Knitting Under the Influence

Claire LaZebnik
5 Spot (2006)
ISBN 0446697958
Reviewed by Kelley Anderson for Reader Views (9/06)

Kathleen, Lucy and Sari are three friends who knit. Kathleen is flighty, unreliable, and oversexed. Lucy is studious, lacks self-confidence and is dating Mr. Handsome. Sari is a hard-worker, dedicated to the children she cares for, and has no dating prospects. But, ask any girl with a friend, and she'll tell you that having something in common doesn't matter nearly as much as having a good friend. This fictional account of three friends who knit has it all: characters who jump to life, twists and turns that happen to all of us sooner or later, and a nice, happy ending.

The author of “Knitting Under the Influence” not only entertains us with the adventures of Kathleen, Lucy and Sari, but also introduces us to the complex issue of families dealing with an autistic child. You meet Sari, who's older brother has autism, and she has made it her life's work to help these children. After seeing how her brother was bullied and picked on throughout school, she tries her best to prevent that from happening to any of the children she works with at the clinic.

Lucy works in a research laboratory and part of her job is killing rats for her studies. When her boyfriend and Sari cross paths, the boyfriend doesn't think Sari's work at the clinic is a good use of the money. "Meanwhile, that money - and intelligent clinicians like you - could be put to far better use pursuing scientific solutions to the problem." You find yourself wondering where to draw the line. Do researchers have the right to use and/or exploit their subjects for the "greater good"? Do the ends justify the means?

Kathleen has a much subtler hidden lesson. Fickle and spoiled, she bounces from man to man with a not-so-hidden agenda. Marry rich and live happily ever after. But will her reputation ruin her chances for happiness? Can things done now prevent people from seeing under the surface to the real you?

My favorite part of the book is when Kathleen, Sari and Lucy use their boyfriends to distract Sari's mother while they sneak her brother to an ice cream shop. The idea of everyone working together to do something that obviously meant so much to Sari was touching.

I feel “Knitting Under the Influence” is perfect for teenage and young adult females. It is fast-paced, filled with enough action to keep you interested, and not overbearing with its lessons. My age is starting to creep above "young adult" and I still found that I couldn't put the book down!

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