The Sweetgum Knit Lit Society

Take five knitters, put them in a book club, expand it to include a rebellious teen and you've got this agreeable ""yarn"" by Pattillo. Eugenie Pierce is a 60-something ""tough love"" librarian in Sweetgum, Tenn. who finds the neglected 13-year-old Hannah Simmons tearing out pages of a library book. In reparation, Hannah must attend Eugenie's ""Knit Lit Society"" at Sweetgum Christian Church. Pattillo offers a melange of additional characters: Merry McGavin is an overwhelmed mother; single gal Ruthie Allen is 55 and at odds with her sister, Esther Jackson; Camille St. Clair is a 24-year-old committed to caring for her terminally ill mother. All five women harbor secrets that Hannah's presence in the group will prompt them to reveal. Though the plot can be predictable, the story grows smoothly in Pattillo's competent hands. As each woman's situation comes to a crisis point, the tension never escalates past a gentle simmer. Pattillo, a Rita Award-winning writer author (Heavens to Betsy) creates a sweet story of redemption that will go down well with knitters as well as the knitting-challenged.