Knitting Under the Influence

July 24, 2006
Three L.A. girlfriends keep it together with their Sunday morning knitting circle in LaZebnik's sophomore warm-fuzzy (after Same as It Never Was
). Charming, irresponsible Kathleen Winters is dependent on her identical twin sisters (semi-famous actresses reminiscent of Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen) for a paycheck and a home. After drunkenly spilling family secrets to a reporter, she sets off in a turquoise Mini Cooper to find an apartment and job of her own. Meanwhile, scientific researcher Lucy Cameron questions her career and love life as her lab and her self-righteous boyfriend become the targets of animal rights activists. Sari Hill faces the deepest conflict of all when the same "good-looking asshole" who tortured her brother in high school shows up with his autistic son at the autism clinic where she works. Each young woman re-examines her beliefs as the knitting projects—a hot pink bikini, a midnight blue baby blanket, a sweater—pass by. The tangled paths to three satisfying resolutions are marked by hot sex, an adorable gray kitten and, above all else, girl talk. LaZebnik juggles periods of personal crisis while maintaining her characters' complex individuality. Social knitters, especially, will relate to the bond that strengthens over the click-clack of the girls' needles.

August 15, 2006
Three twentysomething friends get together every Sunday morning for their knitting circle. This is not your mother's knitting circle -knitted tube tops and bikinis figure prominently. Flighty, gorgeous Kathleen wants to change her life after quitting her job as assistant to her actress twin sisters. Lucy, a scientist and former fatty, wants to think she has the perfect relationship with her boss and lover, James. And sensible Sari, a therapist working with autistic children, tries not to fall for Jason, the father of a client. Sari's story has the most emotional resonance -author LaZebnik ("Same As It Never Was") cowrote a nonfiction book on autism and has an autistic son -as she struggles with her feelings for Jason, whom she believes tormented her autistic brother in high school. Refreshingly, the gals' banter is often acerbic but never catty. They are truly devoted friends, and the men in their lives are merely the icing on the cake. The characters and problems here are more realistically portrayed than in many chick-lit books, which makes this a nice combination of humor and heartache. Recommended." -Lisa Davis-Craig, Canton P.L., MI"

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