Nevermore: Thirst, Blood Card, Billy Lynn, Faithful Place, Five Carat Soul, Girl Who Takes an Eye for an Eye

 Reported by Kristin

Nevermore kicked off with The Thirst by Jo Nesbo, heartily recommended by our reader.  In this series entry, Harry Hole is investigating more murders—this time of women who fall prey to a predator using the Tinder dating app.  Our reader praised this as an excellent book, although quite long.

Another reader was enjoying The Girl Who Takes an Eye for an Eye by David Lagercrantz.  Continuing Stieg Larsson’s Millennium series, Lagercrantz uses the same set of characters surrounding hacker Lisbeth Salander and journalist Mikael Blomkvist.  This volume goes back to Lisbeth’s childhood, introducing many more characters into the mix.  Our reader found this very good, but at times very complicated.

The Blood Card, by Elly Griffiths, was discussed next.  Third in the Magic Men series, this outing has 1950s Detective Inspector Edgar Evans investigating another murder, this time of a local storyteller.  From England to New York and back again, Edgar seeks out clues to try to prevent even more violence.  Our reader said she has read everything written by Griffiths and always enjoys them.

Back home in the United States, the next reader had enjoyed Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk by Ben Fountain.  Billy Lynn and his Bravo squad are soldiers who have been elevated to heroes after a news station captured their engagement with Iraqi insurgents.  On leave, they are being honored at a Dallas Cowboys Thanksgiving Day game, but the ostentatious display of the halftime show makes Billy Lynn terribly uncomfortable.  The stark violence of the war compared to the glitzy American pastime is certainly disconcerting.  The novel was also made into a movie in 2016.

Faithful Place by Tana French features Frank Mackey, now a Dublin Undercover squad detective who looks back into his past when Rosie Daley’s suitcase is found behind a fireplace, suggesting that perhaps something sinister happened, rather than Rosie just being a no-show, when they were teenagers planning to run away to London.  Our reader read the book straight through, enjoying the show of Irish family dynamics in a desperate world.

Finally, a very recently published book, Five-Carat Soul by James McBride was brought to the table.  A collection of short stories, the characters feel lifelike, and things happen that you don’t expect.  Our reader was quite impressed by a story that takes place in a zoo where the animals are able to thought-speak to each other.  McBride’s prose has been praised as fluid, beautiful, and artistic.

Nevermore: B.A. Paris, Lisabeth Salander, Graveyard Book, Never Let Me Go, Astrophysics, and October Sky

Reported by Jeanne

B.A. Paris’ debut novel Behind Closed Doors was recommended again by a Nevermore member.  The story revolves around a husband and wife who seem to have the perfect marriage, but astute readers will see dark undercurrents early on in the book.  Our reader said she had to take a sneak peek at the ending but still enjoyed the book.

Many of those in Nevermore have been fans of Stieg Larsson’s Lisbeth Salander books, so there was great interest the new books in the series written by David Lagercrantz.  The Girl Who Takes an Eye for an Eye was praised by our reader for catching the essence of the original characters.  However, the plot was deemed a bit thin and more than a bit implausible. 

The Newbery Award-winning The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman is keeping another reader entertained.  The story revolves around Bod, an orphan boy who is being raised by the inhabitants of a graveyard after the murder of his parents.  She said it was the perfect book for this time of year, and she was enjoying the relationship between Bod and the various spirits.

Our next reader was impressed with Never Let Me Go  by Kazuo Ishiguro but said that it was a difficult book to talk about without revealing spoilers.  She did say that it was set in the 1990s but sort of an alternate time. The story takes place in Hailsham, which is an English boarding school for special students, and follows three students in particular as they grow up and learn their purpose in life. She picked up the book because she wanted to read something by the winner of the  2017 Nobel Prize in Literature.

Astrophysics for People  in a Hurry by Neil deGrasse Tyson might as well have been titled “Brain Surgery for People in a Hurry,” according to our reader.  He felt the title indicated the book could be read and understood quickly while there is a lot of information packed inside 224 pages.  That’s not to say that the book isn’t good, just that it takes a while to absorb it all.  

Finally, one member praised October Sky by Homer Hickam, which was first published under the title Rocket Boys.   The details Hickam’s youth in Coalwood, WV, a mining town in the Appalachian Mountains.  Homer was in high school when the Russians launched Sputnik, and that event captured the young man’s imagination.  He and some classmates set out to build their own rockets for the state science fair in hopes of earning a way out of a fading coal town.  Our reader found it to be a wonderful book and is looking forward to seeing the movie—which she had actually seen some years ago and hadn’t liked, but after reading the book she’s now anxious to see it again.

Nevermore: My Thomas, Treatment Trap, Seinfeldia, Girl in the Spider's Web, and Archie Andrews

Reported by Ambrea

Nevermore kicked things off with a historical novel by Roberta Grimes, My Thomas.  An intriguing novel of “what-if,” My Thomas tells the story of Mary Skelton and Thomas Jefferson as they navigate the treacherous political scene of the American colonies—and, eventually, make a life for themselves together.  Our reader said Grimes’ novel was an interesting take on Mary Skelton and Thomas Jefferson; however, she noted that she didn’t learn very much about Martha.  Several passages are borrowed from Martha’s scant correspondences and diaries, as well as Jefferson’s own personal records, to lend a feeling of authenticity to the novel, but it revealed precious little about Martha.  Our reader said it was a pretty good book, but she would have liked to have learned more about Thomas Jefferson’s wife.

Next, Nevermore dived right back into the medical field with The Treatment Trap:  How the Overuse of Medical Care is Wrecking Your Health and What You Can Do to Prevent It by Rosemary Gibson and Janardan Prasad Singh.  Gibson, a medical care provider, and Singh, a medical care professional in the financial department, offer an in-depth look at health care and the overuse of medical care in American daily life.  They take a critical look at wasteful practices, including unnecessarily invasive procedures, needless surgeries, and overuse of potentially deadly tests, and even offer an outline to reform the extravagant costs and senseless waste of resources.  Our reader, who said she had personal experience with the overuse of medical care, found Gibson and Singh’s book to be incredibly fascinating.  Overall, she enjoyed The Treatment Trap and she highly recommended it to her fellow readers.

Our reader also shared Seinfeldia:  How a Show About Nothing Changed Everything by Jennifer Keishin Armstrong, a brand new book at the library.  Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld created Seinfeld, a silly sitcom about a comedian living in New York, sitting around, talking to his friends, and, in general, struggling to make a living in one of the country’s most populous cities.  But, much to David and Seinfeld’s surprise, Seinfeld took off and quickly became one of the most beloved programs in recent history.  Our Nevermore reader described it as an interesting and thoroughly researched book for its insight into the television show and the actors involved.  She said, “If you’re a Seinfeld fan, it’s great.  But if you’re not a fan, you’ll wonder what’s going on?”

Additionally, Nevermore decided to revisit The Girl in the Spider’s Web by David Lagercrantz.  A sequel to the Millennium trilogy by Stieg Larsson—The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played With Fire, and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest—The Girl in the Spider’s Web follows the continuing adventures of Lisbeth Salander, a genius hacker, and Mikael Blomkvist, a crusader journalist.  Together, they explore an underground world of cybercriminals, spies, and shadowy government agencies that would sooner kill someone than let their secrets escape.  Our reader was thrilled with Lagercrantz’s sequel.  She said it had all of the characteristics she loved about the original novels and “it makes you think you’re reading another book by Stieg Larsson.”  She highly recommended it to her fellow Nevermore members, especially fans of Larsson’s previous novels.

Last, our readers looked at a brand new graphic novel featuring a beloved comic book character, Archie Andrews.  In Archie:  The New Riverdale (Volume 1) by Mark Waid, Fiona Stables, Veronica Fish, and Annie Wu, readers have the opportunity to dive back into Archie’s world and explore a new Riverdale with all the modern amenities.   A curious blend of new and old, Archie proved to be a fun and intriguing twist on the famous high school teen.  Our reader, who admitted she wasn’t a big fan of Archie, said she really enjoyed reading Mark Waid’s updated version of this classic.  It brought together great story-telling, intriguing characters, and all the fun one would expect out of the classic Archie.  She highly recommended it to her fellow readers, even if they weren’t fans of the original Archie.

Nevermore: The Brain, Moths, Family Magic, Ice Cream Star, & Lisabeth Salander

Reported by Ambrea

Our Nevermore readers jumped into the meeting with an intriguing book about incredible new discoveries in neurology.  The Brain’s Way of Healing by Dr. Norman Doidge is a compelling and insightful book about the human brain and its ability to recover, function, and even restructure through neuroplasticity.  According to Doidge, the brain can form brand new neural connections even if it sustains extensive damage through injury or disease—and the brain, which was originally considered too complex to recover from damage, has a unique way of healing.  Our reader highly recommends The Brain’s Way of Healing, saying it offers an intimate and moving look at neurology, giving readers insight into the technology of modern medicine and new scientific discoveries about the wonderfully resilient brain.

Next, our readers dived into a series that’s proved a perennial favorite with The Girl in the Spider’s Web by David Lagercrantz.  Continuing where Stieg Larsson left off in The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest, Lagercrantz follows Lisbeth Salander and Mikael Blomkvist as they run headlong into a new mystery:  a tangled web of spies, cybercriminals, and shadow governments that will put them back into the midst of danger.  Our Nevermore reader gave The Girl in the Spider’s Web an excellent review.  Calling it compelling and suspenseful, Lagercrantz’s novel was a seamless transition for the Millennium series that most have come to know and love.  She said it wasn’t as violent as the former novels, but it managed to keep the same pace, the same edge-of-your-seat suspense and intrigue that made Larsson’s novels smash hits.

Unlike The Girl in the Spider’s Web, which received exceptional praise, The Country of Ice Cream Star received less enthusiastic reports.  A post-apocalyptic narrative of epic proportions, The Country of Ice Cream Star weaves a heart-wrenching and terrifying tale of a fifteen-year-old girl as she struggles for survival amidst the wasteland known as American and hunts for a cure that will rescue her small tribe from a dreadful contagion.  Although Sandra Newman has received rave reviews for her novels and received rewards—and nominations—for her writing, our reader found her latest book less than enjoyable.  Rife with broken English that makes it difficult to understand and paced agonizingly slow, The Country of Ice Cream Star wasn’t a hit at Nevermore.  While he only completed about a hundred pages of the novel, he admitted that he wasn’t really interested in pursuing the rest of the story—he just couldn’t foresee himself ever enjoying it.

Our Nevermore readers also looked at a Gothic thriller:  Moths by Rosalind Ashe.  Nemo Boyce is a boisterous young newlywed who falls in love with the Dower House; however, after she convinces her husband to purchase the old estate, their world is suddenly turned upside down by Sarah Moore, a ghost of the actress who once lived and died there.  Two of our readers actually had the opportunity to read Moths, and they had some positive remarks to make.  One reader said it was interesting, a Gothic horror that kept her guessing to the very end; whereas another reader gave it very high marks, saying he really enjoyed it.  It was somber and a little macabre, beginning happily enough and devolving into a terrible tragedy, but he really enjoyed Moths and he devoured it quickly.

Last, our Nevermore readers trekked off the beaten path and ventured into a young-adult fantasy with Family Magic by Patti Larsen.  Sydlynn Hayle is the daughter of a witch and a demon, which makes an ordinary life complicated to say the least—and that’s not including when she crosses paths with Quaid Mormond.  But when Sydlynn is forced to protect the coven that dislikes her and save her family’s magic from destruction, she’ll be pushed to the brink of her knowledge and her power.  Our reader picked up Larsen’s novel in an effort to become better acquainted with young adult novels and find some common ground with her students.  She said it was an enjoyable fantasy novel and quick to read, an interesting encounter for her first foray into young adult literature.