on Between Friends
"Macomber is known for her honest portrayals of ordinary women in small-town America, and this tale cements her position as an icon of the genre."
—Publishers Weekly on 16 Lighthouse Road
"As always, Macomber draws rich, engaging characters."
—Publishers Weekly on Thursdays at Eight
"Macomber is an adept storyteller...many will be entertained by this well-paced story about four women finding happiness and fulfillment through their growing friendship."
—Publishers Weekly on The Shop on Blossom Street
"Macomber offers a very human look at three women who uproot their lives to follow their true destiny."
—Booklist on Changing Habits
"...an insightful look at relationships through the interaction of four women."
—Midwest Book Review on Thursdays at Eight
"Ms. Macomber provides the top in entertaining relationship dramas."
—Reader to Reader
"Macomber's storytelling sometimes yields a tear, at other times a smile."
—Newport News, VA, Daily Press
"Well-developed emotions and appealing characters."
—Publishers Weekly on Montana
