This was soooo amazing, and right up my alley! It’s inspiring me to read more biography and more nonfiction. I also adored Susan Orlean’s The Library Book, so I think I just love nonfiction set in 20th century LA. The focus of this book is on the artist who created and designed the monster in Creature from the Black Lagoon. For decades, her work has gone uncredited, for a whole host of reasons that O’Meara explores. This alone was a fascinating tale of Old Hollywood, but this book is so much more than that. Milicent Patrick’s life is such an amazing story! Her history touches on the creation of Hearst Castle and Julia Morgan’s architecture, the early animation days of Disney, and of course, the legendary monster movies from Universal. If you love California history, this is a must read! I really enjoyed how O’Meara tells Milicent’s story alongside how she discovered these facts. As a lover of research, this was so fun. O’Meara also uses her own life as material, especially where it mirrors Milicent Patrick’s. At the heart of this is an important discussion of Hollywood’s sexist roots, and how this disease is still infecting the entertainment industry today. This book comes at the perfect time in the Me Too movement. I can’t wait to read her next book on the background of women making and participating in the alcohol industry!