Everyone in Yorktide, Maine, knows sixteen-year-old Sarah Bauer. She's a good student and a dutiful daughter, as well as a beloved best friend to Cordelia Kane. So Set in a picturesque Maine beach town, bestselling author Holly Chamberlin's heartwarming and insightful novel delves into the choices and changes faced by two families over the course of one eventful summer. So it's a surprise to all when sensible Sarah reveals that she is pregnant. Though shocked, Sarah's family is supportive. But while Sarah reconciles herself to a new and different future, the consequences ripple in all directions.
Her father--a proud, old-time Mainer--tries to find more work to defray expenses. Her younger sister grapples with a secret she can't share. Cordelia feels abandoned, and Cordelia's mother faces the repercussions of a long-ago decision. As Sarah's mother, Cindy, frets about how she'll juggle childcare with her job at the local quilting store, she seizes on an idea: Piece by piece, a beautiful design emerges. And as it progresses, reflecting the hopes and cares of the women who create it, each will find strength in the friendship and love that sustains them, in hardship and in joy.
Paperback , pages. Published June 24th by Kensington first published January 1st To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up. To ask other readers questions about The Beach Quilt , please sign up.
Lists with This Book. This book is not yet featured on Listopia.
Twin Beach Bedding
May 10, Janet rated it did not like it Shelves: I hate to write negative reviews, especially when it's on a giveaway book, but I simply did not enjoy The Beach Quilt. On the plus side, it was a quick, easy read. However, while it was easy to digest, it lacked depth and purpose. No one, including Sarah, saw it coming since Sarah is a smart, level-headed girl who follows the rules.
If anythin I hate to write negative reviews, especially when it's on a giveaway book, but I simply did not enjoy The Beach Quilt. If anything, her flighty best friend Cordelia is more likely to make a crazy, life-altering decision. What unfolds is the journey Sarah goes on in making the hard decision to keep the baby and be a single, teenage mom.
For such a potentially weighty subject matter, The Beach Quilt was oddly What made the matter more confusing was that there was potential for conflict given the abundance of characters. For example, we hear how best friends Sarah and Cordelia are complete opposites, but no back story really lends itself to why they get along so well or why they remain such close friends.
Then there's the attempt at conflicts injected midway through the story in the revelation that Cordelia's mom gave a child up for adoption years ago, or the foreshadowing of a forgotten child syndrome that could be a problem with Sarah's sexually confused younger sister. But instead of being story lines that are mined, instead they remain as planted seeds, never cultivated. As I was reading The Beach Quilt I kept shaking my head in the missed opportunities, convinced it was going to be a two star rating pretty early on.
However, the attempt at a plot twist in the last hundred pages or so really left things on a sour note for me and just went downhill from there. I'll spare the details here, but I also wouldn't spare your time in reading this novel. Jul 26, Susan rated it did not like it. Do not waste your time on this one! The story is so drawn out and filled with such stupid, inane details that add nothing to the story. I didn't like the authors style of writing, very juvenile.
Mad at myself for continuing to read it when I never liked it from the start! Jul 03, Jamie rated it did not like it Shelves: I kept reading this book even though I never really felt connected to the people in it. I should have given up and moved on. The ending was terrible and completely out of the blue. May 30, Connie rated it it was ok Shelves: I was excited to read this and hoped it would be heart wrenching and heartwarming all at the same time. The potential for both was there but I didn't feel it.
The story centers around a teenage pregnancy and what this does to the relationships of the four main characters Sarah, her best friend Cordelia and their Mother's Cindy and Adelaide. I thought this started out strong But it only got weaker and weaker for me. I felt the characters were left flat, almost one dimensional and opportunity to dig a bit deeper was not taken.
I also felt that there was a lot of repetitive dialogue among the characters Chamberlin dropped in the topics of adoption and sexuality as side stories, but then just sort of left them there It was like she wanted to cram more than one dilemma into this story but never went anywhere with them. I also felt she tried to give the reader all the drama they were waiting for in the last few chapters, which didn't work for me at all That said, after a couple very intense reads, this is just what I needed. A quick, sort of mindless read to pass a lazy, too hot to be outdoors kind of Saturday.
Aug 04, Denise rated it liked it. Any book about the beach and quilting intrigues me. This book is more than a simple beach read. The complex struggle of teen pregnancy, adoption and family secrets are woven together as these women create a special quilt and bond together. The story occurs in a beach town in Maine in the Busy Bee quilt shop. Jan 08, Jessica rated it it was ok.
I'm going to have to agree with the other reviewers on this one. I love some of Chamberlin's novels like "Seashell Season" , but others just seem to be hit or miss. This book had so much potential, but it just fell flat, as there was too much time spent on silly and minute details. I wanted it to go so much deeper into the characters thoughts and struggles than it did.
Jun 12, Lisa rated it it was ok. I found the story drawn out. Too much time spent on details that were not integral to the story. I didn't hate it, just was disappointed. I received this book as an advance copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Nov 14, Catherine rated it liked it.
- See a Problem?.
- The Beach Quilt?
- One Kansas Farmer: A Kansas Number Book (America by the Numbers)!
Hard to get started on. It did show how one little mistake affects so many and in different ways. Each chapter was only a few pages and didn't let you get deep into the story. Jul 20, Kate McDougall Sackler rated it did not like it. Flat, uninteresting characters and a plot that had potential if handled differently. Almost as an afterthought, the book ends where it should have begun. Jul 05, Sarah rated it it was amazing Shelves: On one hand, there is Cordelia, a not-so-bad-off student, who may not be the one with the highest grades but who definitely has her head on straight despite her lack of focus.
Then there is Sarah, the quite, brainy one, who befriend Justin, falls madly in lust with him and makes decisions that affect both girls and their families. This is the heartwarming story of two families, intertwined but separate.
The Beach Quilt by Holly Chamberlin
I was a bit surprised by the ending, as I really did not expect that. However, it does seem fitting, after reflecting on it. This is a story filled with love and humor and lots of surprising twists and turns. It is not a mystery but rather a story of two families and how decisions affect them. I have not read anything else by the author but grew to love and enjoy her warm, polished style.
I think this would be a great summer read or an anytime read for anyone looking for a really good story about friendship, love and what matters most to all of us. Nov 14, Joni Owens rated it did not like it. The author comes across as judgmental and frigid.
All while condoning ppl for judging. Then the plot holes and unfinished storylines were unforgivable. I hate read this to completion bc I never dnf. Such a waste of time when it had such great potential. May 30, Kati rated it it was ok Shelves: I won this as a goodreads.
- Top Selected Products and Reviews.
- Limen.
- John Sinclair - Folge 1803: Das Gespenst der Nacht (German Edition);
- Warranty & Support.
- Quilt Covers | Home | BIG W.
Was, like Sarah, a good student who made a rather stupid choice. I found this book to be preachy though not necessarily of the Christian sort of preaching , contrived, over-thought It start I won this as a goodreads. It started with a total info-dump in the first 5 chapters, giving us each of the main characters in a chapter, each chapter from their point of view, and much too much more info in those chapters than was necessary.
We learn about the strained relations between extended family members when such info could've been dropped much more casually further on in the book, and in most cases those minor-characters relatives of the main characters didn't come into play at all. We didn't need to know all about Cordelia's auntie who owns a rustic cabin on the shores of Lake Michigan.
She wasn't mentioned more than twice more in the rest of the book. That kind of info-dump was the whole set-up of those first 5 chapters and it was unnecessary. The teen characters, Sarah and Cordelia are often much more thorough about their thoughts and feelings on certain issues and concepts than any teenager I've ever seen, or been. Again, having come at this book as a past teen mom, I see Sarah thinking through her pregnancy as even more "mature" than most somethings would.
It didn't ring true, it felt forced and overthought. It felt as though the author was contemplating all this and putting her thoughts in Sarah's or Cordelia's mind. If it had been a woman of Adelaide' or Cindy's age, those thoughts would've made more sense, but the depth and solid consideration of the experiences, problems, complications, frustrations, etc Sarah is portrayed as being very smart, but the way she thinks about things is mature on a level that most year olds I know don't consider things.
She became a very unbelievable character. Cordelia was unbelievable from another perspective. She was portrayed as being shallow and self-absorbed. I found her frequently very unlikable. But just about the time the author would have her being incredibly shallow and immature even freaking out about a dentist appointment or any other doctor's appointment, to a degree that most people stop being terrified after about 10 or 12 , Cordelia would spout something too well-thought out and contrived to be coming out her mouth even as a year old.
Explore the Collections
Stevie was the only teen who's thought-process felt reasonably real, though once or twice she also felt over-done. Cindy's secret-keeping from her hubby was not resolved in any way, and I felt like it should've been resolved in some manner, either with her hubby finding out by accident and being upset, or being sad that she didn't confide sooner after she finally does.
She never does confide, and given the supposed strength of their relationship, this feels false. Adelaide is about the most likable of the character, though she gets rather preachy at times and is also sometimes very wishy-washy in her opinions and thoughts on Sarah's pregnancy and other incidences in the story. I felt that there was a situation involving Adelaide's parents that should've been resolved.
I also really liked Stevie. I think she's the character that I came to care about the most. She felt the most real, the most well-rounded. The cat, Clarissa, was a bit of a device that didn't seem to really go anywhere. One thing I felt was positively ridiculous was that the author gave 4 of the 7 or 8 guys mentioned in the book names beginning with J.
Each chapter was no more than 5 pages long, which means that for all the contrived nature of this story, it did flow quickly. Finally, I found the events at the climax and following to be contrived as well. Suddenly there's a character who's not needed any more, kill them off. And in a way that had been made much of throughout the story, so yeah So many other ways that this character could've been killed off, that the author had to pick the one that had at least 2 of the characters scared through half the book just felt gimmicky.
Literacy Daily
Jun 26, Sojourner rated it it was amazing Shelves: Insightful, intricate and yet heartwarming, The Beach Quilt by bestselling author Holly Chamberlin is set in the picturesque coastal town of Maine, and follows the story of sixteen-year-old Sarah Bauer, and how her actions will decisively change the course of her life and that of her family and those closest to her forever.
The Beach Quilt is about friendship, family dynamics, home, choices and secrets. Dutiful, obedient and loving almost to a fault, Sarah Bauer is adored by almost everyone. When she gets close to nineteen years old Justin, who is quite the opposite of Sarah, the unlikely friendship surprised many. They all reacted in their own different ways, each according to their relationship with Sarah. The Beach Quilt by Holly Chamberlin is refreshingly different and the story is truly original in concept and characterization. This tender, heartwarming and passionate novel will touch your heart like no other story.
Jul 05, Lisa rated it liked it. I borrowed this book from the library and read it on my Kindle. I debated finishing this book. The story showed promise, but became really bogged down in the middle. As someone else said, it reminded me of a YA book and I've read better in that genre. Something about the characters' personalities and how they spoke, thought, etc, did not ring true. The maturity levels did not match their ages. I disliked Cordelia and had no sympathy or patience for her.
Too many disparate stories were crammed int I borrowed this book from the library and read it on my Kindle. Too many disparate stories were crammed into the book, even though it dragged. Now your classroom quilt is ready to go on display! Frame, Jeron Ashford Hunter , MS is a literacy tutor and aspiring children's book author. You can visit her online at www.
Leave a comment
Thank you for the comment! Your comment must be approved first. You've already submitted a review for this item. Your review has been submitted successfully. Login to be able to comment. Comment cannot be empty. You typed the code incorrectly. Blog Posts Putting Books to Work. History and Symbolism Read the story out loud to your students. Here are a few questions to prompt a lively group discussion: How does the reader know this? What does flying symbolize for Cassie?
Possible answers might be: Freedom for herself to go beyond the boundaries of her home, freedom for her father from racial bigotry with the unions and freedom for her mother to be able to live like the wealthy neighbors who can sleep late each morning. Ask students to give examples from the text and illustrations to support their answers.
How can you tell? What are some traditions that Cassie and her family have? Additional Resources and Activities: Please do not reproduce in any form, electronic or otherwise. Show oldest on top Show newest on top. Please type the code above. Sign up to our email list for updates, savings, and more! Thanks for signing up! Please look for a confirmation email from us.