Summary: We’re choosing the scenic route this summer as we travel around the United States book by book. Join Holly and Devin on their first stop today - Maine! Known for its lobsters, gruff people, rocky shores and gorgeous landscapes this state is the easternmost state of the 50. While the vibes skew much more toward Holly’s wheelhouse, we’re reminded that love can happen anywhere with Devin’s book.
Topics Discussed:
The Heart (4:01): Devin discussed Evvie Drake Starts Over by Linda Holmes, a novel following Eveleth “Evvie” Drake as she becomes a recluse after the untimely death of her husband. Dean Tenney, former MLB pitcher whose career tanked after a case of the yips, seeks to find solace and escape by moving into Evvie’s spare apartment. They agree at the start - Dean doesn’t ask Evvie about her husband, and Evvie doesn’t ask Dean about his baseball career. As their rocky friendship solidifies into something more, though, they risk letting everything into the light. Devin’s key takeaways were:
Known as a very culturally New England, isolated place, Maine can also be a safe haven once you find your people. This state as the backdrop of this romance is perfect - there is pain, grief, and isolation but there’s also connection and building something sustainable out of the bedrock of the shoes of the region.
Both through the more traditional grief of losing someone and through the grief of losing the life you thought you’d live, Evvie and Dean work to recover together and the reader gets to see how people come back to themselves through the help of others.
While the premise is heavy, Holmes breathes this novel full of life, joy, and romantic connection. While not the steamiest book Devin has ever read, love is at the forefront as both the most challenging and the most healing thing our protagonists can do.
The Dagger (15:29): Holly discussed Granite Harbor by Peter Nichols, a novel that opens on three teenage boys skateboarding after dark and quickly turns even darker when a boy’s body is found at the historic settlement in Granite Harbor. We follow Alex, former writer and now detective in town as he investigates first one murder and then escalates as more bodies are found and the parents in town realize none of their teens are safe. Holly’s key takeaways were:
Both literally as well as within the history that lingers in Maine - its violence, its folklore and traditions, the need for survival in a harsh climate - all resonate throughout the book and serve to heighten the tension at every turn.
Nichols really packs a punch when it comes to gore and gruesome scenes (though it isn’t overdone). There are some gross, unsettling scenes in the story and Holly shares trigger warnings for animal cruelty and gore/violence.
A lot of this book explores the anxiety of parenting teens. We see characters like Isabel, who has just started working at the Granite Harbor Living History Settlement, struggle to navigate keeping her teenage son Ethan safe while often feeling helpless. Nichols highlights the tenacity with which parents will fight for their kids even when they’re almost grown themselves.
Hot On the Shelf (38:16):
What’s Making Our Hearts Race (41:10):
Holly: Ripley on Netflix
Devin: Anyone But You on Netflix
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