Author Jennifer Chiaverini brings to life two characters
who have floated around the perimeter of her previous Elm
Creek Quilts novels in her latest offering, SONOMA ROSE.
Fans of this charming quilt-oriented series are introduced
to Elizabeth Bergstrom Nelson, Sylvia's cousin, and her
friend, Rosa Diaz in a story set as the country is coping
with all the restrictions of Prohibition.
Mother to eight children, Rosa mourns the loss of four who
succumbed to the mysterious wasting disease currently
afflicting young Ana and Miguel, while her other two
children are perfectly fine. John, Rosa's abusive husband
refuses to take them into the city so the children can see
a doctor. His mind is clearly on other things, like his
fancy car and keeping secrets about his bootleg business
dealings from his wife.
When a final act of violence shatters Rosa's resolve to
maintain her increasingly dangerous existence, she flees
with the children and her precious heirloom quilts to the
mesa where she last saw her beloved mother alive. On the
brink of being caught in a flash flood, her neighbor and
first love Lars Jorgensen rescues the small family and
helps them leave their town in search of safety, medical
attention for the kids, and possibly a new life for them
all.
After finding a doctor who finally understands what is
happening to Rosa's two ill children, Lars and Rosa find
themselves in the beautiful Sonoma valley outside of San
Francisco, where the family finds work at the Cacchiones'
family vineyard. The entire valley is suffering from the
restrictions placed upon the wine industry due to the
Prohibition Act. Yet, in spite of the hardships, Rosa and
Lars find the valley to be a place of healing, not only for
the children, but for their relationship as well.
It is always a pleasure to read Jennifer Chiaverini's work,
and "SONOMA ROSE" is no exception. Rosa is yet another
strong female heroine among those created by Chiaverini
through her creative storytelling that has the reader
engaged from the moment they step into her life. The reader
can feel a wide range of emotions during Rosa's story -
anger, fear, hope and joy. The bonds of friendship are as
strong as all the other books in this series. The power of
love from a mother's love for her children to the enduring
love between a man and a woman are woven beautifully
through the pages of SONOMA ROSE.
From New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Chiaverini,
a powerful and dramatic Prohibition-era story that follows
the fortunes of Rosa Diaz Barclay, a woman who plunges into
the unknown for the safety of her children and the love of a
good but flawed man. As the nation grapples with the
strictures of Prohibition, Rosa Barclay lives on a Southern
California rye farm with her volatile husband, John, who has
lately found another source of income far outside the
federal purview. Mother to eight children, Rosa mourns the
loss of four who succumbed to the mysterious wasting disease
that is now afflicting young Ana and Miguel. Two daughters
born of another father are in perfect health. When an act of
violence shatters Rosa's resolve to maintain her
increasingly dangerous existence, she flees with the
children and her precious heirloom quilts to the mesa where
she last saw her beloved mother alive. As a flash flood
traps them in a treacherous canyon, only one man is brave-or
foolhardy-enough to come to their rescue: Lars Jorgenson,
Rosa's first love and the father of her healthy daughters.
Together they escape to Berkeley, where a leading specialist
offers their only hope of saving Ana and Miguel. Here in
northern California, they create new identities to protect
themselves from Rosa's vengeful husband, the police who seek
her for questioning, and the gangsters Lars reported to
Prohibition agents-officers representing a department often
as corrupt as the Mob itself. Ever mindful that his youthful
alcoholism provoked Rosa to spurn him, Lars nevertheless
supports Rosa's daring plan to stake their futures on a
struggling Sonoma Valley vineyard-despite the recent
hardships of local winemakers whose honest labors at
viticulture have, through no fault of their own, become
illegal.
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