Unravelled.

Tami Oliphant is a Ph.D. candidate in Library and Information Studies at the University of Western Ontario.

Beth Carruthers is a 33-year-old with a life plan. She has recently broken up with her commitment-phobic boyfriend, Colin, because not only is he afraid of getting married, he doesn’t want kids either. Beth is not prepared to put aside her carefully crafted plans of marriage and a family. So, despite her feelings for Colin, she ends their relationship. Soon after the breakup, Beth is cajoled into joining a stitch-and-bitch club by her friend Angie, who senses that the knitting club might be just the thing to help Beth get over Colin.

Beth reluctantly attends the stitch-and-bitch but soon finds herself enjoying the knitting and particularly enjoying the new people she meets. The group is a motley crew: there’s the innocent and traditional Nicola, who is planning her wedding to a man she hasn’t lived with or slept with; Angie, Beth’s friend, who tends to have recreational relationships rather than long-term ones; Sophie, a new mom whose marriage is on the verge of falling apart; and Martin, Beth’s friend and editor at a magazine that Beth occasionally writes freelance articles for.

The group bonds together precisely because of their differences in life experience. They discover that it is, indeed, sometimes easier to talk to strangers about personal issues than those you are closest to. The knitting club appears to be the harbinger of positive events in Beth’s life. She has met new friends, she is obtaining more freelance work, and she begins dating a handsome older man, Jim. Jim promises to be everything that Colin wasn’t: he’s an architect who’s passionate about environmental issues, he’s sophisticated, he’s committed, and he’s ambitious.

As Nicola’s wedding date approaches, Beth’s life becomes unravelled. Sophie falls for Martin, creating havoc in the knitting club. Colin isn’t moving on from their relationship, and Jim proves to be a lot more than he appears.

Unravelled is pure escapist entertainment. It is a well-written and amusing romance that is reflective of the chick-lit genre.