The Half-Stitched Amish Quilting Club by Wanda E. Brunstetter

Title: The Half-Stitched Amish Quilting Club (Half-Stitched Amish Quilting Club #1)

Author: Wanda E. Brunstetter

Pages: 312

Year: 2012

Publisher: Barbour Books

     I really like to read Amish fiction. The whole lifestyle is so much slower paced than mine. I find them to be not only entertaining but relaxing as well.

     I enjoy Wanda Brunstetter’s books very much. She has a very clear writing style that adds to my enjoyment.

     I love the cast of characters that she has developed for this book. The central character is Emma Yoder, an Amish widow who is trying to find what she can do to be more self-sufficient. She has decided to hold a quilting class in her home. Her students include: a young woman who is looking for stability in her life, Star Stephens; Pam and Stuart Johnston, a couple who are at odds with each other; Paul Ramirez, a widowed father trying to raise his infant daughter alone; Jan Sweet, a rough and tough biker who’s been told he should look for something creative to do; and Ruby Lee Williams, a preacher’s wife who is struggling with strife within the church her husband pastors.

     They are all vastly different and yet most of them are very likeable right from the start. Even those that annoyed me at the beginning eventually turned out to have some wonderfully redeeming qualities and I liked them all by the end of the book.

     Each family represented has their own problems that they are dealing with. Wanda does a fabulous job of working each of them through their problems individually and yet with the support of the others in the quilting class. She shows that it very possible for those who are struggling to be just what someone else needs, to help them through their own difficulties.

     I give this book a resounding 5 stars. I would actually love to give it a much higher rating yet everywhere I look I see 5 as the highest rating used. I’m looking forward to reading the next book in this series very much.