The last of the three Chelmsford sisters remains the toughest, and wants to pass on that quality to her granddaughter Amanda. This last book in the trilogy, following Stitch in Time and Broken Days, re-unites the family and their pieces of quilt that the first two books divided.

Wild coincidences abound in this book. Grandmother Abigail forces the fourteen-year-old Amanda to remain silent for two weeks, teaching her an unusual skill that comes in handy later when Amanda can't betray her southern accent while hiding in the Lowell textile mills. When the evil Nicholas chases Amanda through the dark streets of Lowell he's certain to kill her. Fortunately, Nancy, Thankful's half-Indian daughter, formerly called "Walking Breeze," just happens to be out and about, armed with scissors.

Rinaldi strains to concoct a plot that will bring the quilt and the family back together, and relies on such remarkable coincidences to keep the story moving. And she mars her writing with frequent sentence fragments.

Katherine Paterson's brilliant Lyddie explains the Lowell mills far better, with a more intense and believable story.