Column Book—Tails
Watch Over Me by Nina LaCour
Book and Cocktail Club n
LaCour has mastered writing loneliness in a way that fills the reader with overwhelming emotion; her writing affects you for days or even weeks after reading the final sentence.
28 • Benicia Magazine
Cooper Mickelson
“I'm learning that it's good to think about what scares you. To bring it into the light. Even to hold it in your hands, if you can, and feel how it can't hurt you anymore. To think of it and say, 'I am not afraid.’” If you’ve read a Nina LaCour novel in the past, you’re aware of her unique skill in melancholic tone, beautiful prose, and vivid imagery. LaCour has mastered writing loneliness in a way that fills the reader with overwhelming emotion; her writing affects you for days or even weeks after reading the final sentence. In Watch Over Me, our protagonist, Mila, takes an internship on a secluded farm outside of Mendocino after aging out of foster care. The farm is owned by Terry and Julia, a couple who are dedicated to rebuilding the lives of youth affected by the foster care system. Mila and the other two interns living on the farm are responsible for teaching the younger children.
With an absent father, a mother who has abandoned her, and foster parents who chose not to adopt her, Mila has never felt true belonging. When Terry and Julia offer her an internship, it almost feels too good to be true. This peaceful farm, filled with children whose pasts resemble her own, gives Mila a renewed sense of hope. Maybe this could be her home. Perhaps these people can be her family. She hadn’t been told about the ghosts. At night, when the coastal fog rolls over the property, luminescent ghosts visit the farm. One apparition, in particular, appears to be connected to Mila. As time passes, mementos from her past begin to materialize. Dark memories crowd Mila’s mind, and she must decide whether she is strong enough to endure these chilling experiences and remain at the farm, or if she will run away from it all. The story jumps back and forth from Mila’s haunting past to the present, giving the reader deeper insight into why Mila has such difficulty feeling loved and
