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Book Review of The Avalon Ladies Scrapbooking Society

The Avalon Ladies Scrapbooking Society
dollycas avatar reviewed on + 704 more book reviews


Darien Gee, the author of Friendship Bread takes us back to Avalon, Illinois, population 4243.

Madelines Tea Salon is the place residents meet and catch up and even occasionally get together as a group like the members of The Avalon Ladies Scrapbooking Society founded by Bettie Shelton. Under Betties guidance, even the most reluctant of Avalons residents come to terms with their past and make bold decisions about their future.

Isabel Kidd is fixing up her ramshackle house while sorting through the complications of her late husbands affair. Ava Catalina is mourning the love of her life and helping her young son grow up without his father. Local plumber Yvonne Tate is smart, beautiful, and new to Avalon, but finds that despite a decade of living life on her own terms, the past has a way of catching upno matter where she goes. And Frances Latham, mother to a boisterous brood of boys, eagerly anticipates the arrival of a little girl from Chinaunprepared for the emotional roller coaster of foreign adoption.

Bettie has helped so many people and now she is facing a trial of her own. Everyone needs to come together and create something truly memorable just for her.

Dollycass Thoughts

Darien Gee writes about friendship and she does it masterfully. I was actually sad when I reached the last page. Bettie may not be adored by everyone in Avalon but she sure is the glue that holds the town together. She believes the answer to every problem is scrapbooking and saving memories. It is also the community of scrapbookers and their families that gather together to share their projects and support each other through good times and bad.

While Bettie is the main character of this story, the supporting characters are written just as well. A few characters return from Gees first story but we are introduced to new ones as well. There are several prominent supporting characters. You need to take your time, this is not a book to rush through, so you can really get to know these fabulous. characters and their stories. I said in my review of Friendship Bread that is was a story to be savored and the same is true with this story. The characters are rich and their stories feel real. One story line reminds me of similar circumstances in the Miss Julia Series by Ann B. Ross.

Gee has written another heartwarming and inspiring story that you will want to share with all your friends. I can only hope that this is not our last trip to Avalon. Both books are fabulous and can be read as stand alone but you will want to read both and then you will want to bake bread, start scrapbooking and get together with all your friends and family. The recipes and scrapbooking tips are a real added bonus.