Shelley NoldenReseñas

Everyday top news stories are about coronavirus and when a vaccine is coming. So naturally, "The Vines" peaked my interest which is all about deadly diseases from the 1900s - measles, scarlet fever, tuberculosis and typhus. More recently there's more concerns with Ebola, cancer and Lyme diseases and who knows what else may cause us with more fear.

In this book, you get to know four generations of doctors - Otto, Ulrich, Rollie and Kristian - all in the Gettler family. Together, they hold their secret tight to perform experiments in search of the perfect vaccine. Patients in the early 1900s were transported in this book to an island near New York City. The map of North Brother Island is located at the beginning of the book which includes a hospital, research labs, church, home for nurses and the physician, tennis courts and morgue. As vaccines were discovered, the island was no longer needed and closed in 1963.

Rollie's son, Finn didn't become a doctor but was curious about what was going on at the island in the past so he decided to take a look in 2007 only to discover a beautiful woman with scars that still was there. Cora said, "I'm the human guinea pig" which made the reader question why she hasn't left the island and more importantly why this woman was used to endure intense pain to save thousands.

The book is suspenseful with a surprise ending. It's one that doesn't go out of your head - especially as a female. Parts made me cringe. The author did an impressive amount of research to provide the historical facts.

My thanks to the publisher and NetGallery for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Everyday top news stories are about coronavirus and when a vaccine is coming. So naturally, "The Vines" peaked my interest which is all about deadly diseases from the 1900s - measles, scarlet fever, tuberculosis and typhus. More recently there's more concerns with Ebola, cancer and Lyme diseases and who knows what else may cause us with more fear.

In this book, you get to know four generations of doctors - Otto, Ulrich, Rollie and Kristian - all in the Gettler family. Together, they hold their secret tight to perform experiments in search of the perfect vaccine. Patients in the early 1900s were transported in this book to an island near New York City. The map of North Brother Island is located at the beginning of the book which includes a hospital, research labs, church, home for nurses and the physician, tennis courts and morgue. As vaccines were discovered, the island was no longer needed and closed in 1963.

Rollie's son, Finn didn't become a doctor but was curious about what was going on at the island in the past so he decided to take a look in 2007 only to discover a beautiful woman with scars that still was there. Cora said, "I'm the human guinea pig" which made the reader question why she hasn't left the island and more importantly why this woman was used to endure intense pain to save thousands.

The book is suspenseful with a surprise ending. It's one that doesn't go out of your head - especially as a female. Parts made me cringe. The author did an impressive amount of research to provide the historical facts.

My thanks to the publisher and NetGallery for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to the publisher for a review copy; all opinions are my own.

Really, I would give this one star, but I was compelled to keep reading on to the end, even after I had put it down for a few days. But I can't bring myself to bring it higher than 2.

It's so long, and yet nothing happens. We have irrelevant time skips between parts that could have better been two halves. We have overwrought language that uses a lot of words to say a little. We have themes and motivations bludgeoned over our heads so we don't miss them (and yet important things are left unexplained). We have flat characters who change out of the blue. And, of course, we have hints of a sequel.

Not for me, but glad others can enjoy it.

Great debut novel from Shelley Nolden. I received this as part of the Goodreads giveaway and was not disappointed! The story focuses on an abandoned island in New York City (North Brother Island) that was used to quarantine patients with contagious diseases to which the main character has a mysterious connection to. Lots of surprises, history and suspense all in one book, definitely a recommended book. And thank you for the advance copy! Can't wait for your next project!

Disturbing, dark, and suspenseful medical thriller full of secrets, lies and betrayals.

The story takes place in North Brother Island, NY spanning from 1901 until 2008.
Cora is identified as a carrier of typhoid bacilli after she arrives to Riverside Hospital with her younger sister, who dies shortly after arriving. Doctor Gettler performs numerous tests in order to find the source of her immunities that will benefit others and for him to be one of the greatest doctors in microbiology. Even if she is asymptomatic, he believes that she is highly contagious. As years pass, Cora has more scars and wounds. They cut her open to extract tissue samples, and slice and stitch her organs. Gettlers, generation after generation, year after year, keep destroying her life taking everything good she could experience. Incurable and unapproachable, she has been trapped on this isolated island enduring all kinds of torture.

This was a heartbreaking story about involuntary human testing due to medical experiments. Very well researched book with historical background connected to World War II genetic research, to the coronavirus roots and other factual events. I didn't know about Big Brother Island exiles existence, and about General Slocum fire that killed over thousands of people. There is a lot to learn from this book.

It was a little bit slower read for me, but very much worthy. This tale will stay in my thoughts for a long time.
I recommend this book, especially to those who like science topics mixed with historical fiction.

Many thanks to Shelley Nolden for sending me this personally autographed novel.
I won this book through the Goodreads giveaway.

In present day New York, Finn decides to explore North Brother Island, a place of mystery that is connected to his father and brother's medical experiments. On the island he finds Cora, a scarred and tortured woman. In the early 1900's, Cora and her sister are sent to quarantine on North Brother Island. After the death of her sister, one of the doctor's discovers that Cora has a special immunity to the diseases and viruses that are killing the masses.

This book was very hard to put down. Cora's past was very interesting and compelling. The author did a masterful job of blending the past and present, which made for an extremely compelling read. Overall, highly recommended.

I hardly know how to classify this novel -- it was told in two timelines so part of it is historical fiction but overall I think it can best describe it as a suspense novel -- a novel full of twists and turns and surprises that you don't see coming. My only disappointment with this novel was that it didn't wrap up totally at the end but ended with "Don't forget the unforgettable sequel to THE VINES coming soon."

When Finn finds information about experiments this his great-grandfather, grandfather, father and brother have carried out on the island, he gets curious and kayaks to the island to try to find out what secrets his family has been keeping from him. When he arrives, he finds a beautiful young woman living by herself on the island. Cora is a victim of his family who have done experiments on her since 1902 trying to find out why she has an immunity to disease so that they can replicate it and save other people. Finn is intrigued by her and the connection with his family. Throughout the novel we get Finn's story as well as Cora's history of her life. I found Cora's story to be unimaginable, the pain and the horror that she had been put through by the doctors who wanted to find a way to save people was horrific A major ethical dilemma comes to mind on how much someone should be made to suffer to save other people. The juxtaposition of Cora's history and her current life really gives the reader something to think about.

This is a well written novel. There is a lot of medical information but not enough (or boring enough) to bog down the story. There are many opposites in the story - Cora's past and the beauty of the island that she inhabits, Finn's sense of adventure and his family's treachery, inflicting harm on one person in the hope to save many. I found this novel very intriguing and thought provoking and can't wait to read the sequel.

Thanks to the publisher for a copy of this book to read and review. All opinions are my own.

The setting is North Brother Island in New York. This place actually exists and you find some interesting information online about the medical facility there as well as info about Mary Mallon, aka Typhoid Mary. The author incorporated Mary Mallon in as a character who is quarantined at the facility due to her illness. She interacts with our main character Cora.

The story involves generations of doctors in the Gettler family and spans over a 100 year period. There is more of a horror element to the experimentation the doctors perform on Cora and through it all, Cora lives alone on this island for decades. Cora's blood has qualities which make her immune to disease. Medical ethics are most certainly in question here.

The back and forth chapters in the different timeframes was confusing at first. The book starts with Finn Gettler sneaking onto the island and seeing Cora. He is well aware of his father and grandfather's medical research but he doesn't know of the heinous experiments performed on this woman. There are surprises about Finn's family and while I did finish the book, there were some times I almost made it a DNF and moved on.

If you are engaged with the story then you'll be pleased to know there will be a followup book. I personally won't be looking to continue the storyline.

Publication date is March 23, 2021 by Freiling Publishing. Genre: historical fiction; mystery; thriller
Much thanks to Netgalley for the advanced copy of this book. I was not compensated for the review and all opinions expressed here are mine.

Sharing with Marg at The Intrepid Reader for the 2021 Historical Fiction Reading challenge.

The Vines is a timely novel which takes us back to 1904 and a woman named Cora who is a host to multiple viruses including, typhoid and the Spanish flu.
Cora comes to the island as a teen with her younger sister to be helped by physicians on North Brother Island in New York harbor where a hospital has been built for patients with communicable diseases. Cora comes to the attention of a German doctor named Dr. Ulrich Gettler. Cora shows no symptoms of the diseases she carries and the doctor wants to study her and figure out a cure based off of her immune system.
Here's where it gets weird. The story goes back and forth from present to past and Cora is still alive and still looks like a teenager. She is trapped on North Brother Island in what is now the ruins of the early 1900's hospital. She cannot leave because when she tries to, her symptoms of all the diseases she carries start to show themselves.
Cora has been passed down as a human test subject through the medical researchers in the Gettler family.
This story was fascinating to me. I really enjoyed the historic elements that were part of the story and I cannot wait for the next book!

The Vines, an original and interesting story set on the now abandoned North Brother Island in the East River off NYC, is a wonderful blend of sci-fi and historical fiction, that is also part horror and part mystery.

I love science fiction. One of the biggest differentiators, I find, between good and not-so-good sci-fi is how skillfully and quickly the author turns the strangeness of a new world into a totally real and engaging story. My first thoughts are - kudos to the author - as from the first few paragraphs, this book draws you in, and as we meet the main protagonists, Finn Gettler and Cora McSorley, and the events that unfold on the mysterious island, I found myself eagerly reading quickly, trying to piece together what was happening, and why.

Gradually and with mounting chill, themes began to unfold, - medical ethics, scientific responsibility, eugenics, personal accountability, freedom vs common good, how far one will go for love, what makes us human, - and I found myself totally engrossed in the story as it unfolded. The author does a great job weaving between timelines to help us understand Cora and her backstory, as well as the Gettler family, their motivations and challenges, in all their layered complexity.

Around halfway through the book or so, however, I found myself drifting, and it was a bit of a chore to keep reading. It felt like perhaps the middle third of the book went on too long and could have been tightened.

Luckily the finale was well executed, with a twist or two thrown in, so overall I would say that the book was successfully executed. I debated and ended up at a rating of 3.5 stars. I would recommend this book as a very intriguing and compelling story, one which is also very timely in the current COVID-19 climate.

Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher Freiling Publishing, and the author for an advance copy of this book for review.

The Vines by Shelley Nolden

Imagine the Natzis doing medical experiments on innocent people, now imagine this going on for hundreds of years. That's what this book is about.

The men in the Gettler family have a sadistic streak. They focus all of their experiments upon one poor young woman in New York at a quarantine hospital on North Brother Island. They know she can overcome any disease and doesn't look like she ages beyond 18. They do horrible experiments on her while the hospital is open and even after it closes. She is a prisoner of the island and the Gettler men.

The book is some fantasy and possibly some truth to it also. Mostly fiction, though. I liked it but felt for poor Cora whom they did all of their experimentings on.

I received a complimentary copy of #TheVines from #NetGalley I was under no obligation to post a review.

The Vines is a fictional history with mystical notes that will leave the reader wanting more. Coraline McSorley and her sister Maeve are sent to Riverside Hospital on North Brother Island with measles in 1901. Maeve doesn’t survive but Coraline does and is forced to undergo quarantine and testing by Dr. Otto Gettler. Over the years, Cora is subjected to torture and misery by Gettler offspring all in the name of research.
Along with Cora’s complicated relationship with the Gettler family, the island itself sustains and traps her so that her life becomes one of solitude and sacrifice. Cora thrives on the bare minimum and finds comfort in relationships with island workers like Mr. O’Toole. The famous Typhoid Mary becomes an ally with a daring escape plan.
The story goes back and forth from the early 1900’s to present day 2007. The youngest Gettler, Finn, discovers the family secret and is determined to save Cora. It is complicated on all sides. What doesn’t he know? How has his family justified what they have done?
The author, Shelley Nolden, discovered an untapped well of mystery surrounding a neglected, off-limits island in the East River of NYC. Many details like O’Toole & his family, Cora’s last name, Nurse Holden, and the descriptions of the island buildings are inspired by old news articles. Events such as the wreck of the General Slocum steamship in 1904 and the teenage heroin addicts in the 1950’s are part of this historical tale.
While disappointing not to have closure, The Vines was a fun read and I look forward to finding out what happens to Cora in the sequel.