Engaging ~ An engaging read that that tugs at the heart strings while conveying a story both mysterious and worldly. This tale highlights the importance of relationships between young and old and past and present. I enjoyed it very much. ~ Joseph F Zastrow MD

A Lesson Well Learned ~ What a great book! Any middle grade student would enjoy this beautiful story. It was full of mystery with a wonderful lesson to be learned for all ages. I highly recommend “A Promise Stitched in Time”, you will truly enjoy this outstanding story. ~ Coleen A. Klepesky

A new keeper! ~  What an intriguing and beautiful story! I think my older students will gravitate toward the mystical aspect of it, while still getting involved in the history behind the coat. There were several twists and turns, lots of great historical research, and character lessons thrown in as well. A new keeper! ~ Yvie F. Educator

A great story with relatable characters ~  Author Colleen Kosinski does a perfect job of connecting a present day teenager to a young victim of the Holocaust through an old tweed coat, bought in a thrift store. Written for adolescents but adults will enjoy too. ~ Former English Teacher

A powerful tale ~ A powerful tale inspired by a true Holocaust story, A Promise Stitched in Time is a compelling middle grade novel of history, loss, love, and faith. ~ Kyra L.

A haunting, poignant mystery ~ A haunting, poignant mystery about the enduring power of friendship, even across time; I was rooting for Maggie McConnel right from the first page. ~ Jeffrey Johnson

Like a move ~ Loved this book. Not many writers can capture the reader like Colleen does in this work. To read it is to become one of the characters. Like watching a movie as it unfolds before your eyes. A story of promises, one to her recently deceased father and the other made eighty years ago, but by who? Follow Young Maggie as the mystery of the tweed coat haunts her night and day. Enjoy her first kiss with Taj, a steampunk dressing outcast, who helps her more than anyone to untangle the mystery. Through a series of hallucinations the secret of the something living, ghost-like, in the coat is reveled to her. The ending is?… Read this masterpiece and find out. ~ Reader

I would gladly add this to my lineup ~ I requested A Promise Stitched in Time because I’m preparing to teach a WW2 study and hoped this would be a good addition to our read alouds for that unit. I would gladly add this to my lineup. The content is mature in nature in the sense that the holocaust is a mature subject regardless of the words used to discuss. Colleen Rosinski did a great job of surrounding a tough subject to navigate with a story that intertwined the present and the past.  
Maggie made a promise to her dying dad that she would enter an art contest to attend an art school and continue their shared past time. In searching for inspiration she came across a tweed coat that seemed to be calling to her. Once Maggie brought the coat home she started having dreams and flashbacks and interactions with a girl from the past. The coat gave her what she need to draw but the coat gave her so much more than that. With the help of her sister, Patty, and her boyfriend, Taj, as well as a friend she met through a senior center volunteer gig, Maggie was able to discover things about the past and herself. Maggie discovered she was someone more than she once thought and more than she knew she could be.
I would recommend this children’s fiction work to children 10 or older. I think the subject matter would be too much for a child younger than that. That’s my opinion based on teaching a child that age. ~ Danielle & Jason Phillips

It will keep readers turning the page ~ An eerie and chilling tale that is a unique addition to books about the holocaust for young readers. It will keep readers turning the page. ~ D. Jacobson

Meaningful mystery ~ A Promise Stitched in Time is really about two promises: Maggie’s promise to her father to get into the Peabody Academy for the arts and Freyda’s promise to Gittel to find her one day. That Maggie and Freyda are one and the same, from different lifetimes, is the stuff of fiction and drama. The subplots of teen romance, the sisters’ relationship, and incidents from the Holocaust, however unlikely, are actually compelling connections that help to make the story work. 
I think older middle school and younger high school students, particularly girls, will like the story. The story is intriguing without being overbearing (relative to the cruel reality of the Holocaust references) for young readers. That the story is one of reincarnation is better left revealed at the end, just as the author chose. Unless the book is presented and offered as a work of fiction, I anticipate that younger readers in particular will question whether reincarnation is “real”.  It is only with considerable reflection that one can grasp that Freyda’s promise was stitched in time as the locket was stitched in the coat. It is a point well taken and perhaps should be made a little less subtly? So as not to be missed? Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book. I enjoyed it and recommend it.~ Ann D.

A thrilling tapestry of mystery, history, and emotion ~ A PROMISE STITCHED IN TIME is a thrilling tapestry of mystery, history, and emotion. Colleen Kosinski, with her attention to detail, intricate description, and wonderfully alive characters stitches Holocaust history to contemporary fantasy. ~ Lisa Amowitz

Intriguing ~ The subplots of teen romance, the sisters’ relationship, and incidents from the Holocaust, however unlikely, are actually compelling connections that help to make the story work. I think older middle school and younger high school students, particularly girls, will like the story. The story is intriguing without being overbearing (relative to the cruel reality of the Holocaust references) for young readers. ~ Anne D.

Compelling and heartwarming story ~ A slim novel that introduces young readers to the subject of the Holocaust by bringing to life a true story almost forgotten in the ashes of history. Margaret May (Maggie) dreams of honouring her late father’s memory by being accepted to the Peabody Summer Arts Academy in Princeton, New Jersey. While trying to create a piece of artwork that will get her noticed, Maggie comes into possession of a tweed coat. This coat is soon linked to two young women that worked as seamstresss in Auschwitz concentration camp. Her sister, Patty, believes Maggie to be acting silly about the coat and Maggie feels that her dreams and visions may be making her crazy. But then a young boy named, Taj, befriends Maggie and he quickly believes that someone from the past is giving Maggie these dreams for a reason. I found A Promise Stitched in Time to be a compelling and heartwarming story that not only introduces the Holocaust to today’s young readers, but also an important book that addresses the grieving process. Because Maggie is an artist, I found that there was plenty of attention paid to how colour works in the story and filled with splendid examples of figurative language. ~ Erin (goodreads.com)

A compelling middle grade novel of history, loss, love, and faith ~  Maggie McConnell’s spur of the moment purchase of an old fur collared coat in the local thrift shop changes her life forever. While working on her painting for a scholarship application to a prestigious summer arts academy, Maggie has visions that lead her to believe the coat is haunted by the girl who previously owned it. Grieving the loss of her dad and struggling in her relationship with her sister Patty who seems to have moved on already, she finds an unlikely friend in the new boy in school, Taj. Together they search for clues in the dreams and visions Maggie has to uncover the identity of the girl and why she’s haunting her. A powerful tale inspired by a true Holocaust story, A Promise Stitched in Time is a compelling middle grade novel of history, loss, love, and faith.  ~ Kyra Leseberg (Roots & Reads) 

I couldn’t stop reading ~ Wonderful story that is beautifully written. I love how the author infuses art facts and info into the story so seamlessly. You can tell the author is an artist, based on the incredible imagery throughout the story. It weaves art and the Holocaust with relationship … through layers nicely blended together. Anyone who has lost a loved one will connect with Maggie and her passion to keep her promise. I love Maggie’s character and Taj is a loyal friend. The story is so compelling. I couldn’t stop reading. It’s hauntingly intriguing yet beautiful and heartwarming all at the same time. Filled with captivating moments! I highly recommend this story! ~ Dawn Young

I especially love that my 11 year old daughter loves it too ~  I loved the overall imagery in this book and loved the way Maggie’s love for art is woven throughout the novel. I simply adore the character Taj and his unwavering support for Maggie. I love that this book is mysterious. I love that this book is spooky. But I especially love that my 11 year old daughter loves it too, for all of those reasons, but especially the spooky part. A non-stop read for both of us! ~ Suzi Ryan

A good choice for fans of ghost stories, historical fiction, mysteries ~ Maggie must create a thought-provoking art piece to complete her application to a prestigious art school and admission to Peabody will allow her to fulfill a promise to her father who died three years previously. But inspiration alludes her until an out-dated tweed coat seems to call her name as she searches for a subject in a thrift store. From the moment the coat is in her possession, a painting of a young girl begins to flow onto the canvas and unusual dreams and thought begin to haunt her. Taj, a friend from Maggie’s preschool days who has returned to town, tries to help figure out what’s happening and in the process, becomes important to Maggie and a source of irritation to her sister. The publisher’s summary mentioned the Holocaust which is a topic of huge interest to many of my library patrons and books in both the fiction and non-fiction section stay checked out so I read this one anticipating a purchase. Promoting “A Promise Stitched in Time” will be easy as it should appeal to more than just those who seek out WWII themed books. This one is a good choice for fans of ghost stories, historical fiction, mysteries, as well as having a popular theme of middle grades students struggling to find their own niches and feel secure in them. With its unintimidating length, Kosinski’s book will also likely be a good choice for the more reluctant reader. Recommended for grades 5-9.  … ~ Melanie Dulaney