FROM AMAZON: The first time I saw my mother was the night she died. The second time was at a party in Santa Fe.

After a childhood spent in an institution and a series of foster homes, Avery James has trained herself not to wonder about the mother who gave her up. But her safe, predictable life changes one night when she stumbles upon the portrait of a woman who is the mirror image of herself.

Slowly but inevitably, Avery is compelled to discover all she can about her mother, Isabel. Avery is drawn into complex relationships with the people who knew her mother. As she weaves together the threads of her mother's artistic heritage and her grandmother's skills as a healer, Avery learns that while discovering Isabel provides a certain resolution in her life, it's discovering herself that brings lasting happiness.

Second book I have read by this author and I will come back for more. The best thing about this one is the food, the place, the way she sets you right down in the scene. The main character is not perfect, and while you genuinely like her and sympathize you don't feel overwhelmed by pity. She's pretty much what you envision when you think down-to-earth. ( )

Avery is a determined, sometimes outspoken, and intelligent young woman. We first meet her when she is in her mid-twenties, working for a catering company. Out of the blue, she sees a portrait which can only be of her mother... whom she never met.

This starts Avery on a journey into the past, where she was brought up in a children's home before running away at thirteen. As she thinks about people in the past, and learns more about her mother and her various friends, she is gradually able to accept herself and see how her future might pan out.

The style is racy, moving to different time-frames, though written primarily in the present tense. I found it surprisingly gripping, after a few chapters, and read the bulk of it in one sitting. Avery is a wonderful and believable creation, and while there are one or two coincidences that slightly stretched my credulity, they somehow don't matter in context.

Four and a half stars, really. Were it not for a little more bad language than I'm comfortable with I'd have given this five. Definitely recommended. ( )

This book had one of the best opening lines I've run across: "The first time I saw my mother was the night she died. The second time was at a party in Santa Fe." I must say that it, and the quote of W.S Merwin ("Your absence has gone through me like thread through a needle, Everything I do is stitched with its color") perked up my interest, attention, and curiosity. The book was satisfying enough, soothing my soul after a spate of deep, psychologically chilling mysteries. Avery's search for herself and her birth-mother made for an interesting shared journey through the pages of the book. Some of the side stuff, particularly that related to wise women and healing, simultaneously grabbed my attention and made me wonder about the plethora of intuitive/psychic women that inhabit books. Is it representative of the general population or just a good plot point? (Though interestingly enough, a few days after finishing this, I met one such healer, here in Charleston. I have a strong intuition, but this gal has a spirit guide/shaman in the ether at her side.)

I would have liked more depth to the actual story of Isabel, particularly the end of her days. Her art sounds wonderful, and has inspired me to take up a needle again.

The other thing I loved about this book was the overlay of deliciousness in the food prepared. I wanted to eat with Avery and stitch with Isabel. I remember liking the food elements of another book by this author, too. And I'm going to try to recreate Avery's tea from the descriptions in the book. ( )

An engaging and emotional character study. ( )