Nevermore: El Dorado Drive, Theft, Miller’s Valley

 

Nevermore 8-19-25

Reported by Rita

 

El Dorado Drive: A Novel by Megan Abbott

Facing financial ruin, three sisters in Detroit join a seemingly lucrative club called "The Wheel," but their desperation for financial independence spirals into an addiction, leading to shocking crimes that threaten to destroy everything.

I didn't care for it. I thought it was mediocre, and it dragged on. -NH 2 stars

 

Theft by Abdulrazak Gurnah

In early 21st-century Tanzania, Karim, Fauzia, and Badar navigate ambition, escape, and uncertainty as their lives intertwine amidst global changes that bring both opportunities and challenges, reshaping their understanding of destiny and self-determination.

It was sort of strange, but well-written. - AH 5 stars

 

Miller's Valley by Anna Quindlen

Coming of age in a dwindling 1960s farming community in eastern Pennsylvania, Mimi struggles with profound family secrets and the pain of falling in love with the wrong person against a backdrop of dynamic historical periods.

Really relatable with lots of interaction among characters. I loved it. - CD 5 stars

 

Other Books Mentioned

Signal to Noise by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

The Bewitching by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Vera, or Faith by Gary Shteyngart

The Journey, A Novel by James A. Michener

I Like You: Hospitality Under the Influence by Amy Sedaris

Where the Rivers Merge by Mary Alice Monroe

Differ We Must: How Lincoln Succeeded in a Divided America by Steve Inskeep

How to Forget: A Daughter's Memoir by Kate Mulgrew

Starling House by Alix E. Harrow

Everything Is Tuberculosis: The History and Persistence of Our Deadliest Infection by John Green

How Y'all Doing?: Misadventures and Mischief from a Life Well Lived by Leslie Jordan

 

New Books

The Codebreaker's Daughter by Amy Lynn Green

The Witch's Orchard by Archer Sullivan

Nevermore: Blessings, Final Girl Support Group, Man Named Doll, Dude?

 

 Reported by Garry

Blessings by Anna Quindlen was our first book reviewed this week.  A baby is left at the doorstep of the estate of the elderly Lydia Blessing late one night.  The arrival of the baby sets off a series of events in the household that reveal long-hidden secrets and tragedies of past and present, as well as redemption and healing.  Our reader said that this novel, set in modern times, was a great book and that she could hardly put it down.

 

The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix was our irreverent second novel reviewed this week.  Hendrix, who also wrote the Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires and My Best Friend’s Exorcism brings his sense of wit and horror to a story about Lynnette Tarkington, a young woman who has survived a massacre.  She meets weekly with other survivors who are trying to put their lives back together – until one goes missing.  Our reader said that this book was laugh-out-loud funny in places and nail-bitingly scary in others.  If you like to read books that have a strong nostalgia streak to them, but don’t take themselves too seriously, this may be a great choice!

 

A Man Named Doll by Jonathan Ames introduces us to Happy Doll, a retired Navy Seal/LAPD officer turned part-time private eye/part time security guard at a Thai massage spa.  Happy, who prefers to go by “Hank,” is  charming but somewhat inept and has a tendency to act first and ask questions later.  This leads to trouble when one of the spa customers gets out of control and Happy intervenes with disastrous results that simply lead to more disasters. 

 

Dude? Where’s My Walking Stick? is a memoir by Kevin Moore, recounting his trek across 1300 miles of  the Southern Alps – a formidable set of mountains on the southern island of New Zealand.  Unprepared and over-confident, Moore spent 69 days on the trail, traversing streams, valleys, mountains and fields, and making life-long friends along the way.  Our reader loved this book about hiking the beauty of New Zealand and finding one’s self on the journey.

 

Also mentioned:

When I Fell from the Sky by Julianne Koepcke

Night Fall by Nelson DeMille

Complete Idiot’s Guide to Zen Living by Gary McClain and Eve Adamson

The Four Tendencies by Gretchen Rubin

Cashelmara by Susan Howatch

The Angel Makers by Jessica Gregson

Buttons and Blows by Gayle Leeson

Kill the Queen by Jennifer Estep

Heart of Joy:  The Transforming Power of Self-Giving by Mother Theresa and Jose Luis Gonzalez-Balado

The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame

Bring Your Baggage, and Don’t Pack Light by Hellen Ellis

The Flatshare by Beth O’Leary

Crooked Hallelujah by Kelli Jo Ford

Radar Girls by Sara Akerman

Forest of Vanishing Stars by Kristin Harmel

Nevermore: Quindlen, Lyon, Strawser, Life Lessons, Flaccavento

Reported by Kristin

Nevermore kicked off with a novel by Anna Quindlen: Miller’s Valley.  Mimi’s family has lived in the valley for generations, and when their land is threatened by construction of a dam, she realizes that where you come from creates who you are.  Much of the community resists the dam even if it might control flooding in some areas.  The governmental pressure for families to relocate is strong, and many fear the loss of their roots.  Our reader said that it was a wonderful book with a big surprise ending, which she kindly kept to herself so that others might take the journey through Miller’s Valley themselves.

Self-Portrait with Boy by Rachel Lyon has been passed around by a few readers, and this week’s reader was captivated by the story.  One day, photography artist Lu Rile takes her daily self-portrait, and inadvertently captures the image of a boy falling to his death outside her window.  After meeting and becoming friends the boy’s mother, Lu is faced with the decision of whether to sell the striking but disturbing photograph.  Our reader said that the moral dilemma was a guiding force of the book, and that there was a big twist at the end.

The next novel was not quite so well liked, Almost Missed You by Jessica Strawser.  Our reader found it to be too much like other books she had recently read.  The formulaic mix includes:  woman meets man, couple has a missed connection, and then later comes back to find each other.  This just didn’t work for this reader this time, and she moved on to read something else.

This I Believe: Life Lessons, edited by Dan Gediman with John Gregory and Mary Jo Gediman.  Based on a radio program, this series of short essays is meant to inspire.  Written by a variety of everyday people, the stories share lessons that people have learned and feel would be valuable to others.  Our reviewer found them very readable.  The radio program has been available on NPR and Sirius XM satellite.

Lastly, another Nevermore regular enjoyed a book by a local politician.  Building a Healthy Economy from the Bottom Up:  Harnessing Real-World Experience for Transformative Change by Anthony Flaccavento was proclaimed as an inspiration for creating positive and productive local economies.  Our reader was impressed with the suggestions in the book and believes in the grass roots movements suggested by the author.