The Thread Collector is a Civil War historical novel. The title captures several aspects of the lives that authors, Shaunna J. Edwards and Alyson Richman, have created. In the south, Willie is a flutist who escapes his bondage to help the Union Army. He leaves behinds love, Stella, who uses threads to sew escape maps for other Black men, who are trying to escape New Orleans to join the Union Army.

In the north, Lily sews quilts and shirts for Jacob, who joined the Union Army as a musician. In a sense the two women use thread to connect the two stories together. But the threads also symbolize the connections between Jason and Willie and Lily and Stella. The 4 characters are bound together by music, love, and war.

This story is carefully detailed, with each character's background explored in depth, further creating the threads that connect them. I do recommend tbs book, as uniquely drawn. The horror of this war and the conflict of brother versus brother is explored, as are the many manifestations of death and injury. The research that went into this historical novel is evident.

I will not include spoilers, but I do want to thank the authors and the publisher for providing this ARC, in exchange for my honest review. I am also thankful to NetGalley fr providing access to this novel.

This was a beautifully written historical fiction book set during the Civil War. It is told by 2 different perspectives. Jacob who is in the Union army and his wife Lily who is an abolitionist. William is a slave who runs away to join the Union army and his love Stella who embroiders maps on fabric for slaves to escape and join the army too. I loved how it told different points of view and shows how the war affected different people. This would make an excellent book club book! I received an advanced readers copy and all opinions are my own.

What a heartbreaking, moving story. Written with sensitivity and nuance, Richman and Edwards are weavers of magic having created a magnificent Civil War novel. It's an important story of two very different women and the struggles they endure to stay true to themselves and the people they love. The characters you meet on these pages will sear themselves into your heart and you will never forget them. Brilliant. Beautiful. Bravo.

Alyson Richman is one of those authors that I read just based on the name. And she NEVER disappoints. This book had a little bit of everything. History, suspense, love, friendship, heartbreak……..I couldn’t put it down. The Civil War seems to be a character on to itself in this book.

I found myself wondering how she and Shaunna Edwards wrote the book together . It made me think of the challenges and excitements of co-authoring a book together.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a sneak peak of this amazing novel.

Thank you to Netgalley for the chance to read and review an advanced copy of this book. This story is told through the perspective of two couples, each separated as the men fight for the union army in the civil war.
Jacob and Lily are a pair of Jewish abolitionist newlyweds from New York and William and Stella are slaves in New Orleans. The two men meet when Jacob is assisting with intake exams of black soldiers and William, who has escaped to join the military, comes to stand before him. Both men are musicians and they form a friendship and a bond over their time together. Lily, home in New York tries her best to be supportive of the war efforts, but is disconnected by distance and true understanding of the devastation happening on the battlefields. Stella does her part by stitching maps for slaves to use in their escapes and including essential information she collects in secret. The four of them will intersect and depend on one another’s strengths and ingenuity for survival.

The co author team is made up of a Black woman and a Jewish woman who set out to tell a story inspired by their own family histories and delving into the politics and social structures of the time that not only divided a nation, but also created divisions within families.

This book is a testament of friendship, love, family, and integrity. Beautiful writing and characters, it would be a wonderful book club pick, full of opportunities for rich discussion.

I felt this was a well researched civil war novel about an unlikely friendship. I loved the setting and felt immersed in the story which is the mark of a good novel .
Thanks for letting me review this book and to Netgalley and the publisher

Set in the midst of the Civil War, The Thread Collectors follows two very different women whose paths collide unexpectedly. In New Orleans, Stella, a young Black woman, sews maps that help enslaved men escape and join the Union Army. Lily, a Jewish woman in New York City, creates a quilt for her husband, a Union soldier stationed in Louisiana. When she goes months without hearing from him, she decides to journey to Louisiana to find him. Loosely based on both authors’ family histories, the novel focuses on the threads that bind people and ultimately save them. It is a fabulous read.

Thank you NetGalley, the publisher, and most of all the author for this marvelous story of love, war and things things that bind us. Through their needle work a Black woman and a Jewish woman even through miles apart using their needlework making maps for those searching for freedom. Loved the historical story and all the characters. Wish there would be a follow up book on Lily,Jacob and Stella, William and little Wade. Thank you!

Thank you net galley for the advance reader copy of this novel. This was a civil war historical fiction novel with themes of family and sacrifice. I liked Stella's character the best as she sees maps for slaves to use on the journey to freedom. The authors did a lot of research to make the pieces of this novel fit together...a Jewish NY woman and a LA slave. A bit slow in places but overall a good read.

I love finding a book that tells a good story but also reveals parts of history long forgotten. The Tread Collectors was such a book for me. Being from the South and having read numerous books about slavery, I only now discovered the lengths to which people would go for freedom. The simple things we take for granted, such as thread, or useless garments became a map for men seeking a free and better life.

Add to that the fact that William, a runaway slave was befriended by a Jew from New York fighting in the Union Army added an unexpected dimension and provided tension, and depth of caring from a surprising source.

Shaunna Edwards and Alyson Richman wrote the book together, seamlessly weaving map threads throughout a story that was as surprising as was the ability of those involved in helping the runaway slaves.

Bravo Ladies!

A wonderfully written book. It was incredible to see the war through the eyes of Black and white soldiers and their wives alike. Very glad that I was able to read this book.

Two women fight the battle for the heart and soul of a nation using needles and thread. In 1863 New Orleans, Stella is an enslaved Black woman who must hide her love of one man from the man who “owns” her, all while she is piecing together quilts that include coded maps that will help other enslaved people escape. In New York, Lily makes quilts for her husband, a soldier in the Union Army, all the while hoping that her quilts will somehow keep him safe. When she doesn’t hear from him in months. Lily makes the decision to travel to the battlefields of the Civil War to search for him. In New Orleans these two women meet and discover that their similarities outweigh their differences. Based on stories from the authors own ancestors