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Three Rivers Rising by Jame Richards

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I’m a picky historical fiction reader. It has to be the right place, the right historical story, and the right timing. I’m partial to American historical fiction, particularly those surrounding either disaster or the frontier. Not sure what that says about me.

When I heard about Jame Richards’s Three Rivers Rising, I was very excited: we have a disaster in 1889, which is a time period I’m pretty amenable to, too. As if the setting and period weren’t enough, this novel is done in verse, which is something else I’m a big fan of. Let me say it simply: Three Rivers Rising totally floated my boat.

Celestia is a wealthy girl who loves spending her days down by the water reading. It is here she keeps running into Peter, the hired help (and many classes below her own). Naturally, they fall madly in love, but her parents will not have it. As they prepare to disown her in order to maintain their family’s reputation and standing in society, though, her sister Estrella commits an unsavory act with a boy who wasn’t her betrothed. Guess who becomes the bad daughter now?

When her parents finish punishing Estrella by forcing her to leave and act as if leaving were by her own accord (because if they kicked her out, that would suggest she did something wrong and dishonored the family), they decide to send Celestia to Europe for a while to get herself together. Separating her from Peter will show her that he’s not worth her time. As you’d imagine, it just makes them fall more madly in love.

Meanwhile, we have 2 other characters that appear: Kate, a woman studying to be a nurse, and Maura, mother of 3 and wife of a train conductor. We watch as Kate moves through her studies and as Maura waits patiently for her husband to return.

The last character is, of course, Johnstown, Pennsylvania. There’s a nice little map in the front of the book that shows the basic layout. The town had 3 rivers — the Stony Creek to the west, the Little Conemaugh to the north, and the South Fork Creek to the east, which fed into Lake Conemaugh. So, a mountain town surrounded by water. You’d imagine what kind of fingers they kept crossed every day.

When Celestia returns home, she immediately seeks out Peter. It has been raining hard for a while, but because the townspeople had hired such a reputable man to ensure the dams would hold, no one worries too much. Of course, that’s precisely when the dams don’t hold, and the town is quickly falling under water. Without ruining how Kate and Maura fit into the story, let’s just say they play a significant role in how Celestia and Peter can be together.

Three Rivers Rising moved very quickly: the use of verse was a smart move because it didn’t bog the reader down in history, nor did it give us too much character development. As Richards points out in her author’s note, this isn’t a book about the flood; instead, the flood is the setting for the story of the townspeople. Peter and Celestia are believable, and the secondary characters of Celestia’s father and mother are spot-on in their desire to protect the family reputation. The love story is, of course, represented by the rivers, and this is done seamlessly.

Back to the verse: I thought that the way the verse was laid out on the page really helped the reader, too. Because verse is as much visual as textual, I thought that it really gave weight and gravity to many of the situations. Kate, our nurse, highlights the urgency quite well, and Maura, a hurried mother and fearful wife, depicts the emotions spot-on through the verse’s layout. Likewise, this is a novel that feels wet. As a reader, I felt I was right there reading beside the river and feeling the waters rise around me. I, like Peter, wanted to blame, blame, blame, but I realized as a reader that that wouldn’t change how things happened, either. This is talent.

Three Rivers Rising was a title I was a little apprehensive to purchase for my library, since I didn’t think the topic would be of huge appeal. However, this is one I am certainly going to add: I think historical fiction fans have a lot to sink into here, as much as I think fans of romance or novels in verse will. Oh, and did I mention how fast it read? I think I read the entire book in one sitting.

For those intrigued by the historical setting, Richards also provides a nice author’s note about her inspiration, as well as a resource guide to further reading. I think this is a title with huge crossover appeal, as many adult historical fiction readers will find a lot to love here.

Amy and Roger’s Epic Detour

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So I’ve read a lot of books so far this year. I’ve read 16 debut titles. I’ve listened to 10 or so audiobooks. But you know, very little this year has really made me want to drop everything and read straight on through. To be fair, I’m not generally someone who gets that way. I like to read with breaks to absorb and think.

But, I may have found a book that for the first time in a long time made me want to do nothing more than sit outside in the backyard and read. Yes, I ADORED Morgan Matson’s debut Amy and Roger’s Epic Detour, due out tomorrow by Simon & Schuster.

Amy’s mother and her father were professors at a local southern California college until a terrible accident took the life of her father. Because of the memories and because of a brother who is decaying slowly mentally, mom chooses to uproot her and Amy and have a new start in Connecticut.

Because of the need to sell the house, mom heads out first and leaves Amy to make the trip out to Connecticut with her mom’s car later. And no worries – mom’s best friend’s son, Roger (who had been a friend of Amy’s when they were young, though she doesn’t seem to recall the diaper days) will accompany her. Oh, and Amy’s mom’s already set up an itinerary, complete with hotel reservations. It’ll be a quick 4-day trip. Roger’s got to get to see his dad in Philadelphia, anyway, so it all works out well.

That is, until Amy sees that Roger’s a much more interesting (ahem, attractive) boy than she previously imagined. And Roger wants more of an adventure. It takes little convincing to get Amy to drop her mother’s plans and take her own cross country trip with Roger.

Amy and Roger’s Epic Detour was all I love in a romance: great character development, with strong enough ancillary characters to make the destinations and backstories interesting. The road facts sprinkled throughout the story made my traveling heart thump like crazy (when they are driving on Highway 50 through Nevada, before Roger talks about the road’s reputation, I had myself thinking isn’t that the most deserted highway in the country and badabing, he brought it up!). On their travels, they meet some interesting people who are never developed too much to make them clutter the story line, and throughout, it’s so clear that the story is less about the road trip and more about the power we all have as individuals to plot our own destiny.

Of course, there are consequences for those decisions. Amy’s mother is NOT happy with the way her daughter decided to ignore the plans, but Amy’s musings about the value of determining her own happiness was so spot on. Both Amy and Roger are believable in their ages, as she is about 17 and he is 18 or 19. They both exude such passion for life and for living. And like all people that age, their philosophical musings are spot on.

Matson writes young. By that I mean this story has SUCH appeal to a teen audience — it never once talks down to them nor never tries to push a higher point too much (even though it is so there). Some other books I’ve read this year have tried too hard to tug at the teen heartstrings, but this one just gets it. It never once feels forced.

Now, don’t believe this is an easy road trip book. I’ve left out a key ingredient to the story, and that’s the cause of Amy’s father’s death and the real reason Roger is accompanying her on the trip. It is very obvious the entire time what happened, but because it is so ingrained in Amy’s personality, it’s an important element. Again, not overdone and painted quite realistically.

Hand Amy and Roger’s Epic Detour to your Sarah Dessen fans. Hand it to your fans of road trip books. What this book really, really reminded me of, though, was the last 20 minutes of Elizabethtown. Do with that what you will.

An element I didn’t mention this book contains and sets it apart is what I’ll call “elements from the road.” This book is like a scrapbook, filled with postcards, receipts, itineraries, maps, and more. These not only break up the text (which is incredibly fast paced) but it gives a real face to Amy and Roger. Since my review is from the unfinished galley, I couldn’t get the full effect but instead saw the designer’s notes. The notes lead me to believe that this will be a really strong and memorable element to the novel itself.

I would, without a doubt, have read 500 more pages of this story. I think Matson does her readers a huge service in ending where she does, though. I don’t want to spoil it, but some of the hints I got lead me to believe that there would be an ending I would be dissatisfied with. Kudos.

I’m not usually one for posting videos, but this one gives a little more insight into the writing process from the author. As I watched it, I was reminded a lot of who I pictured Amy as, and I think Matson may be pulling a lot from her own life and experiences. This is a good thing. You can also get a sneak peak at some of the road ephemera that appears in the book:

Get this in the hands of your summer readers. Without doubt, it’ll become a favorite.

* Review copy from publisher at PLA.

The Snowball Effect by Holly Nicole Hoxter

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The premise sounded perfect to me: a blue-collar town with a working class family struggling with a lot of tough issues. There’s romance, there’s drama, and what promised to be an intriguing road trip to turn things around. Your classic teen coming-of-age novel with a character you know will resonate with a lot of teens, The Snowball Effect is Holly Nicole Hoxter’s debut novel. But as much as 18-year-old Lainey Pike will be the person teens are drawn to, the situations in which she finds herself may ask a lot of your teen readers who are growing up reading the characters and situations of Sarah Dessen, Elizabeth Scott, Deb Caletti, and Susane Colasanti.

Lainey’s mother has killed herself, and Lainey now finds herself with her adoptive special needs brother Collin and a lot of hurt and anger. While it’s true she’s angry at her mother for what she did, she’s more angry that this is not the first thing she’s done to disappoint: Lainey’s mom had been irresponsible forever and had caused a lot of mental anguish for her teen daughter…and the daughter who has essentially left the family to find herself in other parts of the country. But it’s that death that ends up bringing Vallery back to the family.

In the midst of this, Lainey begins to feel distanced from her long time boyfriend and mega hottie Riley. Actually, never once is he referred to as mega hottie, but for all intents and purposes, that’s how I see him. He’s into cars and sports, so let’s go with it. When she’s feeling this distance, Lainey runs into a guy by accident — Eric — and as you will probably guess, they begin to find themselves liking each other a lot. There’s a metaphor in the book about different flavored snowballs that speaks to the issues within the book, but I mostly found myself really angry that Lainey was so into herself and situation to think that snowballs only existed in the Baltimore area. Actually, they began in New Orleans and are alive and well in Texas. I digress.

Hoxter’s story focuses on the importance of cultivating relationships and letting past transgressions live in the past. I think a lot of what she says in her story is important and I think it’s done in a way that will not be like hitting a reader over the head. Rather, it settles at the end of the story.

That said, I did not find myself liking any of the characters. Although I read a number of reviews that Lainey is actually a great representation of people who have dealt with a lot of tragedy in their young lives, I felt like the other characters needed a lot more development. Vallery, who was supposed to be the older, wiser, and “motherly” sister in the situation, ends up getting very childish in the story, and not just because of the situational issues. Instead, I found she was written much more like Lainey’s friend than sister, and it never worked. And Collin’s role in the story just irritated me: I wanted him to disappear since he was clutter. While this works in the context for understanding what makes Lainey’s life tough perfectly, I felt like Lainey was developed strongly enough on her own that it was really unnecessary.

Riley and Eric were kind of one and the same to me, but this is not anything totally different from most books of this ilk. Riley does sweet things to win Lainey back at the end, and I did remember what his life’s interests were, so maybe he was a little stronger than Eric, who sold magazines and ate slurpees (or snowballs, but don’t get me started).

But here’s the kicker: I felt the entire last 1/3 of the book was not well developed or as coherent as the first 2/3. I thought the beginning slogged along a bit as we got to learn Lainey’s life situation, but this pacing was very important to the story. When we get to the road trip — another point of Vallery’s status as friend rather than caretaker/older, wiser person (which she states she is when she relocates to be with Lainey) — it just felt sloppy. Collin was kind of a prop here, and it was all too convenient that the road trip was to Orlando, where Lainey could conveniently meet up with her relatives. I just wish this were longer or were done differently. I think a lot of readers will find it to be too convenient a way to wrap up the story that is so clearly about difficulty.

The Snowball Effect may not have been my favorite read, but it was done well and was one of the stronger debuts I’ve read this year. I think that Hoxter may have found an interesting niche, too, by focusing on the working class lifestyle. Think about your standard realistic fiction fare: they’re almost all middle class or wealthier characters who never have to worry about a next pay check. Sure, the family lives are unstable and that is something to take with consideration, but I can’t remember the last time I read a story where the socioeconomics were so different. Most of the time it’s actually not even brought up, so to have it come up is refreshing. I work in an very blue collar area, and I believe these are the sorts of stories my kids could really, really relate to (and what do I know – the moments I felt were moments I needed to suspend my belief may be completely real to this audience). Again, the readalikes are easy to suggest. Call it the mega hottie effect.

The Line by Teri Hall

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Any reader or librarian can tell you that after paranormal fiction, the second most popular style of book to be published in the last few years is the dystopian novel. We can thank books like The Hunger Games for that trend.

But like any genre, there are some hits and plenty of misses. For me, The Line straddles the line there. For me as a reader, I was never once convinced and I had some other gripes, but for the upper elementary age audience, this might work quite well.

Rachel and her mother live on The Property, which is owned by Ms. Moore who runs a greenhouse in the backyard. The Property is close to The Line: a border which is meant to keep the Others in Away. That is, it protects citizens of the United States and detracts those from outside from ever venturing in. The US had been attacked from the outside before and this was its means of having total control of borders and of its citizens.

Rachel, being young — age never given — is curious and wants to explore. As she does more and more research through their version of the internet on this so-called Away place, she wants to see it for herself. But her mother Vivian will make this difficult by reminding her of her deceased father, the hierarchy of society in the US, and ultimately the story of why they are living on The Property.

But will Rachel listen to her mother or will she take her fate and curiosity into her own hands?

The Line has a premise and a conspiracy element to it that spoke well to me, but ultimately, I found that Hall’s writing relied far too heavily on telling me, rather than showing me, about this dystopia. Never once did I feel like I saw or discovered anything for myself as a reader. Instead, I was hand-held through explanations from Rachel’s mother and Ms. Vivian about this world and why things are the way they are. I was a total outsider and had to put my trust into their versions of the history, and never once was I convinced. But I had to be because there was no other way. It was a bit alienating and off-putting, so I never found myself wanting to care about Rachel, her mother, or Ms. Moore. It never mattered because it would just be explained away in a few pages.

Tension in the book never happened, again as a result of the telling-rather-than-showing writing employed. When we are introduced to a new set of characters about 2/3 of the way through the book, it was jolting, but I never found myself really wanting to know more about them. Rachel did, but since I was so removed from Rachel, well, you get the idea.

The language and writing in the book itself is simplistic, and Rachel seems to be very young. I believe this is the sort of book that would appeal to the crowds reading Lois Lowry’s The Giver, rather than the crowds reading The Hunger Games. I mean that in terms of age, not necessarily interest. This is a good thing, as this isn’t a bad book. It just doesn’t work particularly well for those expecting something akin to other well-known dystopian reads, as older and wider readers likely are. But I must also interject here that those younger readers may find themselves boggled with the political issues that arise in the story; they may not be mature enough to understand some of it.

Since The Line is the first in this series, I think that might have huge appeal for the younger readers, too. There’s a lot that’s laid out in book one that lends itself to plenty of opportunity for future volumes. I’m half wondering if this is the sort of book that requires reading all of the volumes at once to get a real appreciation for the story and style; it could be the case that Hall purposely makes the first book a tell-rather-than-show so she can pull a cord and switch the course in the next book. Time will tell.

I’m waiting on a number of loose ends, including the greater purpose and meaning of the green house on The Property in the next story. Rachel is forced to be a sort of apprentice in it, making her a god-like character. I anticipate this to play a large role in the next book, and it is certainly something I am eager to read more about.

Although certainly not my favorite book and though it has a number of faults, I do plan on picking up the second book when it pubs. I wish this volume would have been a one-off, with more depth and development that I’m anticipating in the next one, but because of what seems to be the intended audience (young readers), maybe this is a better route.

The Daughters by Joanna Philbin

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The wonderful people at Little Brown send great books to review. They made me paranoid this week, though, as two days after posting my comments about the publicity for Joanna Philbin’s The Daughters, I not only received it for review, but I received the sequel for review, as well.

The Daughters is a debut by Joanna Philbin, daughter of Regis Philbin and the book itself seems written from some experience — this story follows three girls, Lizzie, Carina, and Hudson, who are all themselves daughters of famous celebrities. In particular, we get the story from Lizzie’s perspective as she deals with growing up with a world-famously beautiful model of a mother, Katia.

The girls are 14 and attend an elite high school, where all attendees are someone or are related to someone. When the school year begins, Lizzie runs into Todd — a boy she had befriended many years before he moved to England with his family — and he has moved back to New York City and will be attending school. Of course, romance blooms and fades, and we watch as Lizzie chases the boy and he chases her back. Will they end up together?

But this is more than a boy-and-girl-love-story. Lizzie has an opportunity to become famous herself through “ugly modeling,” since she has none of the looks of her mother. She forges permission from her mother, and her career begins skyrocketing before she can blink. It’s not what she imagined, and when she has to lie and cheat to maintain the lifestyle, she knows that it isn’t going to be good. That, and the fact that the world famous designer who wants to use her criticizes her for not being a size 2 or size 4.

The Daughters is incredibly clean: I don’t remember a single moment of swearing, and I believe that maybe there was a kiss discussed in the book. There are mean girls, a la books like The Clique, which makes me believe this will be a good sell to fans of that series.

What really bothered me throughout the book was that these girls were way too mature for 14-year-olds. Quite frankly, they were written as 17-year-olds and a lot of what happened required suspending a lot of disbelief — at one point, Lizzie leaves school in the middle of the day because her mom sent her a text message that she was in trouble and needed to be scolded and then she just returns to class. Weird. This required me suspending my reality quite a bit to let the stretches work. I didn’t want to give up the characters, either, so I let a lot slide by my reality radar.

But let me back up here a second, too. That will be the total appeal factor for the intended audience here. This book is perfect for the 12-13-14-year-olds. They are at the age they believe they are a lot older and more mature than they are, and I believe Lizzie and her crew are actually really good role models. They act too old, too, but there are consequences for their actions. This is sort of the realistic-fantasy that the age group likes to read about, and so I can see this working really well. Likewise, it’s the sort of book I wouldn’t have problems recommending since it is clean, the girls are mostly likeable despite their flaws, and parents won’t have a problem with what goes on. Sure, there are a lot of parties, but never once is there alcohol or any bad behavior at the parties; in fact, I don’t believe we ever hear what happens at them except that they happen.

Since there is at least one sequel, this is also appealing because fans will have more than one story to enjoy. And let’s be honest: the writer, daughter of a respected celebrity, is parent-friendly, too.

On a totally superficial level, another huge draw for this title will be the cover. It is so reminiscent of older books like The Nanny Diaries and will again appeal to the fantasy 12-14-year-old-girls will love. The New York setting, the technology-saturated worlds, and even the dialog will fulfill their fantasies without giving them wrong ideas.

Ms. Philbin, thank you. This was not MY favorite book nor the strongest written, but this will fill a nice niche. I suspect many parents will also be thanking you soon enough, not to mention the girls who will thank you for a positive story that combines clique aspects, body-positive aspects, technology, and the lure/drawbacks of fame and fortune. Here’s hoping that the second book meets these same high expectations.

*Review copy from publisher.