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.

The Girls by Emma Cline and American Girls by Alison Umminger

Reviewed by Christy H.

The Girls by Emma Cline

Over two nights in August 1969, members of the Manson family, who were mostly women, murdered multiple people in the Tate and Labianca households. They weren’t caught until December of that year, and when they were the nation was shocked. The culprits were young, female hippies. The age of the happy, free love hippie prototype was over, replaced by something much darker. How could these young girls be dragged into such a disturbing environment where they would follow any command their leader said, no matter how evil?

Emma Cline tries to answer that question in her book The Girls. I’m not entirely sure she succeeded. While it is a work of fiction Cline draws heavily from her fascination with the Manson cult, and how it attracted such blind devotion. Our protagonist is Evie Boyd, and she is drawn into a cult-like compound via the titular girls. But really, for Evie, it’s just one girl – Suzanne. She is drawn to Suzanne immediately, and wants more than anything for Suzanne to like her and maybe miss her when she’s gone. That’s…kind of the extent of it. Although Evie admits that there is a certain charisma to Russell, their leader, it’s Suzanne that keeps her coming back to the ranch the girls call home.

But we never really delve into the why of it. Sure, Evie’s parents are going through a divorce and she feels ignored, looked through as if she’s invisible. She doesn’t seem to fully connect to her only friend Connie anymore. But is that enough to drive her to a commune where the girls share crumbling clothes and scrounge for food in dumpsters? Evie is only fourteen so maybe that’s all it takes. But what is it about Suzanne that pulls Evie in so completely? Does she have romantic feelings for her? We don’t know. Why is Suzanne there in the first place? Or any of the other girls? We don’t know. Cline touches on the way girls and women feel there is a limited way to act, a limited way to respond to uncomfortable advances, and how the resentment of this fact can build up into immense anger over time. Evie wonders if this is what propelled Suzanne. But that’s glossed over in a matter of a few words.

I didn’t hate the book but I did finish it feeling underwhelmed especially after all the buzz it got pre-release. I expected a deeper dive into the psyche of a teen girl drawn to a cult. But we don’t really get that, and the novel teases a climax that doesn’t really happen. Evie, spoiler alert, doesn’t participate in any sort of violence. She’s not even there when it happens. While she ponders what she would’ve been capable of had she been there, we the readers will never know. Cline sets up an interesting premise but fails to fully explore it.

American Girls by Alison Umminger

            Fifteen year old Anna runs away from her Atlanta home all the way to Los Angeles where her actress sister lives. After the initial freak out it’s decided that Anna will stay there and earn money to pay back her stepmom Lynette for the plane ticket she bought with Lynette’s credit card. She does this by working for Roger, her sister’s ex-boyfriend and current director, researching the Manson girls involved with the infamous cult murders. Roger wants to know what made them tick, what made them do the awful things they did.

            As Anna starts working, she is dragged around town by her sister Delia to sets and even makes friends with one half of a popular tv sibling duo. At times it feels slightly outlandish but I suppose if your sister is an actress it’s not terribly unrealistic. While the setup is very different from The Girls there are some similarities. Both novels attempt to dig into the thought process of teen cult members and both have teenage narrators who feel adrift from their families. However, I liked Anna quite a bit more than Evie. Although at times obnoxious and bratty, Anna had so much more personality than flat Evie that it would be hard not to prefer her.

            Anna tries to figure out all those Manson girls, and while she doesn’t answer the question she does seem to get closer than Evie did. Maybe it’s because Evie is so blasé about her situation while Anna seems to care deeply. She sees a lot of parallels between her sister and any number of Manson girls. Not-so-great childhood, terrible choices in men and decision making, low self-esteem, all the usual suspects. Anna thinks back to the cruel texts she’d sent to a classmate for no reason at all other than to please her best friend. She wonders if the path the women eventually take began with something that small.

            It’s not a five star story but I do think it is more engaging than The Girls. Maybe I would’ve liked it less if I hadn’t just finished The Girls and felt disappointed, I don’t know. It would be interesting to see how someone like Anna would react in Evie’s shoes. She would’ve definitely expressed her feelings more, good or bad. I finished American Girls feeling that Anna would take her summer experiences and try to learn from them and maybe use them to be a better person. Evie, on the other hand, felt pretty much the same at the end of her book (when she’s middle aged) as she did throughout (when she’s a teenager). If I had to recommend either I would go with American Girls. It’s a quick read full of varying personalities, dark humor, and an engaging protagonist.

Screaming Staircase by Jonathan Stroud

Reviewed by Ambrea

London has a terrible problem on its plate:  ghosts.  In recent years since the Problem arose, all manner of haunts, spirits, specters, ghosts and ghouls have popped up across the country—and their touch is absolutely deadly.  Only young people have the psychic abilities to see and eradicate these supernatural creatures, and many psychic investigation agencies—many of them populated by children with these unique gifts—have appeared to handle the dangerous, often-deadly work of destroying these restless spirits.

Together with Anthony Lockwood, leader of the motley Lockwood & Co., George Cubbins, Lucy Carlyle uses her talents to protect vulnerable adults and put ghosts away.  But after a grisly discovery leads to a disastrous end, Lucy, Anthony, and George are forced to take part in a perilous investigation at Combe Carey Hall, one of the most haunted houses in England, if they hope to save Lockwood & Co.—that is, if they can survive the night.

Like Jonathan Stroud’s Bartimaeus series, Lockwood & Co. is an intriguing and inventive series with fleshed out characters, a wonderfully charismatic narrator, interesting plot twists, and a curious mixture of myth, magic, and paranormal critters.  Although it took me a couple of chapters to fully sink into The Screaming Staircase, I was hooked by the end of their first assignment—and I thoroughly enjoyed following the cases of Lucy, Anthony, and George as they struggled to recoup their losses and survive another day.

Speaking of Lucy, I’ve found she makes a wonderful narrator.  She’s snarky and sarcastic, equal parts entertaining and fascinating as readers plumb the depths of her abilities and learn of her history.  Like her colleagues, Anthony and George, Lucy can see and sense ghosts; however, she has a singularly special talent that sets her apart:  she can hear and communicate with ghosts, as well.  Her powerful talents and her unusual sensitivity to ghosts make her unique, even among her peers, but it also makes her an intriguing narrator.

Moreover, I was constantly struck by the inventiveness of Stroud’s novel and the series as a whole.  It thought the “ghost-touch” was an interesting concept (and, admittedly, rather frightening), and I was fascinated by the whole mythos surrounding ghosts.  It’s interest to see the ways in which society adapts to accommodate ghosts and all the dangers they present, to see the dynamics of society shift as children become embroiled in the conflict and become key figures in protecting the living.

I suppose I should confess, however, that I do not actually like ghosts.

For some reason, the concept of ghosts freaks me out, so much so that I simply can’t watch The Poltergeist or Paranormal Activity—or, heaven forbid, It—without spending the rest of my evening prancing around like a frightened cat.  And, while The Screaming Staircase is fairly mild, I still found it eerie, unsettling, and, confidentially, a little bit frightening.

Maybe, it’s because I don’t like ghosts; maybe, it’s because I’m susceptible to frightful things; maybe, it’s because Stroud is such an excellent writer that he has a way of conveying a proper sense of horror and describing terrifying things.  Either way, I frequently found myself reading during the daylight hours and flipping all the lights on in my bedroom to combat the eerie feelings of impending doom.

Note: Since it 'tis the season, we'll be running more posts featuring books or films with a bit of shiver to them.  This is our version of a Halloween treat!

Nevermore: Goats, Dragons, Across Open Ground, Ike's Bluff, and Now That It's You

Reported by Ambrea

One of our Nevermore readers decided to pick up something different to share this week by selecting The Dairy Goat Handbook:  For Backyard, Homestead, and Small Farm by Ann Starbard.  It's a comprehensive guidebook about selecting and raising goat breeds, maintaining a healthy herd, and using dairy goat products, like milk and cheese.  Our reader picked Starbard’s book up on a whim, spying it on a display shelf, and she said she just couldn’t resist.  She enjoyed reading The Dairy Goat Handbook and, more importantly, she liked learning something new.  “If you’re into vicarious farming, as I am, this is a very good book,” she told her fellow Nevermore members, and she highly recommended it to others with an interest in homesteading or simply like goats.

Nevermore also looked at The Kingdom of the Golden Dragon by Isabel Allende.  Although Allende has appeared a number of times, it was the first time her young readers’ series was introduced to Nevermore.  In The Kingdom of the Golden Dragon, Alexander Cold and his best friend, Nadia, are reunited in a new adventure that takes them to the highest reaches of the Himalayas and a forbidden kingdom protected by the fabled Golden Dragon.  Our reader enjoyed reading Allende’s novel.  While it reflects the younger age of its audience, she said it has a very good story and she thought the author did a wonderful job of making the setting come to life.  It was even better than the first book, City of the Beasts, she enthused.

Next, Nevermore looked at Across Open Ground by Heather Parkinson, a fascinating epic about Walter Pascoe, a sheep herder in Idaho, and Trina Ivy, a beautiful young trapper, as they struggle to give root to their growing affection—and survive the First World War.  Our reader said she was “so glad I go to read this book.”  Beautifully written and breathtakingly eloquent, Across Open Ground was immediately labeled as a fantastic book.  She said it reminded her of the Red Badge of Courage, threaded with moments of beauty and tragedy that gave the story impact and presence.  A magnificent and searing story about war and love and, ultimately, the fragility of human life, Across Open Ground received some very high marks and a great recommendation from our reader.

Skipping to the tail end of the Second World War and veering right into the 1950s, Nevermore took a look at Ike’s Bluff:  President Eisenhower’s Secret Battle to Save the World by Evan Thomas.  After assuming the presidency in 1953, Dwight Eisenhower set about ending the Korean War by whatever means necessary—or so he lead the American public to believe.  A detailed and in-depth biography portraying foreign relations of the United States during the presidency of Eisenhower, Ike’s Bluff proved to be an intriguing book for our reader.  He said the writing was excellent, and he added that the author did a wonderful job of shedding new light on his subject.   Overall, he rated it highly, saying it was a “very good book.”

Last, Nevermore looked at a lovely comedic romance by Tawna Fenske.  In Now That It’s You, Meg Delaney decides that, after two years of radio silence, it’s time to let bygones be bygones with her cheating ex-fiancé, Matt Midland, and she hopes to make amends for leaving him at the altar.  But when Matt unexpectedly passes away, Meg is left with the lingering debt of their still-broken engagement sans closure—and suddenly Kyle, Matt’s younger brother, is back in her life, leaving her wondering about what could have been.  Our reader really enjoyed reading Fenske’s latest novel, calling it a wonderfully hilarious depiction of both romantic and familial relationships.  She said she enjoyed the humor, the sweetness, and even the awkward moments; however, she noted she was hooked after discovering the group of LARPers (Live Action Role-Players) dressed in fantasy gear in the second chapter.