Eat, Read, and Be Mommy

I know I’ve reviewed other books by Natalie Kinsey-Warnock; she has a New England feel that makes her a cozy read for me, although she’s not the writer that, say, Karen Hesse is.  I finished another of hers on Saturday, and while The Canada Geese Quilt had a plot that appealed to me and enough material for a short but meaningful reading experience, I was perplexed at how ambivalent I felt at the end.  Until, that is, I read the ‘About the Author’ blurb, and I learned it was her first novel.  OH, I thought.  That explains it.   And it did; the book just felt underdeveloped, as if the author couldn’t quite figure out how to get it to live up to its potential.  Thankfully, Kinsey-Warnock has grown as a writer since then.  The Canada Geese Quilt, however, is still worth a read, partly because the ideas it introduces can be helped along to their full potential by discussing them with the child reading the book.  If you’re interesting in giving Kinsey-Warnock a try, don’t start with this one.  If you enjoy her, however, don’t skip it.