The Friday Night Knitting Club

The members could hardly be more different. There is Anita, the elegant older widow who helped Georgia start her business; Darwin, a serious graduate student who claims to dislike knitting; Lucie, a television producer; Peri, an ambitious designer; and Cat, a glamorous old school friend who once betrayed Georgia. Into this circle comes Dakota's father, James, who left before she was born and now wants a place in their lives.

Jacobs moves between the women's stories with warmth and humour, showing how the friendships grow slowly, stitch by stitch, through arguments, confessions and shared projects. Knitting is both a backdrop and a metaphor, and readers who knit will enjoy the details. Late in the book a painful turn tests the group, and it is handled with honesty and tenderness rather than melodrama. Have tissues ready.

Some readers find the cast too large, but most come away with the feeling of having joined the club. Sequels followed. Many readers have taken up knitting after finishing it, and it makes a thoughtful gift for a friend who has been there for you. About 384 pages in the Berkley paperback.