The Stitch Clique

by Tina Wells

Meet the Stitch Clique, five stylish girls who share a passion for fashion!

When the store Zoey’s Closet opens its doors to offer sewing classes for beginners, Ava, Gracie, Lily, Maya, and Sophia walk in not knowing each other or what to expect. But as they talk about their favorite fashion looks and trade stories about their families, something just clicks. They discover they have a lot in common—in fact, their differences only make each other more interesting!

Everything seems to be going well until a hurricane hits Maya’s old hometown, leaving it in devastation. Determined to help, the girls come up with an idea: they can raise money for the town’s recovery by putting on a charity benefit… plus a fashion show! They just need to contact the vendors, get the word out, design and sew all the clothes… Will the girls be able to pull it off in time?

From bestselling author Tina Wells, The Stitch Clique weaves a heartfelt story told in alternating perspectives about family, first crushes, and new friendships to last forever.

Genres: Childrens

254 pages, Hardcover

Published November 8, 2022

About the author

Tina Wells is a business strategist, advisor, author, and the founder of RLVNT Media, a multimedia content venture serving entrepreneurs, tweens and culturists with authentic representation. Tina has been recognized by Fast Company’s 100 Most Creative People in Business, Essence’s 40 Under 40 and more.

Reviews

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another book I read before gifting it to my niece. I liked the weekly stitching class (knitting, sewing, etc.) that brought the group together! Just a heads up that this does talk about periods, a child who's a perfectionist and overstretched, and a child who lies to her parents about a boyfriend. Only 4 stars because there were too many grammatical mistakes left in post-editing that I couldn't let it slide.

[Spiri Skye · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my god this was so cute!!! It’s a middle grade read but I really enjoyed it! It’s about five friends that meet at a sewing class. Each is dealing with their own problems and as they become friends they help each other. One girl Lily is Jewish and I loved her storyline!! Wish I had friends like hers that would do Shabbat with me. There was a lot of diverse rep in this book! I’d definitely recommend it! Can’t wait for the next one !

[Melissa (Nissa_the.bookworm) · Rating 5 out of 5]

𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐈𝐅 𝐘𝐎𝐔
📚 loved the Babysitter’s Club series
🪡 like to sew
👯‍♀️ still have childhood friends
👱🏼‍♀️ have a preteen/teen daughter

• 𝐐𝐔𝐈𝐂𝐊 𝐓𝐀𝐊𝐄

During one summer, five unique girls will meet while attending a local Fashion for Passion class and form an unbreakable friendship.

• 𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐈𝐓’𝐒 𝐀𝐁𝐎𝐔𝐓

Gracie, Ava, Lily, Sophia, and Maya are strangers, until they all meet while attending Gracie’s mother’s store for a Fashion for Passion event. As the five girls get to know one another, they begin to form the strongest friendship any of them has had in a long time. Each girl is suffering from something unique; Lily has recently lost her mother, Maya just moved to Philly from Texas, Sophia’s parents are going through a terrible divorce, Ava is being bombarded with extracurriculars, and Gracie doesn’t have any real friends.

As they plan sleepovers and get togethers, the girls will eventually have to step up for their newfound friend, Maya, as she struggles with the devastation from a hurricane hitting her old home in Houston. As they make plans for a charity event to donate to Maya’s friends and families, the girls will face some tough choices, possibly risking their friendship along the way.

• 𝐌𝐘 𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐒

This was an amazing story! I loved each of the unique characters introduced to us. This book reminds me a lot of the Babysitter’s Club, which I absolutely loved growing up. In each girl, I could see characteristics of myself so they were all relatable in varying ways. I also enjoyed the short, easy to read chapters. I would have devoured this as a preteen, so I know others today will love it as well. As an adult, I have a different perspective on this story (especially the part about Sophia not being allowed to date because she should enjoy her childhood while it lasts) which I completely agreed with (haha!). This was a refreshing read, and I can’t wait to read the next book in this series!

[Kristin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Didn't love this. Several typos were very distracting. Story is fine, but in trying to be realistic for teen readers, creates some very unrealistic expectations for real life. Also, this book reads as "too inclusive" in that, by trying to account for all different types of readers, by highlighting what makes each character unique, the story gets really bogged down and boring. Every character's life is dramatic, and for being sold as a book about girls in a sewing club, the sewing/fashion design really falls off fast and is a minor part of the story until the end. Its just a group of teens dealing with their drama. Social media/having a phone is so central to this book that it's going to cause a lot of uncomfortable conversations if you're waiting on giving your kiddo a phone until they're older.

That said, it does ultimately encourage sisterhood over romantic relationships and gives hope that anyone can find friends. This momma approves 12+, though my reader will probably wait until 13 or so.

[Ky · Rating 4 out of 5]

A student recommended this book to me, but I really enjoyed it. The reason it is a 4, not 5 is that there are so many characters that it can be hard to keep track of them. I recommend making a chart when you start reading to differentiate between the girls in the club. It would be great if future editions of the book could somehow include something to help readers with this. However, this inspiring story about a group of middle school girls who become friends through a sewing club is uplifting. The author makes their adventures and tribulations realistic and believable. The way they have to work through things together is relatable to any middle school girl or parent. The illustrations are delightful. I don't think I have ever read another book about a sewing club. I think this fills a niche for creative crafters in this age group. Super read!

[Steph · Rating 4 out of 5]

Middle grade and young teen girls will honestly love this book. So many mentions of social media, a group of unique girls all finding each other as friends, and then craftiness turned into giving back to a community... it'll fly off the library shelves. =)

[Ms. Yingling · Rating 3 out of 5]

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Perfect for fans of Taylor's Sew Zoey or readers who like multicultural ensemble casts in books featuring Girls Who Do Things. Very priviliged characters who are taking a fashion class. I did like that one character was into upcycling fashion.

[Kristen · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book itself was really good, but I couldn’t get over the way the narrator goes to third person instead of narrating from each character’s stream of consciousness.

[Piper Ruiz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have recently taken up sewing and I saw this book and thought it would be interesting. So I bought it and it was so good! I bought the second one already. Buy yours now if you haven’t already

[Layna Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved how Gracie and her friends worked together for fasion.I love shopping and fashion so I liked it.