MMGM- Isle of Ever and The Spider Lady

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Unleashing Readers

Calonita, Jen. The Isle of Ever (#1)

March 25, 2025 by Sourcebooks Young Readers

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

In 1825, we meet twelve year old Evelyn Terry (aka Sparrow), who lives in Greenport, Long Island. She and her friend find a mysterious island off the coast, and meet Captain Jonas Trimble, a pirate with a secret. In the present day, we meet Everly "Benny" Benedict, who has moved around with her mother quite a bit after the death of her grandmother. They're currently living in Boston, where her mother is working as a waitress, but their lives are upended when a lawyer appears and tells Benny that she has inherited the vast Evelyn Terry estate. There are stipulations that were set out in a letter that Terry wrote later in the 1800s, mentioning Benny by name, something which has fascinated the lawyer firm for a long time. Benny has just over two weeks to solve a mystery with clues and a journal provided by her foremother, and is whisked off to Long Island to stay at the estate. There, she meets the helpful caretaker and cookie baker Wally, and well as local historian Thea and her granddaughter Zara. There's also Ryan, the son of one of the business partners of the Terry hotel. The first clue has kept Benny in the house library, but she and her new friends are soon looking in other places around town. They uncover some of the secrets; the June 12th date coincides with another Blook Orange Moon, just like the one in 1825, and they find family connections that link Evelyn Terry's friends to Benny's new ones. They learn more about a pertussis epidemic that killed many people in 1825, as well as information about the elusive Captain Kimble. We also see events unfolding in Evelyn Terry's timeline that shed some light on the modern issues as well. As time runs out and allegiances change, will Benny be able to locate the island and secure her position as the owner of Terry's estate? Warning: This ends on an enormous cliffhanger, and there is definitely another book forthcoming.
Strengths: I don't want to spoil too much by giving away too many details. Books where there are stipulations or games involved in order to win an inheritance have been around for a while (think the Raskin's 1978 The Westing Game, Barnes' The Inheritance Games, the multi author series The 39 Clues, Chalfoun's The Treasure of Maria Mamoun), But The Isle of Ever adds a bit of a fantasy element and a lot more history. Benny is an engaging character for whom we want a better life, and the clues and journal entries move this book along at a good clip. Her local friends have their own agendas, and the incidental characters like Wally all add a bit of extra fun. The clues aren't too hard to find, and are usually located in intriguing places. The time crunch adds a bit more excitement, as does the increasingly pronounced magical connection.
Weaknesses: Is it even legal to make one's heirs play a game in order to get an inheritance? Also, while I liked this book, the abrupt ending made me a bit... angry. I really, really wanted Benny to inherit the property and settle into life in Greenport with her new friends!
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who like historical treasure hunts with plenty of clues, like Durst's Spy Ring or Landis' Capitol Chase. I hope the cover of the next book has the same style, just in a different color! 

Klosterman, Penny Parker and Lambelet, Anne. 

The Spider Lady: Nan Songer and Her Arachnid Army
May 6, 2025 by Calkins Creek
Copy provided by the Publisher

Nan Songer was fascinated with nature as a child, and was luck enough to be friends with the scientist Marie M. Meislahn, who introduced her to the wealth of plants and bugs that inhabited nearby fields and woods. Nan was especially intrigued by spiders, and when she had her own home, collected a variety of specimens. Discovering that a friend used spider silk to repair the site on his surveying scope, she realized that she could turn her hobby into a career. She experimented with various ways to extract silk from spiders without hurting them, and when World War II started, found that spider silk was in demand for military equipment. With no formal training or education, she found ways to produce different strengths and diameters of silk, and different ways of capturing and transporting it. Since not many others were working on similar projects, her silk was very much in demand. This was a work intensive process, and she also had to collect, feed and house the spiders in addition to “silking” them. When the war ended, she continued her research, but changed her focus away from production.

There were so many fun facts in this book, from Songer’s handling of black widow spiders to the fact that she got a special permit so that people could MAIL spiders to her! The author’s note at the end of the book adds some additional information, and there is a helpful bibliography as well.

Lambelet’s illustrations are in a gorgeous brown based color palette that gives a woodsy feel to the book, and there’s a great feel of the 1930s and 40s thanks to details such as clothing, decor, and even kitchen equipment. I also enjoyed Songer’s dog, who appears in the edges of many of the pictures.

It’s always fun to read about people who have turned their passions into careers, especially when they are able to use their findings to help the world. Women have made great contributions to the field of biology, and Songer’s story is right at home with Keating’s The Shark Lady, Robbins and Aly’s You are a Star, Jane Goodall, Valdez and Sala’s Joan Procter, Dragon Doctor, Sidman’s The Girl Who Drew Butterflies; How Maria Merian's Art Changed Science, Evans and Imamura’s Evelyn the Adventurous Entomologist: The True Story of a World-Traveling Bug Hunter, and Gray and Varma’s Anne and Her Tower of Giraffes: The Adventurous Life of the First Giraffologist.