“Which one of us will outlive the others, who will become the face of this tragedy? It was always the youngest, the pretties, the whitest. There was no tragedy in being plain, no attention spared to girls who had it coming,” (Nolan).
Delores “Lawrence” Franklin and her best friend Anastasia “Stasia” Lanes runaway to Mistaken Point to start fresh in a smalltown known for two things: it’s university which Stasia and Lawrence are now enrolled in, and a series of gruesome murders that targeted young women. But the killer was caught and the town is returning to normal, even though some older men mumble inappropriate things to Stasia and Lawrence when they walk around town together, or graze them when they walk too close. Lawrence gets a job at a local arcade and meets her boss Franky Delores who believes that a monster was responsible for the murders and is determined to catch it. Despite the warnings of her friend Pippa, Lawrence and Stasia join Franky in a monster hunt, not fully believing Franky’s claims until everything they thought they knew changes.
I am grateful that a friend of mine was reading Veal on Goodreads because if it wasn’t for them I would have missed this stellar debut, because this is one amazing book!
The comparison to Twin Peaks is such an accurate descriptor for this book. While there aren’t any fish hiding in percolators, it’s the vibe of the book, the quaint little town that holds a lot of bad that isn’t even hidden, it’s just ignored. I loved reading about Lawrence and Stasia familiarizing themselves with Mistaken Point and thought the atmosphere was just so perfect and felt so real for a made-up town.
I also really enjoyed the characters. While I liked being in Lawrence’s head her desperation and neediness for Franky got annoying. I would have loved if more was explored and compared about Lawrence’s obsession over Franky and Franky’s obsession over the murders while tying in something about the monster’s obsession with killing women, but we can’t have it all. I still enjoyed Lawrence’s voice and observations to what was going on. I also really enjoyed Franky, Stasia, and Pippa and loved the friendship dynamic that formed between the four of them.
My one criticism is the ending. There’s a certain revelation that ends up bringing up questions that kind of muddle the strong message the book was carrying throughout. It’s a shame because the book is really good, and it’s not that the ending is bad, only that it doesn’t feel as as developed as the rest of the story.
But Veal is a fantastic debut that is unapologetically queer, atmospheric, and has great creepy summer camp vibes. I eagerly await Nolan’s next book!
Delores “Lawrence” Franklin is a failed capitalist and a runaway headcase. Following a corporate meltdown, she decides to start fresh in Mistaken Point, a small town known for two things — Mistaken Point University, where she and her best friend, Anastasia Lanes, are now enrolled, and the grisly murders of countless young women. At her new part-time arcade job, Lawrence meets Francesca “Franky” Delores — gritty, off-putting, and chronically serious, as opposite to Lawrence as her name would suggest. Soon, Lawrence discovers Franky is convinced there is a monster on the loose, a patchwork creature born of hatred and responsible for the supposedly solved string of violence haunting the town. Against the advice of Franky’s closest friend, Pippa, Lawrence and Stasia join Franky in a sticky, summertime search for a yellow-eyed monster between classes, shifts at the arcade, and eating popsicles by the pool. Motivated mostly by her unquenchable attraction to Franky, Lawrence allows herself to be pulled in strange directions, trying to appease Franky’s mania. Through the trials of hunting a monster only some of them believe in, Pippa, Lawrence, Stasia, and Franky discover truths about womanhood, relationships, and the reliability of urban legends.
Sarah O'Connor 