6
JANUARY 26�FEBRUARY 2, 2022
FROM THE SHELF
CHECKING OUT THE
WORLD OF BOOKS
‘Virgin River’ is no place for a city girl in a new BMW
2007 novel by
Robyn Carr is now
a series on Netflix
By Cheryl Hoefler
GO! Magazine
W
hile dropping off books at a lo-
cal Little Free Library, this title
jumped out at me. “Hmm … ‘Virgin Riv-
er’ … isn’t that a book or a TV show?”
Turns out it’s both. This is the
original novel, by Robyn Carr, written in
2007. Carr has added subsequent sto-
ries to the “Virgin River” collection, and
now there’s a TV series on Netflix.
Melanie Monroe is a born and bred
city girl who loves her job as a hospi-
tal midwife/nurse practitioner in Los
Angeles. However, she is also fed up
with the downsides of city life: a noisy,
frenetic existence where crime and
other dangers seem to lurk around ev-
ery corner. The recent, tragic death of
her husband of only four years tips Mel
to make an escape.
So, in response to an ad for a mid-
wife in a small Northern California town,
Virgin River, she packs up the remnants
of her life (including her expensive
highlighted hair, coat and boots) and
heads off in her new shiny BMW for
a daring, brave new life hundreds of
miles north.
Unfortunately, accommodations
awaiting her in Virgin River aren’t exact-
ly “as advertised.” And the doctor she’s
supposed to assist is a cranky old guy,
who’s disagreeable about her pres-
ence. Not only that, Virgin River is more
than just small; it’s downright remote
and backwoods. Plenty of pot farms in
the woods, but not a Starbucks or hair
salon for miles and miles. And it’s pour-
ing rain. First impressions — they mean
so much.
Fortunately, she has a “Plan B.” She
decides to make a hasty retreat come
morning, switch gears (and direction)
toward a new life with her sister Joey
and her family in Colorado Springs
— which has a compromising popula-
tion somewhere in between LA’s and
Virgin River’s.
Unfortunately (or is it fortunately?),
just as she’s starting to peal out of
town, kicking up Virgin River dust in her
rearview mirror, a baby is abandoned
on the doctor’s porch. Well, no decent
midwife could possibly leave town now.
So Mel stays for a day or two, which
turns into a week, then a couple of
weeks. One thing or another keeps
happening, luring her to linger. The
peace and quiet, blue skies, tall trees
Cheryl Hoefl er/Go! Magazine
BUT THIS ISN’T A LOVE STORY.
“VIRGIN RIVER,” THE BOOK, IS
ABOUT FINDING THE COURAGE
TO ACCEPT THE TOUGH
CIRCUMSTANCES OF LIFE,
FOLLOWING YOUR GUT AND
MOVING FORWARD.
and deer in her yard are an attractive
change from LA life. And although it’s
a place where “everybody knows your
name” (and more), she likes the people
t
sco oo u k n s on a ly)
i
d
0% d b ing
and has made some friends. One of
those is young, handsome and avail-
able Jack Sheridan, owner of the town
diner. And he’s got baggage, too.
But this isn’t a love story. “Virgin
River,” the book, is about finding the
courage to accept the tough circum-
stances of life, following your gut and
moving forward. Virgin River, the town,
holds many new experiences and op-
portunities for Mel, if she can just allow
herself the time and space to heal and
grow after her husband’s death.
Several colorful Virgin River resi-
dents float in and out of the story. One
of them, Cheryl, is the town drunk who
has a not-so-secret crush on Jack. I
was amused that she has my name, but
really, she’s a sad and lonely character.
I waited for some kind of resolution
about her, good or bad, by the end of
the book, but there was none.
I can count on one hand the number
of books I’ve read in a day. This was
one of them. As someone who also
parted ways with Southern California
some years ago for a small, rural town
life, I could relate to many of Mel’s
experiences. I’m looking forward to
more of Carr’s “Virgin River” tales,
either in print or on the Netflix series.
And maybe I’ll find out what happened
to Cheryl.
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