Ava Gardner: The Secret Conversations

In a recent article in Vanity Fair, one of my favorite things to read, I saw a preview for a new biography on Ava Gardner: Ava Gardner: The Secret Conversations.  Other books have been written about this starlet, none of which she actually colloborated on.  Before reading the book, I didn’t know much about her, but now I am definitely interested in watching some of her old movies!  Ava worked with Peter Evans on this book, who had already written a few notable biographies.  He wrote biographies of Brigitte Bardot, Aristotle Onassis, and Peter Sellers.  Evans began working on this book in 1988, when he was approached by Gardner, but was sidetracked for a variety of reasons.  He began taping their conversations for later work on the biography.  These conversations went on for quite some time, and he kept all of them.

Before really finishing this project, she decided to go with another biographer, one who would create the image she wanted to present in a biography.  This book was published in 1990, called Ava: My Story.  At the time she began working with Evans, Gardner was 66, and had suffered from a stroke in 1986.  She had once been one of Hollywood’s greatest stars, but at this point in her life she was nearly broke.  She reminds Evans several times throughout the course of the book that the only reason she wants to work on the book is because she needs the money, she is also very concerned about her image that will be represented in the book.  She seems to not trust Evans in presenting this image, which probably explains why this biography was not finished during her lifetime.  Evans, along with the BBC, had been sued by Frank Sinatra in 1972 by exposing his alleged connection with the mafia.  Ava passed away in January of 1990, and it took years for Evans to gain the permission of the Gardner family to publish these taped conversations.  He passed in August of last year, and it was after that the publication of this book truly began.

“She had been called ‘the most irresistible woman in Hollywood,’ and ‘the world’s most beautiful animal.’  Such encomiums were typical of the hype that was de rigueur in the Hollywood marketing machine of the 1940s and ’50s, but they were not inappropriate.  Ava Gardner’s whole life had been defined by her beauty and the many and various lovers it ensnared – and she famously devoured…She had seduced by, married to and divorced from, lived with and walked out on, some of the most famous names of the twentieth century.”

She was apprehensive of writing a biography, believing it was tacky to write a Hollywood tell-all.  She also worried about the reputation of Frank Sinatra, her third husband, whom she still had strong feelings for.  She was also once married to Mickey Rooney and Artie Shaw, and had once dated Howard Hughes.  Because the book is published almost as a transcript of these taped conversations, Ava’s voice and story is uncensored.  The details of these relationships are just as juicy as any tabloid tale today.  She is not necessarily known for her great moves, as she is remembered for her famous lovers.  Like many actresses, her career began to decline as she got older.  Yet, as these conversations illustrate, she was sensual, charming, and very.  This is a must-read!

Undead and Underwater

So last week we introduced you to Mary Janice Davidson, and her series about mermaids.  This is a popular series, but she’s known for much more than just mermaids!  She not only writes series like the Undead, Fred the Mermaid, and Werewolves of Wyndham, she also writes short stories, a lot of short stories and publishes them in anthologies.  Her most recent anthology is Undead and Underwater.

There are three stories in this particular book.  The first is Super, Girl! about Hailey Derry.  I’ll be honest I tried reading this one but I just couldn’t get into it.  I love paranormal books and fantasy books but for some reason this story seemed a bit out there even for my tastes.  I may have to try it again though just because I do love MJD.

The second story, which shares its title with the book brings together the self-centered Queen Betsy and the equally self-centered Fred the Mermaid.  The story is filled with them trading barbs, well after Betsy bewitches Fred and then Fred cleans her clock that is.  Former aquarium intern Madison is “rilly rilly in big trouble from some rilly rilly bad guys” and yes she really does talk that way.  I’m with Fred on her first thought, just let the bad guys have her already.  UGH.  The fun really begins with Queen Betsy the shoe obsessed meets Jonas THE most metrosexual male in the world who also just happens to be Fred’s best friend.  They bond over smoothies and begin planning what to do with the baddies.  This story is just fun.

The third story centers on Lara Wyndham, newly minted pack leader of the werewolves.  Lara’s dad has decided to retire, the first Pack Leader in history to do so.  Suddenly I’m wondering if MJD was inspired by Pope Benedict retiring.  Lara has big shoes to fill and strange things are happening.  When dead things begin to appear on her doorstep Lara contacts some familiar characters, yep you guessed it Betsy and Fred.  Oh did I forget to mention this story happens in the future, post Kardashian Riots of 2025, oh please can that not come to be, pretty pretty please!  Lara also reencounters Jack Gardner, son of her father’s best friend, a Packer that does not change form and has never been far from her mind.  Also appearing in the book is her little brother Sean who is remarkably laid back for a predator.  Again I really enjoyed this story, another great installment in the Wyndham series.

I just put the newest Queen Betsy book Undead and Unsure on hold, as soon as I get it I’ll be sharing my thoughts.  Anyone else a fan of MJD??

A Bad Boy Can Be Good For a Girl

A few weeks ago I came across an article in The Virginian Pilot about a “controversial book” that some parents in the area were attempting to ban from school libraries.  The book was A Bad Boy Can Be Good For a Girl and it was written by Tanya Lee Stone in 2006, so its interesting now that it’s being challenged.  It was checked out by a high school student in Currituck, NC, and was challenged by the mother of that student.  When I read the article I thought I had to find out what all the fuss was about.  Since the book’s challenging by the school board, it has been nearly impossible to get this book from any of the local libraries.  Want to get kids interesting in reading?  Tell them they can’t read a certain book!

Parts of the book are somewhat explicit, but it’s nothing like some of the erotic novels that have gotten really popular lately.  The protest from parents may have been the book’s availability in school libraries, and their inability to keep it from their children.  Instead of what the title seems to suggest, that girls might be encouraged to get involved with a “bad boy”, it’s more of a cautionary tale for young girls.  Written in verse, the book is somewhat poetic, something young female readers will be drawn to.  Told through the voices of three girls attending the same high school, each of whom have been involved with the same boy.  He is a senior, and although not all of the girls’ ages are given, they seem younger and less experienced as he is.  Josie, Nicolette, and Aviva each have their own experience with him, each one negative.  These girls are vulnerable, naive, and fall into his prey, each one end up feeling used.  Through Josie’s voice this experience is described:

“Now, I have never understood all that he’s my other half soul mate stuff or when people sometimes talk about having an empty space inside or that they’re missing pieces or something.  But then he walked over and fit himself right into my puzzle.”

“He says things like ‘You’re so soft, you feel so good,’ lame things that shouldn’t work on anybody but actually work on everybody.”

Josie decides not to have sex with him, and ends up getting dumped.  As a young woman scorned, she finds Forever, that famously scandalous book written by Judy Blume, in the library and adds her own note at the end, warning other girls at the school to stay away from him.  This book survives for at least four years in this high school library.  Josie was the first to write a warning in the back, over the course of his high school career, many other girls at the school share their experiences as well.

At the end of the book there are discussion questions and questions for the author.  These probably struck me more than the actual story.  These comments and questions put the book into a different context, and will be just as important for young readers to read.  The question is, will those who pick up the book read them??  Look beyond the title – this boy is definitely bad, but there is good in this book.  The girls help others steer clear of him, but also to trust each other, and to think more carefully before getting involved with boys.

Underwater Love

Did you know mermaids are real?  I mean for real they’re real.  Ok so maybe only in books and movies, but in the universe of MaryJanice Davidson’s books that include the Undead and Werewolves of Wyndham there are also mermaids and one just happens to be a marine biologist in Boston. Fred, don’t call her Frederika it’s Fred, the mermaid is actually only half mermaid.  Her hippie mom and mermaid dad had a one night stand on the beach and here she is.  Fred is the star of a trilogy of books: Swimming with the Fishes, Swimming Without a Net, and Fish Out of Water all bound together now in Underwater Love.

Fred has known since she was a child that she’s a mermaid.  She is a smart-mouthed, anti-social twenty nine year old with THE most metrosexual best friend the world has ever known.  In Swimming with the Fishes, Fred meets another of her kind for the first time, and not just any old mermaid uh merman, the prince of the Undersea Folk as they call themselves, Prince Artur.  The Prince is infatuated with Fred, her abrasive personality is also no turn off for the new doctor at the aquarium, Dr. Thomas.  The two men begin to fight for Fred’s affections which rapidly confuses and delights her, though the delight seems to only further anger her.  Fred is one complicated fishie-chick.

Prince Artur has come seeking Fred’s help.  Fellow Undersea Folk have reported to the king of pollution in Boston Harbor.  Fred enlists Thomas to help thinking she can just leave it to the two boys to solve, oh but nothing is ever that simple for her.

I like Fred, I like Fred a lot.  She is self-centered much the way Queen Betsy of the Undead series is yet she does care about her friends even when she tries not to show it.  I love Fred’s friend Jonas, Thomas, and Prince Artur.  This is just another fun series to read.

Fred’s adventures with her Undersea Folk brethren continue in Swimming Without a Net when she is called to be part of a meeting of all of the Undersea Folk in the world.  The U.F. are discussing revealing themselves to the world, hey what could possibly go wrong?  Well when Fred brings Jonas along and Thomas shows up as well you can only imagine.  Let’s just start with the fact that Thomas introduces the King to the world of two-legs by showing him the series Deadwood, yeah that was a brilliant idea.

I will definitely be looking for MJD to write further adventures of Fred even if they are only short stories.  Oh by the way there is a short story I’ll write about another time with both Fred and Queen Betsy in the anthology Undead and Underwater.

Nickel and Dimed

Banned books week is officially celebrated in September, from 22 – 28.  Around that time I saw some great displays at the library and at Barnes and Noble.  Of course I browsed, and found that I had read a few them already.  One book I had recently read I was surprised to find was banned or challenged in a couple locations in 2003, 2010 and 2011.  Writer, journalist, and activist Barbara Ehrenreich wrote Nicked and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America in 1998, and even 15 years later this book is still making waves.

Before taking on this project, Ehrenreich had been an experienced journalist.  In research for the book, she went undercover, working several minimum or low wage jobs in a couple of different spots around the country.  She does this bravely, without the help of friends, contacts, her degree, work experience, or health insurance.  Some of the jobs she took on during this year-long experiment include waitressing, housekeeping, and being a Wal-Mart sales associate.  What she discovers while working some of these jobs full-time is that she could barely survive, often having to get a second job just to be able to house, feed, and clothe herself.  She makes a strong argument for a living wage – even back in 1998.  What she’s suggesting is not that radical, and even though I was a strong believer in this ideology before reading the book, I’m only more firm in that belief now.

It’s no wonder that some may feel threatened by what she reveals in this book.  It’s not exactly celebrating or promoting capitalism.  Sure, minimum wage may be perfect for young people just starting out, with little experience or education, searching for their first jobs.  What about adults who are possibly supporting families on these paltry salaries?  It’s almost impossible.  Her sharpest criticism of the American capitlist system comes at the end of the book, where she evaluates her experience as a low-wage worker:

“When someone works for less pay than she can live on – when, for example, she goes hungry so that you can eat more cheaply and conveniently – then she has made a great sacrifice for you, she has made you a gift of some part of her abilities, her health, and her life.  The ‘working poor,’ as they are approvingly termed, are in fact the major philanthropists of our society.  They neglect their own children so that the children of others will be cared for; they live in substandard housing so that other homes will be shiny and perfect; they endure privation so that inflation will be low and stock prices high.  To be a member of the working poor is to be an anonymous donor, a nameless benefactor, to everyone else.” – 221

The introduction of the book includes some interesting statistics about minimum wage, and what a living wage was considered then.  It would be nice to see some of this updated, especially in today’s tough economic climate.  Those who may have voted to have t his book banned may consider it to be an argument for socialism, and that may have some validity.  Instead of choosing one side of the living wage issue or the other, how about a reevaluation of our minimum wage or living wage as a compromise?

Killing Kennedy

So, last night National Geographic premiered Killing Kennedy, a movie somewhat based on the popular book written by Bill O’Reilly.  I first saw a preview for the movie about a week ago and was definitely interested.  I enjoyed watching it – although it wasn’t great, it definitely got me interested in reading the book!  Isn’t that always the case??  Rob Lowe starring as JFK – seriously, 20 years ago no one could have predicted that!  One of the only things that made this movie interesting, in my opinion, were the roles of Ginnifer Goodwin and Michelle Trachtenberg who played Jackie Kennedy and Marina Oswald.  The movie took on the usual JFK – related topics – infidelity, the mafia, the Cuban missile crisis, Robert Kennedy serving as his attorney general and their close relationship, and the public’s fascination and adoration with him and his family.

O’Reilly has written a few books in the past couple of years, each “killing” an important figure; Jesus, Kennedy, Lincoln.  Subjects and individuals who have been extensively studied, and whose deaths have been thoroughly analyzed.  The interest and suspicion surrounding Kennedy’s assassination has never dissipated, even fifty years later, so it’s no wonder O’Reilly found a welcome audience.  Killing Kennedy: The End of Camelot was published first in October of 2012, Killing Lincoln: The Shocking Assassination that Changed America Forever was released just a year before, and just this fall Killing Jesus: A History was released.

O’Reilly had written several books before taking on  this genre, but with these three books he had a co-writer, Martin Dugard.  O’Reilly actually has a degree in history, something I didn’t know before researching more about these books, so it’s no wonder he’d be interested in these topics.  Killing Kennedy doesn’t seem to shed new light on the subject.  Instead, it seems to put his assassination into a narrative, highlighting some of the lowest points of Kennedy’s political career.  This of course plays up the many conspiracy theories, which is still so fascinating – especially to some who may know little about Kennedy’s death.

Why is O’Reilly so focused on the deaths of these three men?  The titles of the books alone are attention grabbers.  What explains their popularity?  Maybe it’s because he’s bringing these topics to a new audience.  Maybe it’s because O’Reilly himself is a successful author, and his popular show on Fox News.  One of the only things I found interesting about the book was the introduction, where he explained his personal connection to Kennedy himself.  “The assassination of JFK was somewhat personal for me.  My maternal grandmother was born Winifred Kennedy, and my Irish-Catholic family had deep emotional ties to the young president and his family…Like most kids on Long Island, I didn’t care much about national politics.  But I vividly remember pictures of JFK displayed in the homes of my relatives.  To them, he was a saint.  To me, he was a distant figure who died in a terrible way, his brain splattered all over the trunk of a car.  The vision of his wife, Jacqueline, crawling onto the back of the limo in order to retrieve the president’s shattered skull has stayed with me always.”

Planning on reading this, or watching the TV movie?

New Fiction Friday

Revenge??

So Lauren Weisberger, one of chick lit’s most popular authors (do people still say that?), recently released a new book.  As a sequel to her most popular book, The Devil Wears Prada, Revenge Wears Prada catches the main character, Andrea Sachs ten years after Devil left off.  As one of Weisberger’s first books, Devil was wildly successful, as was its movie adaptation.  I enjoyed both the movie and the book, and was interested to find out what Andi had done since leaving Runway magazine, and after her dramatic exit from the magazine and it’s head, Miranda Priestly, at the end of the book.

If you haven’t already read Devil, you should.  It was such a great book – of course the movie is great too.  The great Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway made a classic; there’s also Emily Blunt and the talented Mr. Stanley Tucci!  The book starts with a really interesting quote from Henry David Thoreau in 1854 “Beware of all enterprises that require new clothes”.  It’s an interesting start to the book because this is exactly what Andi does throughout the course of this first book.  Devil was published in 2003, and the author herself wasn’t that much older at the time than the main character.  Andi, who had just graduated from Brown University, moves into the city to pursue her writing career.  She lands a job at Runway Magazine, of Elias Clark publications, as Miranda Priestly’s second assistant, which would have been many young women’s dream.  It was not Andi’s dream though.

Revenge Wears Prada picks up ten years later.  Andi’s life has changed quite a bit, and she has become quite successful in the publishing world.  After leaving Runway, she began working on her own projects, eventually teaming up with her best friend Emily to launch The Plunge.  Emily and Andi actually met while working at Runway, and it’s interesting just how t heir relationship has changed.  While working on their magazine launch Andi met her husband Max, who was a potential investor.  He was part of a declining publishing empire, and was interested in adding The Plunge to his company’s portfolio.

She seems to have quite a bit going on in her life – and once again, seemingly everything she could possibly want.  She and Emily are stunned when they are contacted by the office of Miranda Priestly.  Having both served as Miranda’s assistants, they each had a unique experience in that role.  Emily is still in awe of Miranda’s brilliance as the head of Runway, now she is serving as the head of Elias Clark publications.  Andi is still traumatized by her time at Runway, and with her relationship with Miranda.  Unexpectedly, Elias Clark makes an offer they can’t refuse…  Or can they?  It seems that Miranda is willing to buy The Plunge for quite a lot of money.  The trouble begins when the co-founders of the magazine, Andi and Emily, disagree on the offer and possible sale.

I enjoyed both books, Devil was incredibly funny, witty, and well-written.  With Revenge, when I reached the end of the book, I was scratching my head.  I did enjoy the book, Andi seemed out of her element at The Plunge, just as she had at Runway.  What I really didn’t get was the title.  I won’t give away the ending, but I’m not sure where the title “revenge” comes from…  I was expecting something much juicier, but I was kind of disappointed  Weisberger has written a few other books, and along with this one, they fall short of the high standard set by Devil.

More on Vampires

So everyone seems to have heard of the Twilight books and movies, that is unless they live under a rock or in a cave somewhere.  Twilight is not my favorite book series, as a matter of fact it’s one of my least favorite and not one I’d recommend to anyone, and yet as an educator I kept it on my bookshelf for my students.  I read the entire series, I was interested to see where it went and in some vague ways it reminded me of the Anita Blake books, very vague like she has to pick between and werewolf and a vampire that both love her.  I wasn’t bothered as many were by the age difference between Bella and Edward, if you like vampire books that’s part and parcel of the genre so you just read past it. The writing itself was what bothered me, it is not quality.  As a teacher I desperately want to take my editing pen to the book, teach Ms. Meyer the difference between showing and telling because all she seems to know how to do is tell.  However again I say I could not keep the books on the bookshelf the kids yes even some of the boys loved them, so I used the series as a gateway to better vampire books.

One such set is the Saga of Darren Shan also known as the Cirque Du Freak series by Darren Shan, the story of a young boy who becomes a half vampire and an assistant to a vampire.  The entire series is 12 books long.  I have only read the first one, and posting this reminds me I want to go back and read the rest because I really did enjoy that first book and have had students who loved it as well.

Another set and one I have read and loved is the Vladimir Tod series by Heather Brewer.  Vlad is the son of a human mother and vampire father which means that he is a half vampire living on both food and expired blood brought home from the hospital by his aunt.  Vlad lives with his Aunt Nelly and has since his parents were killed in a fire years ago.  Throughout the series Vlad meets other vampires and comes across vampire slayers as well.  Brewer has since written a spin-off series about the slayers called the Slayer Chronicles.  I haven’t read them yet but they are on my list.  This would be another set of books I couldn’t keep on the bookshelf.

Otherworldlies and The Siren’s Cry is a duo of books about Fern, a young vampire in this world known as an Otherworldly, except she doesn’t know she’s a vampire.  Fern does not drink blood, she has to always wear sunscreen because she blisters if in the sun for a just a few moments, she can talk to her dog, and has been able to accurately predict the weather each day for two years.  Things just get stranger when one day in class she disappears and reappears on the beach miles away.  She has no idea how this has happened.  Suddenly she is thrust into a world she knows nothing about, didn’t even knew existed and because she is special, one of the Unusual Eleven, she has no choice but to participate.

Another great duo is Suck it Up and Suck it Up or Die by Brian Meehl.  The cover alone of the first book let me know this is not your ordinary vampire book.  A vampire smiley face sucking up blood in the shape of the title through a straw.  The name of the central character was my second indication: Morning McCobb.  Morning is a sixteen year old vampire, and not your usual vampire.  He’s not gorgeous, tall, strong, he is instead short, scrawny and nerdy.  Morning has been attending the Leaguer Academy, a school for recently turned teenage vampires.  The League has decided it is time to come out to the world and is looking for their spokesperson.  Morning has never drunk real blood he subsists on a soy-based blood substitute called Blood Lite.  The story follows Morning and Portia the daughter of the Public Relations person the League is using to come out.  It is a fun and different read.  Pick it up!  Then pick up the sequel, I can’t tell you much about it yet but maybe some day, it’s sitting in my to read pile right now.

I know that there are numerous other YA vampire series out there: Vampire Diaries, Vampire Academy, Blue Bloods, House of Night, and Morganville Vampires to name just a few.  Don’t assume as my husband mistakenly does that just because a book is written for young adults that it’s not good for anyone to read.  Some of the best books I’ve read have been written for pre-teens and teenagers.

The Times of the Eighties

Now that we have all celebrated and survived Halloween, it’s time to focus on Christmas.  I absolutely love Thanksgiving – hello, a holiday all about eating?!?  Even before October was over, stores had already rolled out the Christmas stuff.  Target and Macy’s already had Christmas decorations out, I’m sure there are more stores, these are only two examples I witnessed myself.  I am never one to overlook turkey day – but I am ready to start my Christmas list!

I always manage a long list of books on my Christmas wish list.  While at the library a couple of weeks ago I saw the first book I’m going to put on my Christmas list – The Times of the Eighties.  As a chronicle of many of the headlines The New York Times published in the 80s, flipping through the book brought back many memories.  Included with these many headlines are full-color pictures that were also featured in the paper.  There was quite a bit going on internationally during the 80s, and the paper captured it all.

“The cold war ended as the Soviet Empire fell apart.  The Internet came into being.  AIDS, an utterly mysterious disease afflicting mostly young gay men, ravaged an entire generation and created a powerful new movement to advance the political rights of gay people.  Cable television rewrote the script for news and entertainment.  The baby boomers, dubbed the Me Generation by Tom Wolfe in the 1970s, morphed into the acquisitive, high-achieving tribe known as yuppies.”

The book includes cover stories from each of the Times sections: national and international news, business, science, technology, sports, and arts.  I do remember many of the top stories in national and international stories, but it’s interesting to revisit some of these issues.  It seems that the decade was marked by two catastrophic events, one at the beginning, and one at the end.  The beginning of the 80s began with the eruption of Mt St Helens, and ended with the 1989 Loma Prieta – Bay Area earthquake.  Also important near the end of the 80s was the fall of communism in Eastern Europe and in the Soviet Union.  So much of the 80s gets overlooked historically, as if the fall of communism wasn’t just as important as the other major events of the 20th century.

One thing I found interesting about the book is its inclusion of some of the most important political leaders of the decade, with a highlight on women.  Geraldine Ferraro is someone many women looked up to in the 80s, as the first woman in history to secure any party’s nomination for Vice Presidential candidate.  Margaret Thatcher was once one of the most powerful women in the world, emerging as a world leader years before any other woman would reach such a high political position.  Another important woman in our history, Sandra O’Connor, became the first woman to serve on the Supreme Court, and was sworn in 1981.

Along with some of these major headlines and newsmakers are some of the important elements of 80s culture.  Of course there were big 80s pop stars, but there were also great rock bands – The Pretenders, The Clash, and The Police.  One of my favorite sections of the Times is the Book Review, and here writers Alice Walker, S.E. Hinton, and Toni Morrison are included.  A few other cultural icons are featured – the walkman made its debut, was hugely successful and early prototype for the iPod (which many people now cannot live without!).  Also making its debut in the 80s was MTV.  Remember VJs?  Actually, a better question would be, remember when MTV used to play videos?  Of course I’ve heard that question a thousand times it seems, but I do remember the network’s debut, thinking that it was the coolest thing on tv.

This is a great book, a coffee table book you may actually pick up and read.  Hopefully, come Christmas morning, I find it under our tree!!

New Fiction Friday

I’d like to introduce a new segment I’ll call New Fiction Friday.  This is a challenge to me, to both read a new work of fiction and work on a review to share – every week!  Finding quality time to read is always difficult.  My excuse is having a busy three year old, but there are so many other things that take us away from what we love to do.  I always try to make time to read – and when you can find a really good book, it can be more relaxing and more enjoyable than anything else!  I recently finished Dr Sleep, which I had been so excited to read, and had been eagerly awaiting its release!  Like most Stephen King books, this book was incredibly long, so it took me quite a while to finish it!  The time spent was totally worth it, and the saga of Danny Torrance was hard to put down!

As a fan of Stephen King, I think The Shining is one of his best books.  I wondered if he had some sort of plan to follow The Shining with a sequel, why he waited so long.  I was so excited when I heard of the book’s release, and interested to see where King would take the story.  In the first book Danny Torrence is a seven year old with amazing clairvoyant capabilities.  The novel centers around his family’s move to the Overlook Hotel, and the demise of his family through the actions of his father and the hotel.  What’s also important about that book is his developing relationship Dick Hallorann, who helps him to understand his precognitive abilities.  This will be an important element tying the two books together.

There has been a lot of excitement about Dr Sleep, and some may want to read The Shining first.  Now having finished Dr Sleep, I don’t think it’s that important to read them in order.  The book begins with a very brief synopsis of Danny’s earlier experiences, but launches quickly into his struggles as an adult.   His father struggled with alcoholism, his lack of success as a writer, and his inability to control his anger.  Those are also some of the issues that Danny struggles with as an adult.  After the dramatic end of The Shining, there was the expectation that Danny’s would have take a different path.  Yet, because of his precognition, he has struggled to live a normal life.  The title itself refers to Danny’s line of work, assisting the elderly move on to the afterlife while working as an aide in a nursing home.

His early relationship with Dick Ohalloran was paralleled in this book, when he meets a young girl named Abra Stone and becomes her mentor.  Her powers are much stronger, and because of this she is sought after by a group known as the True Knot.  This is the main element of the story – protecting Abra from the True Knot.

“‘They call themselves the  True Knot.  Most of them are old, and they really are like vampires.  They look for kids like me.  And like you were, I guess.  Only they don’t drink blood, they breathe in the stuff that comes out when the special kids die.’  She winced in disgust.  ‘The more they hurt them before, the stronger that stuff is.  They call it steam.'”

I have to say, this book wasn’t as good as I had expected, but given the greatness of The Shining, this book had a lot to live up to.  It was still a great page-turner, and some parts was so scary I actually had to put it down for a minute!  It was the perfect October read!!