To
start, Nevermore dived into Eleanor
Oliphant is Completely Fine, a debut novel by Gail Honeyman. Eleanor Oliphant is not your average
heroine. Serious, socially awkward, and
painfully odd, Eleanor tries to avoid any kind of social interaction or hiccup
that might disturb her carefully orchestrated life. That is, until she meets Raymond, the IT guy
from her office, and subsequently saves Sammy, an elderly gentleman who took a
spill on the sidewalk. Now, Eleanor has
to wonder if her isolated life has been worth it—and if opening her heart to
someone else might be a risk worth taking.
Our reader called Eleanor Oliphant
is Completely Fine an intensely emotional and incredibly moving novel. “[I found it] so beautiful how her
friendships help her survive” the worst parts of her life, she said. She highly recommended Honeyman’s debut,
saying it was well worth reading.
Next,
Nevermore checked out The Lost City of
the Monkey God by Douglas Preston.
In 2012, Doug Preston joined a team of scientists on a quest to
rediscover this incredible, lost city.
Called the “White City” by the conquistadors and legendary among indigenous
people, the Lost City of the Monkey God held an undiscovered trove of treasures
and history. Using LIDAR to help them
chart a course, Preston and the rest of the team set off into the Honduran rain
forest. They were astonished by the
discoveries they made and the dangers they faced—and brought home. Our reader loved The Lost City of the Monkey God.
She said it offered an astonishing depth of knowledge on the history of
the region, as well as detailed some of the more extreme dangers the scientific
team faced. It was truthful of the
hardships and it shed light on the various plights, pitfalls, and problems with
which archaeologists deal.
In
Shadow Man, Detective Ben Wade has
returned to Rancho Santa Elena in search of a quieter life. Filled with peaceful streets, quaint
communities, and excellent schools, Rancho Santa Elena is the perfect place for
Ben to take a break and rebuild his crumbling marriage—until a daring serial
killer arrives on the scene. Now, Ben
and forensic specialist Natasha Betencourt must stay one step ahead of a
killer, before he chooses his next victim.
Thrilling and thought provoking, Shadow
Man is a fascinating detective story on how personal secrets can quickly
wreak havoc and destroy lives. Our
reader gave high praise for Alan Drew’s novel, saying he enjoyed it immensely;
however, he also noted he’s ready for a change of pace: “[I’ve come] to realize…I’ve read too many
mystery books in a row.” He’s ready for
his next book to be of a scientific variety.
Nevermore
jumped back in time with Jane Austen’s classic, Persuasion. Published in
1818, Persuasion tells the story of
Anne Elliot. When she was only nineteen,
Anne fell in love with Captain Wentworth; however, with neither fortune nor
title to his name, she was forced to break her engagement with him and warned
never to see him again. Seven years
later, Anne reconnects with beloved captain—now, a wealthy and accomplished
Navy man—and she begins to wonder if second chances really do happen, or if
she’s pinning too many hopes on a fond memory.
Our reader admitted she enjoyed reading Persuasion more than she expected.
She thought it was a sweet, romantic story that offered an unexpectedly
astute view on class, wealth, and privilege.
It was a nice change of pace for our reader, even if she wondered how
women could possibly be content with being entertained and wooed all the
time. “It seems [very] boring,” she
noted.
Last,
Nevermore jumped into Inferno: A Doctor’s Ebola Story by Dr. Steven
Hatch. Hatch, an infectious disease
specialist, fired worked in Liberia during 2013 at a hospital in Monrovia. Within six months, several physicians were
dead and Ebola was quickly growing into an international crisis. Hatch also helped create the Ebola Treatment
Unit with the International Medical Corps, trying to stop the spread of this
horrific disease—and temper the xenophobic politics that stemmed from this
crisis. Inferno is an uncompromising look at Liberia’s violent history and
the virus that nearly destroyed it. Our
reader called Hatch’s book “absolutely fascinating. [It was] very informative and very well
written.” She added that it was very
interesting to see how the history of Liberia factored into the spread of the
Ebola epidemic and how doctors were able to track the virus, going into such
great detail as to hypothesize on the victim of the very first Ebola infection.
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