EL SEGUNDO HERALD January 13, 2022 Page 3
Entertainment
Once There Were Wolves
by Charlotte McConaghy
Reviewed by Mary Martes, Library
Clerk for the El Segundo Public Library
This debut follow-up has been eagerly
anticipated since the highly lauded first novel
“Migrations” by Charlotte McConaghy burst
its way onto bestseller lists. McConaghy is an
Australian writer with an interest in environmental
affairs. Set in a post-apocalyptic world
where wild animals are almost completely
extinct, “Migrations” followed a troubled young
Once There Were Wolves by Charlotte McConaghy
woman on a torturous journey to find the last
migrating terns. In her new book, “Once There
Were Wolves” McConaghy again leads us into
the wilds with a fierce, conflicted heroine.
Inti Flynn is a renowned biologist who works
on projects to reintroduce gray wolves into
the wild and restore habitat. This rewilding
is a broader attempt to slow climate change.
Inti suffers from a rare neurological condition,
mirror-touch synesthesia. As she herself
describes it, “If I see it, I feel it, and for just
a moment I am them, we are one and their
pain or pleasure is my own.” After a traumatic
incident in Alaska involving her sister Aggie,
Inti moves them to the Scottish Highlands to
work on the Cairngorms Wolf Project. Fourteen
gray wolves are being reintroduced into
the Cairngorm Mountains which are bordered
by farm and ranch land. Gray wolves are indigenous
to the Scottish Highlands but were
driven out and exterminated hundreds of years
ago by villagers who wanted the land for grazing.
Descendants of these villagers still farm
and raise livestock on those same lands so
resistance to the Project is strong. Inti makes
friends, but also plenty of enemies.
Duncan MacTavish is a local born and bred.
He is also the police chief. Inti feels a visceral
connection to Duncan, but trust issues inhibit
a true relationship. Events conspire to lead the
two of them in a dance of doubt and suspicion.
When a prominent local turns up missing, the
town instantly blames the wolves. Without a
body or evidence however, there is no way to
be sure. There are plenty of people with motive,
including both Duncan and Inti. This gripping
mystery reveals the ghosts of the past they
have buried within themselves and leads to a
reckoning with an ending I never saw coming.
I was so taken with this novel; I began reading
it a second time as soon as I had finished
it. As an avid reader, I confess this is the first
time I have ever done that. The illustrative prose
puts you right into the beautiful landscape and
atmosphere of the misty, fog shrouded lochs
and mountains of the Scottish Highlands.
Charlotte McConaghy is a master of literary
fiction and deeply concerned about climate
change and its effects on the environment. She
uses her prodigious talent to bring attention to
the imminent danger facing our natural world.
I highly recommend both “Migrations” and
“Once There Were Wolves.”
To check out these and other 2021 noteworthy
titles, please stop by the El Segundo Public
Library. You can also find us online at www.
elsegundolibrary.org. •
Mary Martes
Police Reports
Monday, Jan 3rd
A traffic collision (no injuries) report was
taken at 0946 hours from Mariposa Avenue
and Pacific Coast Highway, truck versus two
parked vehicles.
A found property report was taken at 0955
hours from the 300 block of Main Street. Some
narcotics were found and booked for destruction.
A grand theft report was taken at 1046 hours
from the 900 block of North Pacific Coast
Highway. The suspect did not return work
equipment back to his employer.
A lost property report was taken at 0246
hours from the 800 block of South Pacific
Coast Highway. A wallet was lost.
Tuesday, Jan 4th
One male adult was arrested at 0914 hours
from Aviation Boulevard and Rosecrans Avenue
for driving a stolen vehicle.
A grand theft report was taken at 0909 hours
from the 800 block of South Douglas Street.
Unknown suspect(s) stole the victim’s ring
from her hotel room.
A battery report was taken at 1722 hours
from the 500 block of Eucalyptus Drive, male
adult versus male adult.
An online identity theft report was taken at
2310 hours from the 2100 block of Park Place.
Unknown suspect(s) opened fraudulent accounts
in the victim’s company name.
An online lost property report was taken at
2310 hours from the 300 block of Concord
Street. A red wallet was lost.
Wednesday, Jan 5th
A robbery report was taken at 0608 hours
from the 2300 block of East Imperial Highway.
A petty theft and forgery report was taken
at 1121 hours from the 2300 block of East
Rosecrans Avenue. Unknown suspect(s) stole
the victim’s mail and fraudulently altered his
checks.
A petty theft and identity theft report was
taken at 1347 hours from the 700 block of South
Pacific Coast Highway. Unknown suspect(s)
stole the victim’s wallet and used her credit
cards to make fraudulent purchases.
A found property report was taken at 2125
hours from Main Street and Walnut Avenue.
A laptop computer was found.
Thursday, Jan 6th
A fraud report was taken at 0857 hours
from the 500 block of East Franklin Avenue.
Unknown suspect(s) hacked an employee’s
Belle Mixes Beauty and
The Beast with the Metaverse
Morgan Rojas for Cinemacy
When Mark Zuckerberg recently announced
Facebook’s plans of creating a virtual reality
– “The Metaverse” – to the world, I immediately
thought of the online virtual parties
that I “attended” during last year’s Sundance
Film Festival. My user-created avatar mingled
with other online avatars “at the bar” and “on
the dance floor,” but in reality, I was simply
navigating my character from the comfort of
my couch. I thought to myself, “This future
is kind of a bummer.” But as the new movie
Belle shows, maybe I just wasn’t in the “right”
virtual reality.
In this new mesmerizing animated film,
Academy Award-nominated director Mamoru
Hosoda shows us that not all virtual societies are
awkward fantasy lands. Distributed by legendary
Anime production company GKids, Belle is a
cautionary tale about the joys and dangers that
can be experienced as we all continue to grow
up using immersive social media.
Painfully shy schoolgirl Suzu is the embodiment
of adolescent insecurity. Having lost her
mother as a child, she has always struggled
to live a fully secure life. That changes when
she downloads the app “U,” a fully immersive
virtual society that boasts over 5 billion users.
Through “U’s” advanced technology, Suzu’s
hidden strengths in the real world are used to
create her online avatar. And so, she gets the
confidence that she so desperately lacks in the
real world to excel in an alternate, online one.
She creates the avatar “Belle”: a beautiful,
fairy-esque woman with cotton candy hair and
the voice of an angel. As Belle, Suzu dazzles
everyone with her charm and talent. She makes
the other avatars feel good about themselves,
and in turn, she begins appreciating and embracing
her individuality within the metaverse.
Her connection gets disrupted when a cyberbully
known as “The Beast” begins trolling the
other avatars and threatening her safety online.
Belle, courtesy GKids.
See Film Review, page 4
See Police Reports, page 6