At Idlewild Field in New York City, New York International Airport (later renamed John F. Kennedy International Airport) was dedicated on July 31, 1948.  

🎶  pick a song for each letter of your url  🎶

I was tagged by @10000dreams @lilamausmaus and @tipsy-clouds - thank you! This would be a weird playlist but I like it.

Plan and Elevation V: The Beech Tree - Caroline Shaw performed by Attacca Quartet

A Day in the Life / Can You Party - Williams-Fairey Engineering Band

Posters - Jeffrey Lewis

I thought you were my boyfriend - Magnetic Fields

Everyone Says You're So Fragile - Idlewild

Rain Dogs - Tom Waits

My Baby Just Cares for Me - Nina Simone

A Perfect Day Elise - PJ Harvey

Killing - The Apples

Etude 2 pour les tierces - Debussy performed by Steven Osborne

Roman Holiday - Olivia Chaney

It took me so long to choose my tracks, I'm not sure if this game is still a thing.

Events 7.31 (After 1900)

1904 – Russo-Japanese War: Battle of Hsimucheng: Units of the Imperial Japanese Army defeat units of the Imperial Russian Army in a strategic confrontation. 1917 – World War I: The Battle of Passchendaele begins near Ypres in West Flanders, Belgium. 1932 – The NSDAP (Nazi Party) wins more than 38% of the vote in German elections. 1938 – Bulgaria signs a non-aggression pact with Greece and other states of Balkan Antanti (Turkey, Romania, Yugoslavia). 1938 – Archaeologists discover engraved gold and silver plates from King Darius the Great in Persepolis. 1941 – The Holocaust: Under instructions from Adolf Hitler, Nazi official Hermann Göring orders SS General Reinhard Heydrich to "submit to me as soon as possible a general plan of the administrative material and financial measures necessary for carrying out the desired Final Solution of the Jewish question." 1941 – World War II: The Battle of Smolensk concludes with Germany capturing about 300,000 Soviet Red Army prisoners. 1945 – Pierre Laval, the fugitive former leader of Vichy France, surrenders to Allied soldiers in Austria. 1948 – At Idlewild Field in New York, New York International Airport (later renamed John F. Kennedy International Airport) is dedicated. 1948 – USS Nevada is sunk by an aerial torpedo after surviving hits from two atomic bombs (as part of post-war tests) and being used for target practice by three other ships. 1964 – Ranger program: Ranger 7 sends back the first close-up photographs of the moon, with images 1,000 times clearer than anything ever seen from earth-bound telescopes. 1966 – The pleasure cruiser MV Darlwyne disappeared off the Cornwall coast with the loss of all 31 aboard. 1970 – Black Tot Day: The last day of the officially sanctioned rum ration in the Royal Navy. 1971 – Apollo program: the Apollo 15 astronauts become the first to ride in a lunar rover. 1972 – The Troubles: In Operation Motorman, the British Army re-takes the urban no-go areas of Northern Ireland. It is the biggest British military operation since the Suez Crisis of 1956, and the biggest in Ireland since the Irish War of Independence. Later that day, nine civilians are killed by car bombs in the village of Claudy. 1973 – A Delta Air Lines jetliner, flight DL 723 crashes while landing in fog at Logan International Airport, Boston, Massachusetts killing 89. 1975 – The Troubles: Three members of a popular cabaret band and two gunmen are killed during a botched paramilitary attack in Northern Ireland. 1987 – A tornado occurs in Edmonton, Alberta, killing 27 people. 1988 – Thirty-two people are killed and 1,674 injured when a bridge at the Sultan Abdul Halim ferry terminal collapses in Butterworth, Penang, Malaysia. 1991 – The United States and Soviet Union both sign the START I Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, the first to reduce (with verification) both countries' stockpiles. 1992 – The nation of Georgia joins the United Nations. 1992 – Thai Airways International Flight 311 crashes into a mountain north of Kathmandu, Nepal killing all 113 people on board. 1992 – China General Aviation Flight 7552 crashes during takeoff from Nanjing Dajiaochang Airport, killing 108. 1997 – FedEx Express Flight 14 crashes at Newark International Airport, injuring five. 1999 – Discovery Program: Lunar Prospector: NASA intentionally crashes the spacecraft into the Moon, thus ending its mission to detect frozen water on the Moon's surface. 2006 – Fidel Castro hands over power to his brother, Raúl. 2007 – Operation Banner, the presence of the British Army in Northern Ireland, and the longest-running British Army operation ever, comes to an end. 2008 – East Coast Jets Flight 81 crashes near Owatonna Degner Regional Airport in Owatonna, Minnesota, killing all eight people on board. 2012 – Michael Phelps breaks the record set in 1964 by Larisa Latynina for the most medals won at the Olympics. 2014 – Gas explosions in the southern Taiwanese city of Kaohsiung kill at least 20 people and injure more than 270.

Horror Novels: Haunted Houses

If these walls could talk........Would you listen?

For fans of fright, here are six novels featuring haunted houses. The locations in these books hold many secrets and many dangers. Do you dare to dive in?

The Invited by Jennifer McMahon

"In a quest for a simpler life, Helen and Nate have abandoned the comforts of suburbia to take up residence on forty-four acres of rural land where they will begin the ultimate, aspirational do-it-yourself project: building the house of their dreams. When they discover that this beautiful property has a dark and violent past, Helen, a former history teacher, becomes consumed by the local legend of Hattie Breckenridge, a woman who lived and died there a century ago.

With her passion for artifacts, Helen finds special materials to incorporate into the house—a beam from an old schoolroom, bricks from a mill, a mantel from a farmhouse—objects that draw her deeper into the story of Hattie and her descendants, three generations of Breckenridge women, each of whom died suspiciously. As the building project progresses, the house will become a place of menace and unfinished business: a new home, now haunted, that beckons its owners and their neighbors toward unimaginable danger."

Home Before Dark by Riley Sager

"What was it like? Living in that house. Maggie Holt is used to such questions. Twenty-five years ago, she and her parents, Ewan and Jess, moved into Baneberry Hall, a rambling Victorian estate in the Vermont woods. They spent three weeks there before fleeing in the dead of night, an ordeal Ewan later recounted in a nonfiction book called House of Horrors. His tale of ghostly happenings and encounters with malevolent spirits became a worldwide phenomenon, rivaling The Amityville Horror in popularity—and skepticism. Today, Maggie is a restorer of old homes and too young to remember any of the events mentioned in her father’s book. But she also doesn’t believe a word of it. Ghosts, after all, don’t exist. When Maggie inherits Baneberry Hall after her father’s death, she returns to renovate the place to prepare it for sale. But her homecoming is anything but warm. People from the past, chronicled in House of Horrors, lurk in the shadows. And locals aren’t thrilled that their small town has been made infamous thanks to Maggie’s father. Even more unnerving is Baneberry Hall itself—a place filled with relics from another era that hint at a history of dark deeds. As Maggie experiences strange occurrences straight out of her father’s book, she starts to believe that what he wrote was more fact than fiction."

The Broken Girls by Simone St. James

"Vermont, 1950. There's a place for the girls whom no one wants--the troublemakers, the illegitimate, the too smart for their own good. It's called Idlewild Hall. And in the small town where it's located, there are rumors that the boarding school is haunted. Four roommates bond over their whispered fears, their budding friendship blossoming--until one of them mysteriously disappears. . . . Vermont, 2014. As much as she's tried, journalist Fiona Sheridan cannot stop revisiting the events surrounding her older sister's death. Twenty years ago, her body was found lying in the overgrown fields near the ruins of Idlewild Hall. And though her sister's boyfriend was tried and convicted of murder, Fiona can't shake the suspicion that something was never right about the case. When Fiona discovers that Idlewild Hall is being restored by an anonymous benefactor, she decides to write a story about it. But a shocking discovery during the renovations will link the loss of her sister to secrets that were meant to stay hidden in the past--and a voice that won't be silenced. . . . "

A Sudden Light by Garth Stein

"In the summer of 1990, fourteen-year-old Trevor Riddell gets his first glimpse of Riddell House. Built from the spoils of a massive timber fortune, the legendary family mansion is constructed of giant, whole trees, and is set on a huge estate overlooking Puget Sound. Trevor’s bankrupt parents have begun a trial separation, and his father, Jones Riddell, has brought Trevor to Riddell House with a goal: to join forces with his sister, Serena, dispatch Grandpa Samuel—who is flickering in and out of dementia—to a graduated living facility, sell off the house and property for development into “tract housing for millionaires,” divide up the profits, and live happily ever after. But Trevor soon discovers there’s someone else living in Riddell House: a ghost with an agenda of his own. For while the land holds tremendous value, it is also burdened by the final wishes of the family patriarch, Elijah, who mandated it be allowed to return to untamed forestland as a penance for the millions of trees harvested over the decades by the Riddell Timber company. The ghost will not rest until Elijah’s wish is fulfilled, and Trevor’s willingness to face the past holds the key to his family’s future."

The Family Plot by Cherie Priest

"Music City Salvage is a family operation, owned and operated by Chuck Dutton: master stripper of doomed historic properties, and expert seller of all things old and crusty. But business is lean and times are tight, so he’s thrilled when the aged and esteemed Augusta Withrow appears in his office, bearing an offer he really ought to refuse. She has a massive family estate to unload - lock, stock, and barrel. For a check and a handshake, it’s all his. It’s a big check. It’s a firm handshake. And it’s enough of a gold mine that he assigns his daughter Dahlia to personally oversee the project. Dahlia preps a couple of trucks, takes a small crew, and they caravan down to Chattanooga, Tennessee, where the ancient Withrow house is waiting - and so is a barn, a carriage house, and a small, overgrown cemetery that Augusta Withrow left out of the paperwork. Augusta Withrow left out a lot of things. The property is in unusually great shape for a condemned building. It’s empty, but it isn't abandoned. Something in the Withrow mansion is angry and lost. This is its last chance to raise hell before the house is gone forever, and there's still plenty of room in the strange little family plot."

The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters

"One postwar summer in his home of rural Warwickshire, Dr. Faraday, the son of a maid who has built a life of quiet respectability as a country physician, is called to a patient at lonely Hundreds Hall. Home to the Ayres family for over two centuries, the Georgian house, once impressive and handsome, is now in decline, its masonry crumbling, its gardens choked with weeds, the clock in its stable yard permanently fixed at twenty to nine. Its owners—mother, son, and daughter—are struggling to keep pace with a changing society, as well as with conflicts of their own. But are the Ayreses haunted by something more sinister than a dying way of life? Little does Dr. Faraday know how closely, and how terrifyingly, their story is about to become intimately entwined with his."

Note: Descriptions sourced from goodreads.com

@grampadrew "Ian Curtis" April 2022 in Idlewild, CA

@grampadrew “Ian Curtis” April 2022 in Idlewild, CA

grampadrew “Ian Curtis” April 2022 grampadrew graciously invited me to his amazing place up in Idlewild, CA. We stayed up there for a few days to reconnect with nature, have gourmet French pressed coffee for breakfast, drink bourbon during the day, and record some amazing music. Music available at grampadrew.com Recorded and filmed by Danny De La Cruz – thecommonrule.com

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What Do Botanists Do On Saturday?

by Sarah C. Williams

Here in the section of Botany we’ve adapted in some strange ways, just like plants do, to the changes of the past year and a half. Let’s learn about the off days of some of our Super Scientists in the Section of Botany!

Mason Heberling, Assistant Curator of Botany

Collecting specimens has become a focus as more time was able to be spent in the field when we weren’t allowed to be at the museum. As our new Botany Hall entrance video shows, Assistant Curator of Botany, Mason Heberling and Collections Manager Bonnie Isaac collect plant specimens on a pretty regular basis. They also snag iNaturalist observations for these plants, taking photos that show what the plant and habitat looked before being picked and pressed.

Mason studies forest understory plants, in particular, introduced species and wildflowers in our changing environment. Mason has a bunch of fun projects going on this summer, ranging from coordinating seed collections of an uncommon native grass to send to Germany for a large greenhouse study to working with a team of students to study the effects of climate change and introduced shrubs on our forest wildflowers.

In addition to work in the field, the herbarium has been a busy place this summer too! Mason has been working with Alyssa McCormick, an undergraduate research intern from Chatham University, to examine stomata (the pores on leaves for air exchange for plants to “breathe”) and leaf nutrients in everyone’s favorite plant – poison ivy!  Poison ivy has been previously shown to grow bigger and cause nastier skin rashes with increasing carbon dioxide in our air due to fossil fuel emissions. Alyssa is using specimens collected as long ago as the 1800s to examine long term changes in poison ivy.

Mason, where can we find you on a Saturday?

“This summer has been a lot of going to various places around western PA like Presque Isle or Idlewild to get out and enjoy the fresh air with my family. I can also be found most Saturdays around the house doing chores!”

Bonnie Isaac, Collection Manager

Bonnie, one of CMNH’s TikTok celebrities, and All-Star in the Mid-Atlantic plant world, has spent a lot of the past year doing fieldwork. Her PA Wild Resource Grant involved looking at most of the populations for 10 Pennsylvania rare species. She and husband Joe Isaac spent many days on the road and a few in the bog! You can see some of her videos about these unique Pennsylvania finds on Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s Tiktok account: @carnegiemnh.

She diligently keeps track of various data points from latitude and longitude and elevation, to flower color, size, and associated species within a habitat. In addition to trying to make sure the plant names in our database are correct, she has also been busy georeferencing some of our specimens so that we can see on a map where each one was collected.

Bonnie, where can we find you on a Saturday?

“On most Saturdays I am either home taking care of my many chickens or getting some exercise in one of my kayaks with my spousal unit, Joe. I sometime even take a fishing pole for a ride or see how many different kinds of plants I can find on a hike. As long as I can get outside with Joe, I’m happy.”

Cynthia Pagesh, Herbarium Assistant

Specimens make their way home to the museum, where we assure they’re bone dry, flat as a pancake, and have been frozen twice to get rid of any pests. They then find their way into the nimble hands of Cynthia Pagesh, our resident plant mounter. Cynthia has luckily been able to do some mounting both onsite and at home over this past year, really honing her craft. She uses Elmer’s glue, dental and sculpture tools, linen tape, and a paintbrush akin to a magic wand: transforming roots, stems, flowers, and fruits into scientific and artistic renderings on an 11.5x16.5” archival herbarium sheet.

Mounting can be very detailed and challenging: wrangling a dry and brittle rare plant you want to salvage every detail from, or an oversized leaf ‘how-will-this-all-fit?’ ordeal, or finessing a delicate petal that glue is especially heavy on. Bulky bits, crumbly bits, spiky no nos: Cyn handles them all. Her work is just as much an art as it is a science. When she’s not making masterpieces, she’s probably doing something with plants.

Cyn, where can we find you on a Saturday?

“You can find me on Saturdays helping prune young trees in my community, collecting wildflower seeds or in my kitchen making preserves or homemade pasta noodles.  I volunteer in vegetable, herb and flower gardens.  I have a pollinator garden at home and raise Monarch caterpillars.  I tag and release them to migrate south.

There are lots of Community Science projects for people of all ages: ask someone to help you find one related to a subject you have an interest in.  I have an interest in pollinators including bees.  I participate in a Community Science Project every Summer that counts types of bees on certain plants when they bloom.”

Iliana DiNicola

After another stint in the freezer for bugs-be-gone, it’s everyone’s favorite day: Picture Day! Each plant: sturdy and mounted, all data logged and super official, makes their way to the imaging station to spend some time under the bright lights. Since 2018, students, interns, and volunteers have lovingly held these plants’ hands as they get their close ups. We take high definition photos using a specially made lightbox and special software.

While this is part of a limited project, called the Mid-Atlantic Megalopolis, we are still hard at work going into our last year of the time we were given. This past schoolyear and summer, former Pitt student, Iliana DiNicola was taking pictures for us on the regular while also interning with the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy. She just graduated and I’m excited to hear what she does on her Saturdays in the future.

Iliana, where can we find you on a Saturday?

“I just graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with a degree in Environmental Studies, and I am now on the lookout for any jobs related to the environment back in my hometown of Phoenix, Arizona. I am interested in working with anything from sustainability, to policy or political work, or maybe even something more related to ecology and outdoor work.

On a Saturday, I am definitely helping clean my house since I am a semi-clean freak, I love to go hiking if the weather isn't too hot, enjoy drawing and working on any art projects, or work on my future hydroponics garden.

As somebody who interned for Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy, I highly recommend participating in any camps or activities the conservancy has to offer. It was super fun learning more about Pittsburgh's history and ecology and getting to teach kids about these topics, alongside participating in fun outdoor activities.”

Sarah Williams, Curatorial Assistant

Next up, Sarah Williams, the Curatorial Assistant in the Section of Botany, is overseeing the digitization project, morphing the photos from raw camera files into smaller files for sharing and detailed files for archival storing using Adobe Lightroom. She takes the images from the newly photographed specimens and makes sure they get uploaded onto the Mid-Atlantic Herbaria Consortium’s website to be shared far and wide across the world.

There is also a lot she does in sorting, filing, and taking care of the specimens as well. She does a bunch of scheduling, hiring, and training of work study students, interns, and volunteers. We consider her a jack of all trades.

Sarah, where can we find you on a Saturday?

“Most weekends I work with a local catering company called Black Radish Kitchen. I usually end up serving delicious vegetable and farm focused meals at least one day a week, commonly Saturdays because they’re prime for celebrations. The re-start up since the pandemic has been cautious, and I’m excited to be amongst people and help them to make mouthwatering memories again. I’ve worked in the restaurant industry for over a decade and the skills I’ve learned doing it as well as the friends I’ve made are matchless. It has a big piece of my heart.

I also moved into a new house this year about five minutes from my mom, so if I’m not running to say hi to her and ‘borrow’ some groceries, I’m doing laundry, dusting and yardwork… but only after I sleep in, eat some delicious breakfast with my partner, and hang out with our two cats, Santi and Gil.”

We hope you enjoyed getting to know us here in the Section of Botany, look forward to updates and more introductions in the future as we continue to host volunteers, federal work-study students, and interns on their journeys to learn even more about the plant kingdom.

Sarah Williams is Curatorial Assistant in the Section of Botany at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

thank you friend @clavelbemelmans for tagging me in this lovely music ask <33

do it if you want to! @brucespringsteen , @panoramaofhell , @rogue-coyote , @v1doodlebug , @theodeckerlovebot

who was your first favorite artist?

okay so this is kind of hard to really discern for a lot of reasons. for everyone's sake, I'm gonna chalk it up as a draw between motley crue and aerosmith.

who are your current favorites?

Townes Van Zandt, Lost Dog Street Band/Benjamin Tod, Hill Country Devil, Nick Hans, Shakey Graves, Rowland S. Howard/These Immortal Souls, The Dear Hunter, King Lazy Eye, Silver Jews, Dear And The Headlights, Jason Molina, Hill Figs, A Dead Forest Index, Sea Wolf, The Decemberists, Deer Tick, Willi Carlisle, Amigo The Devil, Mac Miller, Atmosphere, Nick Shoulders, Tiger Saw, Defeater, Cold War Kids, The Wonder Years/Aaron West & The Roaring Twenties, Felice Brothers, Spanish Love Songs, Matt Finney & Heinali -- look friends, this list could go on forever

are you into musicals? which ones/why not?

The only one that stuck to me is Chicago. I saw the movie as a kid and loved it. One of the few pure, genuinely good memories I have is my mom taking me to see a live performance of it.

are there songs you consider so special you only listen to them very rarely?

Blinded By The Light by Springsteen has a weird place in my heart. It has zero relation to anything with my dad other than him jamming tf out of him when I was little. But I've associated it with him for one reason or another and it makes me cry. Make This Go On Forever by Snow Patrol tears me apart for very personal, intimate reasons.

what’s your preferred way of listening to music? (time of day, medium, situation)

I've never experienced vinyl but I've started collecting it. I prefer being able to vedge in my room with a speaker and playing music but I have such little time for music :') so usually it's in my car on the way to and from places

what would you say is the most niche music you listen to?

I don't know???

what’s your favourite music related movie/tv show that’s not a musical?

none

albums or playlists?

both. library is on shuffle 23/6

favourite albums?

our mother the mountain by tvz, weight of a trigger by lost dog street band, teenage snuff film by rowland s. howard, magnolia electric co by songs ohia, I'm never gonna die again by these immortal souls, and the war came by shakey graves, act iii by the dear hunter, drunk like biblical times by dear and the headlights, pop crimes by rowland s. howard, nicotine and china white by hill country devil, robber and cowards by cold war kids, darkness on the edge of town by springsteen, leaves in the river by sea wolf, picaresque by the decembrists, never born never dead by trophy scars, too nice to mean much by willi carlisle

is there an artist you’re trying to get into?

??? Send me recommends

whose music do you find overhyped?

Rolling Stones, The Beatles. I like a sleect few songs but neither of them are that revolutionary or good. Listen to Muddy Waters and some Otis Reading and circle back to me

what’s an underrated song?

soulfight by the revivalists

what’s a thing a bunch of songs do that you love every time?

decent guitar work, synth sounds on occasion, violin

what song is better acoustic?

love steals us from loneliness by idlewild

what’s the worst song of all time?

Man, I don't know. Anything by Justin Bieber.

do you put individual songs on repeat? if so, for how long and how often?

I have, recently it's been only son and late july by shakey graves, whatever forever etc by king lazy eye, one in shadow one in sun by these immortal souls, little dark age by mgmt, random rules by silver jews, dahmer does hollywood by amigo the devil, my mother was chinese trapeze artist by the decembrists, mood ring baby by field medic, and the entirety of teenage snuff film

do you make your own playlists? if so, what’s your most entertaining playlist title?

I absolutely do make playlists! Most entertaining one is titled (remorsefully) yeehaw

headphones or earbuds?

headphones.

do you always sing the lead vocal or do you harmonize sometimes? if you harmonize, do you ever invent your own harmony?

lead vocals.

a musical confession

I unironically love kid rock. feel free to judge me <33

Back in the Before-Times, when the adults were in charge.

New York International Airport, Anderson Field. KLM Airlines

Opened in 1948, commonly known as Idlewild, after the golf course it replaced.  Later called JFK.

Vermont, 1950. There's a place for the girls whom no one wants--the troublemakers, the illegitimate, the too smart for their own good. It's called Idlewild Hall. And in the small town where it's located, there are rumors that the boarding school is haunted. Four roommates bond over their whispered fears, their budding friendship blossoming--until one of them mysteriously disappears.

Vermont, 2014. As much as she's tried, journalist Fiona Sheridan cannot stop revisiting the events surrounding her older sister's death. Twenty years ago, her body was found lying in the overgrown fields near the ruins of Idlewild Hall. And though her sister's boyfriend was tried and convicted of murder, Fiona can't shake the suspicion that something was never right about the case.

The Broken Girls by Simone St. James

At Idlewild Field in New York City, New York International Airport (later renamed John F. Kennedy International Airport) was dedicated on July 31, 1948.

Now Available— SHORT STUFF, a little feel-good YA anthology

"Breezy tales of first crushes and kisses." — Kirkus Reviews

At a summer vacation at the lake, just before heading off to college. In a coffee shop, when the whole world is new. In a dragon’s cave, surrounded by gold. At a swim club, with the future in sight.  In SHORT STUFF, bestselling and award-winning authors dial down the angst in four meet-cute LGBTQ young adult romances.

SHORT STUFF features stories from Julia Ember (The Seafarer’s Kiss), Jude Sierra (Idlewild, What It Takes), Kate Fierro (Love Starved), and the writing team of Tom Wilinsky and Jen Sternick (Snowsisters). Edited by Alysia Constantine (Olympia Knife, Sweet).

SHORT STUFF

Price: $13.99 print / $4.99 multi-format ebook Details: Trade paperback, 5.25"x 8” Pages/Word Count: 192 // 45,000 ISBN: 978-1-945053-89-4 print // 978-1-945053-90-0 multi-format eBook

SHORT STUFF is available from the IP Web Store, Bookshop, Apple, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Book Depository, Amazon, and an indie bookstore near you.

Add it to your Goodreads TBR shelf

Cover art by C.B. Messer.

Gilded Scales by Julia Ember

Trapped in a quiet, coastal town where nothing ever happens, 16-year-old warrior Fenn longs for adventure and glory. When a dragon attacks a neighboring village, kidnaps a maiden and makes its home in the sacred field of kings, Fenn begs her Aeldorman to send her to fight it. Though the fearsome dragon has already incinerated the warriors who have tried before, Fenn sees it as her duty to rescue the girl trapped deep in the burial mounds with the beast, or die trying.

But Fenn discovers that the maiden and dragon are one in the same, the result of a terrible curse. Going against her own people, she sets out to save the girl and forge a new destiny for herself. 

A bisexual retelling of the medieval epic poem, Beowulf.

The August Sands by Jude Sierra

As the eldest child in his family, Tommy Hughes always felt the weight of responsibility growing up—to his mother, who depended on him, and to his kid brother and sister, who looked up to him. But during a summer vacation to the Michigan shore, Tommy chafes to break free and to start experiencing a series of firsts before embarking for the new world of college. 

I Ate the Whole World to Find You by Tom Wilinsky & Jen Sternick

Sparks fly at the local swim club when the manager orders Will, a snack bar chef with culinary ambitions, to cook for the club’s surly Olympic hopeful, Basil, who is furious when Will’s first special is called the “Basil Rickey.”  Challenged by their conflicting ambitions, Basil and Will clash—until they learn the importance of breaking out of their lanes.

Love in the Times of Coffee by Kate Fierro

A story of best friends, Gemma and Anya, told in a series of coffee-flavored glimpses. From the first mocha at age fifteen to cups of simple instant coffee after their first night together at twenty, they laugh, love and learn, taking a scenic route to romance.

Events 7.31

30 BC – Battle of Alexandria: Mark Antony achieves a minor victory over Octavian's forces, but most of his army subsequently deserts, leading to his suicide. 781 – The oldest recorded eruption of Mount Fuji (Traditional Japanese date: Sixth day of the seventh month of the first year of the Ten'o (天応) era). 1009 – Pope Sergius IV becomes the 142nd pope, succeeding Pope John XVIII. 1201 – Attempted usurpation by John Komnenos the Fat for the throne of Alexios III Angelos. 1423 – Hundred Years' War: Battle of Cravant: A Franco-Scottish army is defeated by the Anglo-Burgundians at Cravant on the banks of the river Yonne. 1451 – Jacques Cœur is arrested by order of Charles VII of France. 1492 – All remaining Jews are expelled from Spain when the Alhambra Decree takes effect. 1498 – On his third voyage to the Western Hemisphere, Christopher Columbus becomes the first European to discover the island of Trinidad. 1601–1900 1618 – Maurice, Prince of Orange disbands the waardgelders militia in Utrecht, a pivotal event in the Remonstrant/Counter-Remonstrant tensions. 1655 – Russo-Polish War (1654–67): The Russian army enters the capital of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Vilnius, which it holds for six years. 1658 – Aurangzeb is proclaimed Mughal emperor of India. 1703 – Daniel Defoe is placed in a pillory for the crime of seditious libel after publishing a politically satirical pamphlet, but is pelted with flowers. 1712 – Action of 31 July 1712 (Great Northern War): Danish and Swedish ships clash in the Baltic Sea; the result is inconclusive. 1715 – Seven days after a Spanish treasure fleet of 12 ships left Havana, Cuba for Spain, 11 of them sink in a storm off the coast of Florida. A few centuries later, treasure is salvaged from these wrecks. 1741 – Charles Albert of Bavaria invades Upper Austria and Bohemia. 1763 – Odawa Chief Pontiac's forces defeat British troops at the Battle of Bloody Run during Pontiac's War. 1777 – The U.S. Second Continental Congress passes a resolution that the services of Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette "be accepted, and that, in consideration of his zeal, illustrious family and connexions, he have the rank and commission of major-general of the United States." 1790 – The first U.S. patent is issued, to inventor Samuel Hopkins for a potash process. 1856 – Christchurch, New Zealand is chartered as a city. 1865 – The first narrow-gauge mainline railway in the world opens at Grandchester, Queensland, Australia. 1874 – Dr. Patrick Francis Healy became the first African-American inaugurated as president of a predominantly white university, Georgetown University. 1904 – Russo-Japanese War: Battle of Hsimucheng: Units of the Imperial Japanese Army defeat units of the Imperial Russian Army in a strategic confrontation. 1917 – World War I: The Battle of Passchendaele begins near Ypres in West Flanders, Belgium. 1932 – The NSDAP (Nazi Party) wins more than 38% of the vote in German elections. 1938 – Bulgaria signs a non-aggression pact with Greece and other states of Balkan Antanti (Turkey, Romania, Yugoslavia). 1938 – Archaeologists discover engraved gold and silver plates from King Darius the Great in Persepolis. 1941 – The Holocaust: Under instructions from Adolf Hitler, Nazi official Hermann Göring orders SS General Reinhard Heydrich to "submit to me as soon as possible a general plan of the administrative material and financial measures necessary for carrying out the desired Final Solution of the Jewish question." 1941 – World War II: The Battle of Smolensk concludes with Germany capturing about 300,000 Soviet Red Army prisoners. 1945 – Pierre Laval, the fugitive former leader of Vichy France, surrenders to Allied soldiers in Austria. 1948 – At Idlewild Field in New York, New York International Airport (later renamed John F. Kennedy International Airport) is dedicated. 1948 – USS Nevada is sunk by an aerial torpedo after surviving hits from two atomic bombs (as part of post-war tests) and being used for target practice by three other ships. 1964 – Ranger program: Ranger 7 sends back the first close-up photographs of the moon, with images 1,000 times clearer than anything ever seen from earth-bound telescopes. 1966 – The pleasure cruiser MV Darlwyne disappeared off the Cornwall coast with the loss of all 31 aboard. 1970 – Black Tot Day: The last day of the officially sanctioned rum ration in the Royal Navy. 1971 – Apollo program: the Apollo 15 astronauts become the first to ride in a lunar rover. 1972 – The Troubles: In Operation Motorman, the British Army re-takes the urban no-go areas of Northern Ireland. It is the biggest British military operation since the Suez Crisis of 1956, and the biggest in Ireland since the Irish War of Independence. Later that day, nine civilians are killed by car bombs in the village of Claudy. 1973 – A Delta Air Lines jetliner, flight DL 723 crashes while landing in fog at Logan International Airport, Boston, Massachusetts killing 89. 1975 – The Troubles: Three members of a popular cabaret band and two gunmen are killed during a botched paramilitary attack in Northern Ireland. 1987 – A tornado occurs in Edmonton, Alberta, killing 27 people. 1988 – Thirty-two people are killed and 1,674 injured when a bridge at the Sultan Abdul Halim ferry terminal collapses in Butterworth, Penang, Malaysia. 1991 – The United States and Soviet Union both sign the START I Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, the first to reduce (with verification) both countries' stockpiles. 1992 – The nation of Georgia joins the United Nations. 1992 – Thai Airways International Flight 311 crashes into a mountain north of Kathmandu, Nepal killing all 113 people on board. 1992 – China General Aviation Flight 7552 crashes during takeoff from Nanjing Dajiaochang Airport, killing 108. 1997 – FedEx Express Flight 14 crashes at Newark International Airport, injuring five. 1999 – Discovery Program: Lunar Prospector: NASA intentionally crashes the spacecraft into the Moon, thus ending its mission to detect frozen water on the Moon's surface. 2006 – Fidel Castro hands over power to his brother, Raúl. 2007 – Operation Banner, the presence of the British Army in Northern Ireland, and the longest-running British Army operation ever, comes to an end. 2008 – East Coast Jets Flight 81 crashes near Owatonna Degner Regional Airport in Owatonna, Minnesota, killing all eight people on board. 2012 – Michael Phelps breaks the record set in 1964 by Larisa Latynina for the most medals won at the Olympics. 2014 – Gas explosions in the southern Taiwanese city of Kaohsiung kill at least 20 people and injure more than 270.

Book 3 of my 2021 Reading Challenge

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The Broken Girls by Simone St. James

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Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐(uh, infinite stars???🤩)

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Gothic Suspense

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Ghosts

🌙

Mystery

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"Mary Hand Mary Hand. Dead and buried underland. She'll say she wants to be your friend. Do not let her in again."

Vermont, 1950. There's a place for the girls whom no one wants—the troublemakers, the illegitimate, the ones too smart for their own good. It's called Idlewild Hall, and local legend says the boarding school is haunted. Four roommates bond over their whispered fears, their friendship blossoming—until one of them mysteriously disappears....

Vermont, 2014. Twenty years ago, journalist Fiona Sheridan's elder sister’s body was found in the overgrown fields near the ruins of Idlewild Hall. And although her sister’s boyfriend was tried and convicted of the murder, Fiona can’t stop revisiting the events, unable to shake the feeling that something was never right about the case.

When Fiona discovers that Idlewild Hall is being restored by an anonymous benefactor, she decides to write a story about it. But a shocking discovery during renovations links the loss of her sister to secrets that were meant to stay hidden in the past—and a voice that won’t be silenced....

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An amazing, character driven ghost story, full of mystery and suspense. Though, this is not your typical ghost story, so if you're not usually into them, you will enjoy this!!

The Historic TWA Terminal and Lockheed Consellation at JFK

Presentation:

As I passed the control stopped convertible and entered the https://moneymofo.com/ entryways of the Eero Saarinen-planned TWA Terminal with its winged, flight-proposing rooftop at JFK International Airport on a mid-September day, nothing, I noted, had changed, then again, actually the traveler registration counters flanking either side were refreshingly without lines. Maybe that ought to have been a clue.

Mounting the dozen steps and afterward redescending those that prompted the natural Sunken Lounge, I looked at the Solari split-fold appearances and flights load up, its boards intermittently flipping and clattering like stacking poker chips, however they just uncovered clear squares. There were no flight numbers, no occasions, and no objections.

However by perspectives on the vintage aircrafts on the slope through the floor-to-roof calculated glass showing TWA's red-and-white uniform, yet deficient with regards to a solitary stream motor, my objective today must be marked "history" or, even "flying history." Perhaps that was suitable for the "gear" I brought: a carry-on comprising of a clipboard and a pen.

The scene before me was a suspended one. The time frame music and the declarations repeating through my head moved me to the one I was not in.

"TWA Starstream Flight 802 to Paris, presently loading up at entryway one," they said.

My eyes, examining past the area of the once popular and recognizable Brass Rail Restaurant toward the double, fundamental terminal interfacing tubes actually secured with bean stew red pepper covering to the flight zone, I completely expected to take in at least one Boeing 707-320Bs with their gruffly pointed, radome noses, 35-degree cleared wings, and Pratt and Whitney JT3D-3B low detour proportion turbofans.

However the Lockheed L-1649A Starliner Constellation, speaking to the apex of-cylinder improvement, demonstrated that the time safeguarded and portrayed "out there" was not the one my psyche attempted to persuade me actually existed "in here." Instead, it was twenty years sooner, of the 1960s, and I had entered a saved pocket of time.

THE TWA TERMINAL:

As an articulation, portrayal, and improvement of the post-World War II-filled, innovation encouraged business carrier industry and the then-named Idlewild International Airport whose development came about because of it, the TWA Terminal was and is a compositionally tasteful image, all things considered, It catches the impression of trip with its wing-taking after shell and the liquid, open inside underneath it.

Not at all like a large number of the present single-building, various carrier offices, it follows its starting point to 1954 when the Port Authority of New York concocted its terminal city idea. Foreseeing the requirement for framework to take into account expanding travel interest, it executed an arrangement in which each significant transporter would configuration, manufacture, and work its own terminal, encouraging, all the while, brand character. In spite of the fact that the TWA office was the design reaction to the Port Authority's masterplan, its aircraft affiliation was one of its goals from the beginning, as expressed by the undertaking commission, which previously looked for a proficient ground activities framework, yet optionally needed "to furnish TWA with publicizing, exposure, and consideration" with it.

That the picked site for it was at the peak of the air terminal's frontage road, established the expectation nearly as much as the solidified substance which framed it, and that it actually does today, regardless of the two-decade stretch since the aircraft's downfall, fills this post-transporter need.

Eero Saarinen, a Finnish-American engineer and originator and now and again thought to be a mid-century ace, was picked to change both Idlewild's and TWA's vision into solid reality in 1955. Following his own genealogical roots to his dad, Eliel Saarinen, a draftsman, and his mom, Loja Saarinien, a material craftsman, he could guarantee that the ability went through his veins similarly as uninhibitedly as did his blood when he was conceived in 1910. In the wake of examining model in Paris, engineering at Yale University, and plan at the Cranbrook Academy of Art in Michigan, he changed material into stylish capacity in such manifestations as the St. Louis Gateway Arch and Washington-Dulles International Airport.

In spite of the fact that Eero Saarinen accomplished his objective of making a theoretical portrayal of trip in the TWA Terminal, its motivation was rarely unquestionably decided, some proposing that a thumb sorrow into an emptied grapefruit skin brought about the possible bended, concrete, evenly situated rooftop areas that flawlessly spilled out of the wharfs that upheld them and were just isolated by tight lookout windows. The four met at a roundabout swinging place point.

The rooftop's wing surface arch or camber proceeded in the blood red and white inside by methods for the upper walkaway upheld sections that converged into both floor and roof as though they were vital to them. Its absence of rectangularity was clear in its different highlights. The flights of stairs, for example, were bended and its terminal and takeoff relax associating passageways were more similar to barrel shaped cylinders.

Its general articulation was one of 1960s neo-futurism and space-age Googie design.

Notwithstanding what at last end up being Saarinen's compositional accomplishment, it additionally turned into his heritage, since a year after he assessed its superstructure in 1961, he died at 52, never having seen his completed item.

While it was expected to serve little cylinder aircrafts whose limits never surpassed a hundred, it was not fit to TWA's thin body planes, for example, the 707 and the 727, considerably less its widebody ones, including the 747, the L-1011 TriStar, and the 767, requiring the expansion of jetbridge-associated loading up satellites.

After the transporter's 2001 end, its unique terminal anticipated reason or safeguarding. Its destruction, at any rate, had just been saved. In 1994, it was assigned a New York City milestone, at which time then Chairwoman of the Landmark Preservation Commission, Larie Beckelman, remarked in "The New York Times," "This is maybe the quintessential present day structure, communicating development and the entire idea of flight."

After eleven years it was put on the National Register of Historic Places. With its essence in any event guaranteed, it actually anticipated the two "p's"- protection and reason.

THE TWA HOTEL:

Safeguarding and reason, in the function, became different sides to a similar coin-that is, reestablish the 392,000-square-foot terminal to reproduce its 1960's magnificence and fill in as the anchor and hall to another different sides for this situation, two rectangular, dark glass structures with 512 lodgings created by MCR/MORSE and four building firms at a $250 million or more expense.

Draftsman Richard Southwick, who regulated the undertaking's rebuilding, noted of the TWA Flight Center, "(It was) the ideal image of post-war good faith, the wizardry of flight, and the style of mid-century current engineering."

Its first visitors were acknowledged in May of 2019.

As a "entryway," it contains the Sunken Lounge with the Solari flight load up; a mixed drink relax; a Sundries Shop with vintage duplicates of "Life," "Time," "Great Housekeeping," and "Family Circle" magazines; a good old shoe sparkle station took care of the edge (obviously); a TWA Gift Shop whose each thing, one way or different, shows the aircraft's logo; a 10,000-square-foot wellness focus with a cycling studio, treadmills, ellipticals, a spa area, and fitness coaches; and the Paris Café by Jean-Georges, which possesses the impression of the first one, alongside that of the Lisbon Lounge, on one of the two mezzanines and serves cooking roused by TWA in-flight menus. There is likewise 50,000 square feet of meeting and function space.

The two tube shaped cylinders the "Saarinen" to one side and the "Hughes" to one side lead, by method of halfway, initially nonexistent patterns, to the two seven-story glass, metal, and solid lodging structures, which were needed to be complimentary to, yet recognizable from, the milestone terminal.

Seven layers of triple-coated, 1,740-pound, protected, floor-to-roof glass guarantee in-room quietness, in spite of the way that slope maneuvering airplane are just yards away.

Rooms, which either neglect this scene or the terminal, lease for $250 every night, with lower estimated spans bookable for travel travelers who just look for a short rest and a shower.

The rooftop includes the Infinity Edge Pool and perception deck, alongside a bar.

Just the "Saarinen" tube, back on the principle level, leads out-or, in the opposite bearing, in-to this protected pocket of time, as communicated by the two story assignments or times on which the lift at its end lands: "1960s TWA Hotel" and "Present Day JetBlue," as per the two fastens the traveler can press to go there.

THE MUSEUM DISPLAYS:

While the Eero Saarinen planned terminal can be viewed as an aggregate, retro, yet living field, a few regions serve to complement it in historical center structure.

"Situated in different spots all through the previous TWA Terminal-the core of our inn just as in the function place and in the zones that associate our inn flight cylinders to JetBlue's Terminal 5, the shows (curated by the New York Historical Society) permit guests to encounter the stream age through valid antiques, intelligent presentations, and individual accounts," as per the TWA Hotel site.

Its 2,000 things hail from the TWA Museum in Kansas City, just as from the previous carrier representatives who gave them away.

"Shows center around TWA's set of experiences, including Howard Hughes residency as proprietor, TWA outfits from 1945 to 2001, and Saarinen's advancement of the terminal at Idlewild Airport," the site proceeds.

Focusing on the last's significance, Mike Thornton, New York Historical Society guardian, expressed, "The Saarinen terminal is a landmark to the positive thinking and vision of the fly age. These presentations welcome individuals into the fabulousness and fun that Saarinen and TWA endeavored to make and encourage."

A work area, o

Best of 2019 a.k.a. A New Way of Listening to Music

Hello, everyone. Here are some thoughts on the music I listened to in 2019. My listening trends in 2019 stayed pretty much the same as they did in 2018- Most of the albums I loved were written and performed by women... Most of the albums I loved fell somewhere on the wide spectrum of guitar-based music, with a little bit of electronic stuff here and there. What changed was the way I listened to music. Whereas in the past I listened to whatever came my way, whenever it came my way, in 2019 I tried to focus on one or two albums a week. From late-January through the end of November, I highlighted one album every week on my Instagram page. There were only a couple of weeks I missed or that I highlighted an old album instead of a new one. I found myself listening to full albums on repeat and really getting into every song. The result is an end-of-year list that is free from my perception of outside expectations. All of my past lists have been made with this voice in my head that wants to move albums up or down on the list based on whether it was well-reviewed or not, or whether or not my friends and family (especially those whose opinions on music I revere) might judge me for liking a record too much, or, more likely, not liking a record enough. The 2019 list is free of those anxiety-driven choices, and as a result, it was one of my favourite lists I've ever put together. If you listen to a song that I've highlighted here, I encourage you to buy or stream the album (but especially buy it) and take in the whole thing. -Jenksy As always, I'm kicking off the list with my Most Disappointing Album of the Year. It's the only album on the list I write anything about- not because it deserves to be roasted, but because you don't really have to justify liking a piece of art, but you should always be able to talk about why you dislike it. Following that are my favourite EPs of the year, then the Top 50. The Most Disappointing Album of 2019

Weezer - Weezer (Black Album) I feel like I've given Weezer a lot more leeway than most have done in the last 10-15 years. While they've put out some good records and some bad records in that span, I've always tried to accept the music as Weezer being Weezer. Just because they've put out some critically adored albums doesn't mean they can't have fun. Their pop-rock vibes don't bother me, and I don't try to compare everything they do to Pinkerton or the Blue Album. I'm saying all this so you know that I like this band, and have done for most of my life, and I think they will make a good album again. However, the Black Album is not a good album. I can't even hesitate in calling it terrible. It lacks emotion and is too crisp and clean. It's driven by words that don't mean anything and music that wants to be catchy instead of interesting. Hopefully they bounce back, but the Black Album is easily the lowest they've fallen, musically. EPs

Dear Boy - The Strawberry EP "Limelight"

Death Cab for Cutie - The Blue EP "To The Ground"

dodie - Human "Monster"

Jenny Owen Youngs - Night Shift "Dreaming on the Bus"

Lauran Hibberd - Everything is Dogs "Sugardaddy"

Liily - I Can Fool Anybody In This Town "Sepulveda Basin"

Middle Kids - New Songs for Old Problems "Call Me Snowflake"

Minke - The Tearoom "Too Late" Top 50

50. Idlewild - Interview Music "Same Things Twice"

49. Honeyblood - In Plain Sight "Glimmer"

48. Billie Eilish - WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO? "when the party's over"

47. Robert Ellis - Texas Piano Man "Nobody Smokes Anymore"

46. Hatchie - Keepsake "Without A Blush"

45. Chance the Rapper - The Big Day "Big Fish"

44. Frankie Cosmos - Close it Quietly "Rings (On A Tree)"

43. Field Mouse - Meaning "Heart of Gold"

42. The Mountain Goats - In League With Dragons "An Antidote for Strychnine"

41. Big Thief - Two Hands "Forgotten Eyes"

40. The Hold Steady - Thrashing Thru The Passion "Traditional Village"

39. Feeder - Tallulah "Windmill"

38. White Lies - Five "Tokyo"

37. Brittany Howard - Jaime "Stay High"

36. The Raconteurs - Help Us Stranger "Now That You're Gone"

35. Stella Donnelly - Beware of the Dogs "Old Man"

34. Joseph - Good Luck, Kid "Without You"

33. Faye Webster - Atlanta Millionaires Club "Right Side of My Neck"

32. Jenny Lewis - On the Line "Red Bull & Hennessy"

31. MUNA - Saves the World "Who"

30. Fontaines D.C. - Dogrel "Chequeless Reckless"

29. Low Hum - Room to Breathe "Room to Breathe"

28. Jade Bird - Jade Bird "Love Has All Been Done Before"

27. Sleater-Kinney - The Center Won't Hold "The Future Is Here"

26. Catfish & The Bottlemen - The Balance "Sidetrack"

25. Kills Birds - Kills Birds "Only Yellow"

24. Sharon Van Etten - Remind Me Tomorrow "Malibu"

23. Lizzo - Cuz I Love You "Crybaby"

22. Karen O & Danger Mouse - Lux Prima "Redeemer"

21. The Regrettes - How Do You Love? "Fog"

20. Mannequin Pussy - Patience "Drunk II" "Who You Are"

19. Elbow - Giants of All Sizes "White Noise White Heat" "Empires"

18. Angel Olsen - All Mirrors "Spring" "Chance"

17. Caroline Polachek - Pang "Caroline Shut Up" "Hit Me Where It Hurts"

16. Ex Hex - It's Real "Another Dimension" "Rainbow Shiner"

15. Noël Wells - It's So Nice! "Brighter Day" "Played for Keeps"

14. Molly Tuttle - When You're Ready "Clue" "Million Miles"

13. Potty Mouth - SNAFU "Bottom Feeder" "Liar"

12. Big Thief - UFOF "Century" "Cattails"

11. The National - I Am Easy to Find "Quiet Light" "Light Years"

10. Jimmy Eat World - Surviving "Delivery" "One Mil" "All the Way (Stay)"

9. Alex Lahey - The Best of Luck Club "Don't Be so Hard on Yourself" "Misery Guts" "Black RMs"

8. Blood Red Shoes - Get Tragic "Anxiety" "Mexican Dress" "Elijah"

7. Better Oblivion Community Center - Better Oblivion Community Center "Forest Lawn" "Sleepwalkin'" "My City"

6. The Japanese House - Good at Falling "We Talk All the Time" "f a r a w a y" "Lilo"

5. Sorcha Richardson - First Class Bravery "Oh Oscillator" "High in the Garden" "Driveway"

4. Black Pumas - Black Pumas "OCT 33" "Old Man" "Fire"

3. Amyl and The Sniffers - Amyl and The Sniffers "Gacked On Anger" "GFY" "Got You"

2. Julia Jacklin - Crushing "Don't Know How to Keep Loving You" "Head Alone" "Good Guy"

1. Oliver Spalding - Novemberism "Unreal" "Bow Creek" "Her Crescent"

Review: The Broken Girls (Simone St. James)

Rating: ★★★★.5/5

“Mary Hand, Mary Hand, dead and buried under land. Faster, faster. Don’t let her catch you. She’ll say she wants to be your friend. Do not let her in again!” Ghosts, old boarding schools, intriguing mystery, alternating timelines and the culmination of all of these in the most satisfying conclusion I've read in a long time? Yes please. On the surface, The Broken Girls tells two stories: one, of Idlewild Boarding School, a place for wayward girls with no where else to go, and one of Fiona Sheridan, journalist, searching for closure after the death of her sister twenty years earlier. The girls of Idlewild are just trying to survive their cruel teachers, their bleak existence, and the ghost of Mary Hand, who haunts their halls and seems bent on their destruction. Fiona, on the other hand, lives a seemingly normal life; she's dating policeman Jamie, does freelance work for a local magazine. But she is still utterly devastated by her sister's murder - her body was dumped on Idlewild property, long after the school closed. When she goes out there on a hunch one night, she discovers the school being renovated, and she begins to look into the school as more than just the site of her sister's death. It's the connections between these two seemingly disparate worlds and the intersections between the past and the present show that kept me absolutely engrossed in this one. Other than Deb's body being dumped on the field in Idlewild, those connections are not immediately obvious, but from the moment that Fiona steps foot on the property in the early chapters, I had chills. I knew there was a connection between the girls of Idlewild and Fiona Sheridan. And my god, did I need to know what it was. The thing that this book absolutely nails is atmosphere. It alternates between tense and wildly creepy, between heartwarming and heartbreaking, so easily that I barely noticed it until I had goosebumps all over my body or tears spilling down my cheeks. I can forgive almost anything in a novel if it nails mood, and this was no exception. Mary Hand as a character and as a legend in this story is a true standout for me. I absolutely loved when she showed up, even if it did make me tuck myself in a little tighter and check out my window to make sure she wasn't standing there. Her story is executed so perfectly. And the girls. My god, the girls. Sonia, Katie, CeCe, and Roberta were so wonderfully developed. They have personalities that leaped off the page, and the heartbreaking conclusion to Sonia's story actually had me in tears. That was a twist I did not expect, but it also just made a sick kind of sense, and it made me angry. The fact that things like this happened is maddening, and I love the way the girls dealt with everything. Katie is so cunning, CeCe so sweet, Roberta so unflinching, and Sonia so lovely. I miss them already. And of course, Fiona's journalistic drive is wonderful to read as well. I think I was more invested in the 1950 storyline than I was in hers simply because of those characters, but she was also very well-rounded with interesting motivations. I didn't connect with her as intensely, but I really enjoyed her perspective as well. This is a ghost story at its heart, with elements of mystery and suspense that ground it and make it a page turner to the utmost degree. I loved it.