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This is the ninth book in the Elm Creek Quilt series although this is the first one I’ve read. I will be going to my local library to look for copies of the other books in the series so I can read them too.

The concept of this book was new to me, but very interesting. Two of the teachers/artists at Elm Creek Quilts are leaving so new people have to be hired to take their place. In chapter one we learn about Maggie, one of the applicants. We find out what her life is like now, how she came to the decision to apply for a position at Elm Creek Quilts, and we get to be there with her as she has her interview.

In chapters two, three, four, and five, we meet four of the other applicants, Karen, Anna, Russell (yes, a male quilter whose story of how he started quilting is touching), and Gretchen. All five of these people who we come to learn about are interviewed for the open positions, but not everyone is hired because only two positions are open.

In chapter six of the book, the interviewers discuss the applicants they interviewed, make their decision, and extend offers to those people. You may or may not agree with who they choose to hire (I only agreed with one of their choices), but because the book brings you into the lives of all five of the final applicants, you wish they could all be hired.

I thought the chapters on each applicant and their interview was a clever concept. I really enjoyed the book. I’ll definitely read the tenth book in the series when it’s released on April 2007.

The book didn’t take me long to read. I finished it in two nights and enjoyed every page.

But because the books are in a series, I was wondering how important it was to read them in the order they were written because with some series books I’ve read reading them in chronological order was important to know what was going on and to not have plot lines spoiled; but in other series order didn’t matter.

So I checked Jennifer Chiaverini’s web site. She says she wasn’t planning on writing a series when she first started and that she wrote all the books to stand on their own. But she cautions that later books will give away plot lines in earlier books. But the order she wrote the books differs a little from their chronological order. If you want to read the series in chronological order (books 1 through 9), read them as follows:
The Sugar Camp Quilt
The Quilter’s Apprentice
The Christmas Quilt
Round Robin
The Cross-Country Quilters
The Runaway Quilt
The Quilter’s Legacy
The Master Quilter
Circle of Quilters

If you want to read the series in the order it was written then read it as follows:
The Quilter’s Apprentice
Round Robin
The Cross-Country Quilters
The Runaway Quilt
The Quilter’s Legacy
The Master Quilter
The Sugar Camp Quilt
The Christmas Quilt
Circle of Quilters

Personally, I plan to go back and read the rest of the books in chronological order. As I read each one I’ll review it and post that review on this web site.

My rating (0-10 smiley faces): 9 smiley faces ☻☻☻☻☻☻☻☻☻☺