*At least, they used to be friends.
Funded by an unprecedented Kickstarter campaign, the Veronica Mars movie, which opens in theaters today, continues the adventures of Veronica Mars, girl detective, and her circle of friends and enemies (who are sometimes one and the same.) The television show (which lasted three seasons) was originally imagined as a novel– not surprising since series creator Rob Thomas is the author of, among other things, Rats Saw God (it’s not just a VM episode, it’s a classic!) In addition to the movie, a two book series was announced last summer, beginning with The Thousand Dollar Tan Line by Rob Thomas and Jennifer Graham, which comes out at the end of March.
The Veronica Mars movie picks up ten years after the end of the original series. Veronica, Logan, Wallace, Mac, and the rest of the gang are headed to Neptune High for their high school reunion, and since it’s a day that ends in “y” that means Logan’s in trouble, Veronica’s conflicted, and fans might finally get to find out what happened next. In honor of this completely auspicious occasion I decided to share a fantasy with you. (I’m not the only one who does this, right?)
Here’s the scene: Amber light streams through sunburst windows of stained glass, softening the edges of the large desk, the book shelves, the arm chairs. Everything glows with that too-bright light that signifies a flashback, dream, or hallucination (and I’m not telling which one this is) but the librarian sitting at the desk is somehow shadowed. (You don’t know this, but that librarian is me, and I have a secret–it’s Neptune, after all.)
The scene changes. Close up on the librarian, a look of…terror? concern? joy? on her face. She folds a piece of paper into a small rectangle and slips it into the book she’s reading behind the reader’s advisory desk. Someone approaches, momentarily blocking the light from the high windows. The music asks a question (but you aren’t sure what it is) and then– a montage. One Neptune High student after another approaches the desk, has a short conversation, then walks away, book in hand. Inevitably these clandestine visits overlap and the day comes when the music swells, the surf crashes, and the whole lot of them collide on the broad front steps, a mass of excuses and averted eyes that eventually turns into confessions, acceptance, and a rousing book discussion. Or possibly someone dies and/or gets arrested and/or tragically breaks off an epic romance.
It could happen. Right now, in fact, as I write this before the Veronica Mars movie opens in theaters, anything could happen.
But back to my fantasy.
As the librarian at the Neptune library I’ve been recommending books to the teens of Neptune for years. I’ll share a few with you, and give you a head’s up on what I’m passing on when the gang comes back to visit me during reunion weekend.
Despite 
the rather disparaging comments she made about her library job at Hearst College, Veronica Mars actually loved the library in Neptune. She didn’t have a lot of time to read between school, working for her dad, and her job at Java the Hut, but she managed to squeeze in a couple of books here and there. Melina Marchetta’s Printz Award winning title, Jellicoe Road, was the first book we bonded over. I didn’t even know her mom was missing when I gave it to her, and I certainly didn’t realize how much she’d connect with Taylor and Jonah’s story. I knew she’d like Printz Honor book The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart and she did. Veronica and Frankie have a lot in common.
I’m really looking forward to seeing Veronica again and I can’t wait to hand her Jacqueline Winspear’s Maisie Dobbs. She and Maisie also have a lot in common (besides the girl detective angle) and I hope they both figure out how to trust and be happy again. Continue reading Marshmallows in the Library: Books for Veronica Mars and Friends*
