Changes by Mercedes Lackey

 Reviewed by Holly White

Changes, the third in the Collegium Chronicles quintet by Mercedes Lackey, continues the story of Mags, the orphan boy.  Mags was raised as a slave working in a gemstone mine before being Chosen by Companion Dallen as a trainee to become a Herald of Valdemar.  Mags has risen to fame as one of the Heraldic Collegium’s star kirball players.  His best friend Bear, a Healer trainee without the healing Gift, has successfully begun his campaign to provide every Healer and Herald on circuit with an herb kit containing medicines that could be used by anyone, Gift or no.  Bear’s girlfriend Lena, a Bardic trainee, still tries to live up to the reputation of her father, the famous and incredibly Gifted Bard Marchand.  Mags has discovered he is sweet on Amily, the crippled daughter of the King’s Own Herald Nikolas.  In his spare time, Mags has been working off and on under Herald Nikolas’ direction, as an undercover spy for the Crown.

The story opens with Nikolas urging Mags to let his three friends, Bear, Lena, and Amily, in on the fact that he has been doing undercover spy work, in the hopes that they can be a support to him, in addition to using their own eyes and ears when necessary.  Bear’s family, all Healing-Gifted, seek to force Bear to leave the Collegium, return home, marry someone of their choice, and produce heirs with the Healing Gift.  Lena finds out that her father has not only accepted a protégé apprentice other than herself, but is now claiming that she is not even his child.  Bear has plans to try a risky experimental surgery on Amily to fix her crippled leg, but Nikolas nips Amily’s hopes in the bud when he orders her to put off the surgery indefinitely and will not tell her why.  Mags and Nikolas learn that enemy spies have infiltrated not only the capital city of Haven, but the Palace itself.

During the hottest part of the summer, everyone at the Collegium is arguing with everyone else, rendering the heat even more unendurable.  Lena learns that her father has done something more unthinkable than even she had suspected.  Things for not only Mags’ circle of friends, but for all of Valdemar, come to a head when Mags learns that Amily’s life is in danger from the enemy spies.  If harm were to come to the daughter of the King’s Own Herald, that would not only incapacitate the King’s Own Herald, but also by extension, the King himself.  Amily and her friends become increasingly aware of the fact that she is crippled and unable to defend herself.   For some unfathomable reason the spies want Mags, too.  On top of that, the unknown enemies are impervious to mind magic, so there is no way to ferret them out or to learn what they are thinking.

Will Bear prove to his family that he can Heal without the Gift of healing?  Will Lena prove to everyone and to herself that she does not have to stand in her father’s shadow?  Will Mags find out who the spies are and where they are staying?  Will the Heralds find out why mind magic won’t work on the spies?  Will Nikolas and Mags be able to foil the plot against Amily?  Will Amily walk again?  Will the Heralds find out who is the mole on the Palace grounds?  Will Mags find out what the enemy spies want with him?  Will Mags earn his Whites (the sign that he is no longer just a trainee, but a full Herald)?  Find out by reading Changes.

If you love stories with good vs. evil elements, lots of action and adventure, with a fantasy element, and a dash of romance, you will enjoy this book.  This earlier books in the series are Foundation and Intrigues. My next review will be on Book Four of the Collegium Chronicles quintet, which is Redoubt.

This book follows Intrigues, the second in the series.

Nevermore: Animals, Quitting Money, Around the World in 50 Years, and More

Reported by Meygan

One of our Nevermore members is an avid e-book reader. She discussed several books that she has been reading. First was 44 Horrible Dates by Eddie Campbell, an outlook of a homosexual man’s dating world and his horrible, horrible dates. Our Nevermore reader said regardless of one’s sexual orientation, everybody will recognize these 44 types of people. She found the book to be very funny and enjoyable. Next was Ghost Boy by Martin Pistorius, the true story of Martin and the coma he tragically endured when he was only twelve years old. (He developed locked-in syndrome after an illness.) Martin tells how he was never expected to move or talk again and his experience of being abused by his caretakers. She also discussed Some We Love, Some We Hate, Some We Eat: Why It’s So Hard to Think Straight About Animals by Hal Herzog, a professor at Western Carolina University, who goes into the study of animal and human relationships and why we view some animals as OK to eat and not to eat. The last book mentioned was The Wright Brothers by David McCullough. She was fascinated by the compilation of letters and diary entries within this book. This book tells the tale of the Wright brothers and their determination to fly. 

Up next was The Man Who Quit Money by Mark Sundeen, a man who did the unthinkable and left his life savings (though only thirty dollars) in a phone booth to whomever wanted it. He was tired of living off money and he yearned for financial freedom. This is the fascinating true story of how Sundeen lives without money or government assistance. 

Death on the D-List by Nancy Grace was also mentioned. This is the second book to the Hailey Dean series. Hailey, a former violent crimes prosecutor, steps back into the crime-fighting spotlight and starts focusing on D-List celebrity murders. The Nevermore member appeared to be pleased with Nancy Grace’s novel. 

Also discussed was Karin Fossum’s The Water’s Edge. Husband and wife Reinhardt and Kristine Ris come across a boy’s body after their Sunday stroll. Kristine is horrified, but especially by her husband’s actions of taking pictures of the dead boy on his cell phone. Kristine cannot believe that her husband would take pictures of a young child who appears to have been murdered. Another boy disappears and the whole town becomes questioned by two inspectors, Konrad Sejer and Jakob Skarre. Who is doing this to these boys? And why is Reinhardt becoming obsessed with the events? The Nevermore member said the author did a job well done on writing this mystery without repeating the same material she has written about in the past. Another member commented that he, too, has read a few of Fossum’s books and how her plots are not redundant. 

Last but not least was Around the World in 50 Years: My Adventure to Every County on Earth by Albert Podell. Podell was a business man for a company that provided him the opportunity to travel. Someone commented to Podell that before he died, he would probably travel to every country, which is exactly what Podell sought out to do. Our Nevermore member said he went into this book with great hope and zeal but the book was not like that at all. Instead of focusing on the fun parts of his trips, Podell instead focuses on the hazardous journey to places where the people would rather string him up and kill him than to let him in. The Nevermore reader said there was no mentioning of England or Paris, which disappointed him, and overall he would rate this book a C minus. Also, there was no index which many Nevermore members were surprised to hear.

The Cat Sitter’s Whiskers by Blaize and John Clement

Reviewed by Jeanne

Dixie Hemingway—no relation to you-know-who—gave up her job in law enforcement after a family tragedy and now earns her living as a pet sitter on Siesta Key, Florida.  The problem is that while Dixie is no longer with the police, crime still has a way of finding her.  This time, she’s taking care of a mischievous Maine Coon cat named Barney Feldman but it certainly wasn’t Barney who conked Dixie on the head when she came to the house. Dixie reports the incident as a break-in, but nothing seems to have been taken even though the house has a lot of expensive items, including a valuable collection of antique masks.  The police think that perhaps Dixie passed out and hit her head.  

The only one witness was Barney Feldman.  And Barney isn’t talking.

For those unfamiliar with the series, the Cat Sitter books are an interesting blend of cozy with grit. On the one hand, there can some messy deaths but there’s no wallowing in graphic detail.  Dixie does tend to rush in where angels fear to tread at times, but she’s also a strong character who has had some training in dealing with emergencies, making her interventions more plausible.  She may have been broken a bit by fate, but she’s working her way back.  The pet sitter angle is well done; Dixie tosses out a pet care tip or two and obviously cares about the animals but maintains a business like attitude. 

This is the tenth book in the Cat Sitter series, but only the third for John Clement who took over writing up Dixie’s adventures after his mother Blaize passed away.  I had enjoyed the previous two but had a vague feeling that something was missing.  All the familiar characters were there, all the expected trimmings, but somehow it felt a bit by the numbers.   This time, however, I think John really found Dixie’s voice all the way through

Part of the appeal of almost any series, mystery or not, is finding out what’s going on with the characters’ personal lives. Recently, Dixie embarked on a new romance but still carries some heavy personal baggage.  Some of the reoccurring characters are fleshed out a bit more this time, and Clement creates some memorable new ones. The animals shine with their own personalities, which is part of the appeal for me.    The primary mystery plot was a bit slow building as Dixie found herself a bit sidetracked by her personal life, but there were a couple of particularly nice twists this time around which made it all worth the wait.  Some I saw coming, some I didn’t.  

I usually advise people to start with the first of any series, and while I would suggest that you do so with this one as well but I don’t think folks would have any trouble just diving in with this one.  If you haven’t read any of Dixie’s adventures recently, then I think you’ll find yourself right at home.

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

Reviewed by Ambrea

The Help recounts the stories of Aibileen and Minny, a pair of black maids who have spent their lives cleaning the homes and raising the children of white women, and Skeeter, a recent college graduate who’s still trying to find her purpose and herself.  Together, they collect their stories and their experiences and, with the help of others, pen a novel about what it’s like to live and work in Jackson, Mississippi, in 1962.

I have one word for The Help:  exquisite.

Not only has Kathryn Stockett managed to create a fabulous novel packed with richly depicted characters that I adored, she tells an intricate and thought-provoking story that kept me glued to the pages.  Quite frankly, The Help was an addictive piece of work for me.  I had the hardest time putting it aside once I turned the first page; moreover, I don’t think I even put it down after I started learning Aibileen’s and Minny’s stories.  (I’m pretty sure I was reading until four a.m.)

Besides being an absolute joy to read, The Help is a well-written piece of literature that brings together dialect, speech patterns, and personal memories to create singularly unique characters.  Stockett makes it easy to dive right into the lives of Minny, Skeeter, and Aibileen.  They’re wonderful characters with thoughts, dreams, and aspirations of their own that make them real and strikingly human.  Their stories flow so easily, their memories weaving a beautiful tapestry about three women and their struggles within southern society.  It’s an emotional roller coaster ride; however, it’s truly thrilling to experience.

I will note that The Help is envisioned in conjunction with the civil rights movement.  It portrays the lives of three women in Jackson, Mississippi, when expectations for women, especially African American women, were very different.  As such, Stockett’s novel often portrays some of the worst aspects of racism and sexism—and the abject unfairness that such extraordinary women are faced with such terribly prejudiced circumstances.

Nevermore: Broadchurch, Sociopath, First Ladies, Appalachian Railroads, Spool of Blue Thread, 4th of July Creek

Reported by Candess and Ambrea

This week in Nevermore, members explored a variety of books, including Broadchurch by Erin Kelly and Confessions of a Sociopath by M.E. Thomas.

Broadchurch was first on the roster.  Based on the 2013 television series of the same name, Broadchurch follows the story of Ellie Miller as she investigations the murder of an eleven-year-old boy found on the beach, the son of one of her dearest friends.  Between dealing with the buried secrets of her small Dorset town and the sudden appearance of a disreputable Scottish detective, Alec Hardy, Ellie deals with her own sense of loss and struggles to discover the murder before it’s too late.  Our Nevermore reader considered it “very good,” engrossing and intriguing like the television show.

Likewise, our other Nevermore reader found Confessions of a Sociopath:  A Life Spent Hiding in Plain Sight to be an interesting journey.  Part memoir and part psychological exploration, M.E. Thomas’s novel details how the author deals with her disability and, more importantly, thrives despite it.  Our Nevermore reader called it, “Very interesting” - and worth reading if one is interested in uncovering the characteristics of a sociopath.

Another book our Nevermore reader read was First Ladies: Presidential Historians on the lives of 45 Iconic Women by Susan Swain (and C-SPAN).  Based on a series of episodes by C-SPAN in which preeminent historians and biographers discussed the lives of the presidential first ladies, First Ladies  dives deeper into the world of the president’s wives - their dreams, deeds, aspirations, and efforts - and exploring these “fascinating women who survived the scrutiny of the White House, sometimes at great personal cost, while supporting their families and famous husbands - and sometimes changing history.”  Nevermore readers gave it a very positive review, saying it was definitely worth reading, especially if one enjoys history.

Conquering the Appalachians by Mary Hattan Bogart followed next.  Bogart’s book chronicled the construction of the Western Maryland Railway and the Clinchfield Railroad as it went over, around, and even through the Appalachian Mountains.  Based on the journals, records, and photographs of William Cary Hattan, the civil engineer who built large portions of these railroads, Conquering the Appalachians is an up-close and personal look at the individuals who built these railroads and the impact they had on the regiion.  According to our Nevermore reader, “We should never discard these books!  Put them in the young adult section so that our young people have an idea of the history of the railroads and what it meant to our county!”

Last but not least, A Spool of Blue Thread by Anne Tyler was discussed.  According to our Nevermore reader, it was absolutely wonderful.  Following the lives of the Whitshanks, all four generations of them, A Spool of Blue Thread chronicles family life - the ups and the downs, the good and the bad, the secrets and the shared memories - at its worst and at its best.

One of our Nevermore mentioned 4th of July Creek by Smith Hendrson, in which social worker Pete Snow becomes involved in the case of an eleven-year-old boy, nearly feral from neglect, and his survivalist father, and called it an interesting read.  Although still working on reading this book, our reader received great praise from a family member who claimed, “There is an astounding, life-changing ending” to uncover.