ONLINE NNO Book Club: The Wilderwomen

This is the ONLINE version of this event. There is also an in-person event at 1 pm on this date.

2020 was a rough year for everyone and after moving book club entirely online, we had quite the run of books that over half of us didn’t really like…and then came August 2020 and “Beasts of Extraordinary Circumstance”, the debut novel by Ruth Emmie Lang. It was so different than anything else we had been reading – grounded in a very real world with touches of magic just at the edge of ones vision and with beautifully written relationships. It was everything…and here’s hoping her second book, “The Wilderwomen”, lives up to expectations.

***Book summary from Goodreads***
Five years ago, Nora Wilder disappeared. The older of her two daughters, Zadie, should have seen it coming, because she can literally see things coming. But not even her psychic abilities were able to prevent their mother from vanishing one morning.

Zadie’s estranged younger sister, Finn, can’t see into the future, but she has an uncannily good memory, so good that she remembers not only her own memories, but the echoes of memories other people have left behind. On the afternoon of her graduation party, Finn is seized by an “echo” more powerful than anything she’s experienced before: a woman singing a song she recognizes, a song about a bird…

When Finn wakes up alone in an aviary with no idea of how she got there, she realizes who the memory belongs to: Nora.

Now, it’s up to Finn to convince her sister that not only is their mom still out there, but that she wants to be found. Against Zadie’s better judgement, she and Finn hit the highway, using Finn’s echoes to retrace Nora’s footsteps and uncover the answer to the question that has been haunting them for years: Why did she leave?

But the more time Finn spends in their mother’s past, the harder it is for her to return to the present, to return to herself. As Zadie feels her sister start to slip away, she will have to decide what lengths she is willing to go to to find their mother, knowing that if she chooses wrong, she could lose them both for good.

Why have two book club events?
Short version – we have grown slightly bigger than our 10 person limit for the in-person group and rather than debating if you should or shouldn’t read the book if you are on the Wait List – you can always sign up for the online event. Also, sometimes the 1 pm time doesn’t work or you’d prefer an online option for whatever reason. All the same good discussion and chitchat – but you don’t have to get out of your jammies!

Can I RSVP for both versions?
Absolutely! In fact, those on the Waitlist are encouraged to RSVP for the online event, as at least you know you will get to talk about the book either way. You can even attend both versions if you just really loved the book.