The Stars Look Like Home by TJ Klune

Kristin was able to read an advance copy of an upcoming TJ Klune book.  Here is her sneak peek review:

Release date January 12, 2027

Reviewed by Kristin

He opened his eyes at two weeks old and his first thoughts were “I…I…am? I…am. I am! I am! I am!” First he was “the boy”. That’s what his mother called him, after all. Weeks later, he decided that his name should be Wolf. Mother said that dogs used to be wolves.  Or maybe Wolf Star. Or maybe even Wolf Immortal Star. Because his mother said he was a star, and stars are forever. Maybe Forever Wolf…

Forever Wolf finally found his humans, and they called him Burke.

Burke is an energetic puppy, a bit mouthy (he has so much to say, and it’s not his fault that the humans can’t understand his language), and absolutely ecstatic about the world around him. Going to a new home is a little scary, but Burke falls in love with his humans almost immediately. Challenges, change, heartbreak, and new loves ensue, as Burke finds the perfect family for him.

TJ Klune is a magical kind of storyteller who can weave a heartrending tale from any point of view, and in this case he has taken the perspective of a dog. In this fantasy world, we get the inside view of a newborn pup who takes a circuitous route to find his perfect place in the world.

I am always amazed at how I am so invested in Klune’s characters. The House in the Cerulean Sea and Somewhere Beyond the Sea are a couple of my favorite books of all time. Under the Whispering Door absolutely made me sob. We Burned So Bright was a road trip across the country in search of what two parents had lost. I could go on…but I will just say that Klune has really found his voice and I will always be looking for more of his writing.

Klune makes a promise at the very beginning to quell the fears of animal lovers everywhere. He says: “The dog does not die in this. Within these pages, he is forever.”

Nevermore: Disc Golf, Speckled Beauty, Just One Damned Thing After Another, March Forward Girl

 

Nevermore, February 20, 2024

Reported by Kristin

One of our Nevermore members Zoomed in to meet with us, because she was out of town but still wanted to share with us the joy of Disc Golf, specifically The Definitive Guide to Disc Golf by Justin Menickelli and Ryan Pickens. Our reader explained that this book discusses a little of the sport’s history, starting in the late 1960s. Technique is also described, and all the advantages of the exercise, but her final comment was, “There are all these different nuances, but all I want to do it get it into the basket!” KM

Another reader picked up The Speckled Beauty: A Dog and His People by Rick Bragg. The author tells the story of Speck, a dog who was definitely not a good boy, yet helped heal Bragg in a time when he needed it most. Our reader enjoyed this book, noting that “this dog in is trouble non-stop!” WJ

Just One Damned Thing After Another interested another reader, as she immersed herself into the first of The Chronicles of St. Mary’s series by Jodi Taylor. Dr. Madeleine Maxwell seems to find herself in situations of not just studying history, but going back in time to revisit it. Our reader found that the time travel locales were extremely detailed, and she thinks that she will likely continue with the series. MH

Finally, a Nevermore member reviewed what she called “a very powerful book”—March Forward, Girl: From Young Warrior to Little Rock Nine by Melba Pattillo Beals. Written for young adults but suitable for all ages, this memoir from one of the Black students who desegregated Little Rock Central High School in 1957 is an incredibly moving view of the Civil Rights movement. MS

 

Also mentioned:

Nora Bonesteel’s Christmas Past by Sharyn McCrumb

The Last of the Moon Girls by Barbara Davis

This Impossible Brightness by Jessica Bryant

The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics by Daniel James Brown

Always Look Up by Michael J. Fox

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

Harvest by Catherine Landis

A Guide to Gardening with Southwest Virginia Plants

Around the World in 60 Seconds: the Nas Daily Journey: 1,000 Days, 64 Countries, 1 Beautiful Planet by Nuseir Yassin

The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston

Twilight in Hazard: An Appalachian Reckoning by Alan Maimon

Nevermore: Cattle Kingdom, Boop and Eve's Road Trip, Perestroika in Paris, Denali

Reported by Garry 

This week’s Nevermore book club selections included stories about road trips, cattle drives, talking animals and more. Cattle Kingdom: The Hidden History of the Cowboy West by Christopher Knowlton fascinated our first reader with stories of the Old West prairies, and the indelible stamp they left on American life. Diverging from the Hollywood version of cowboys, the author examines the cattle industry from a business standpoint as both a financial journalist and the head of an investment firm, viewing the turn-of-the-century cattle industry in a larger context, while still bringing to life the cowpunchers who drove their herds across the plains on trails that eventually became our national interstate system. 

 

 The multi-award winning Boop and Eve’s Road Trip by Virginia native Mary Helen Sheriff was up next. Eve is a young woman struggling with both depression and her first year of college, whose best friend has just vanished. It doesn’t help the situation that Eve’s mother Justine is domineering and that their relationship is strained. Justine herself is estranged from her own mother, Betty (aka Boop.) Boop, seeing herself her granddaughter’s struggles, decides to hijack Eve’s trip to find her friend. Our reader found this book about the healing power of intergenerational family love to be laugh-out-loud funny, poignant and reflective, and highly recommends it to anyone who had or has a complex relationship with their mother or daughter.

 

 Perestroika in Paris by Jane Smiley is the funniest book you will ever read, according to our reviewer. This imaginative novel follows the adventures of Paras (short for Perestroika), a curious, spirited young filly who finds unexpected freedom in the city of Paris. Befriending Frida, a German shorthaired pointer dog, two ducks, and an opinionated raven, Paras is living the high-life in the City of Light, until she is befriended by Etienne, a young boy who lives with his secluded one-hundred-year-old great-grandmother. Our reader says that this book is a real screwball comedy and kept her laughing all the way through. 

 

Denali: A Man, A Dog and the Friendship of a Lifetime by Ben Moon demonstrates how someone can come into your life unexpectedly and change your life in ways you never thought possible. This is the memoir of Ben Moon, a socially inept young outdoor photographer who adopts a shelter pup named Denali. They change and enrich each other’s lives in ways that Ben never anticipated, and Denali sticks with Ben as he goes through treatment for colorectal cancer. When Denali comes down with the same cancer, Ben was able to return the care and affection that Denali had shown him during his battle. Our reader absolutely loved this book, stating how strongly it resonated with her and the relationship she has with her own dogs. She very highly recommends this book to any dog lover. 

Also mentioned:

 

Beautiful Country by Qian Julie Wang

 

Yours Cheerfully by AJ Pearce

 

The Japanese Lover by Isabel Allende

 

The Big Truck That Went By: How the World Came to Save Haiti and Left Behind A Disaster by Jonathan Katz

 

Survivor: My Life as a Haitian Refugee by Leferne Preptit

 

The Exiles by Christina Baker Kline

 

Friends Like These by Kimberly McCreight

 

Betty Crocker Cookbook

Campbell’s Soup Family Cookbook

Joy of Cooking by Irma Rombauer

 

Best of Friends by Dee Riser and Teresa Dorme

 

Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong by James Loewen

 

The Truth About Covid-19: Exposing The Great Reset, Lockdowns, Vaccine Passports and the New Normal by Dr. Joseph Mercola and Ronnie Cummins

 

Never Saw Me Coming by Vera Kurian

 

 

Nevermore: Life in Death, Caravans, Rin Tin Tin

 Reported by Garry

Nevermore was a bit quieter than usual this week, but we still had some fascinating books brought to the table for discussion.

 

A Life in Death:  The True Story of a Career in Disaster Victim Identification is the memoir of Detective Inspector Richard Venables, a member of the UK Police’s Major Disaster Advisory Team. Starting in the UK in the 1980s, Venables utilized both his inherent interest in forensics and his luck (?) of being in the right place at the right time, and became a world-leader in the identification of disaster victims. Venable was on duty in 1989 at a UK soccer game when a human crush led to the deaths of 97 people and became known as the Hillsborough Disaster. Our reader noted how Venables taught the forensic skills that he had picked up to anyone that he was working with, which in turn increased their skills as police investigators. Our reader was fascinated with this book, and even knowing that forensics might not be everyone’s cup of tea, highly recommends it.

 

Caravans by James A. Michener was reviewed by two of our readers this week. Set just after World War II, this heavily researched novel provides an excellent background to the political situation in current day Afghanistan. Mark Miller is a young employee at the American embassy who has been tasked with locating a young American woman, Ellen Jasper. Miller tracks down Ellen’s husband, an Afghani engineer working on the construction of a hydroelectric dam on the Helmand River, and finds that Ellen has run away from her marriage to join the nomadic tribes. Michener travelled to Afghanistan multiple times for research, and both of our readers pointed out that his descriptions increased their understanding of the events and locations in today’s news. Both readers very highly recommend this novel about a pivotal Middle Eastern country.

 

 

Rin Tin Tin: The Life and the Legend by Susan Orlean is the history of one of the leading box office stars of the 20^th century. American soldier Lee Duncan discovered a newborn puppy in a bombed out kennel in France and smuggled “Rinty” back to the United States. Duncan trained Rin Tin Tin and with the help of a friend got film of the German Shepherd doing tricks. Duncan went door to door to the studios, trying to convince people that the dog could be a star, and with Warner Brothers he struck gold. Appearing in 23 movies, Rin Tin Tin became one of the biggest stars in the world and saved the Warner Brothers Studio from bankruptcy. According to our reader, this was the most fascinating book that she had ever read, and every paragraph in this book contained new information to her, making it an excellent read.

 

Also mentioned:

 

Freckles by Gene Stratton-Porter

The Perfect Daughter by D. J. Palmer

Open Veins of Latin America: Five Centuries of the Pillage of a Continent by Eduardo Galeano

Granta 155:  Best of Young Spanish-Language Novelists 2 edited by Valerie Miles

Beautiful Country by Qian Julie Wang

Friends Like These by Kimberly McCreight

How Stella Learned to Talk: The Groundbreaking Story of the World’s First Talking Dog by Christina Hunger

A Good Day for Chardonnay by Darynda Jones

America’s Painted Ladies by Elizabeth Pomada