The River Review

Goodreads

TITLE: The River

AUTHOR: Mary Jane Beaufrand

PUBLISHER: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

PUBLICATION DATE: 2/10/2010
PAGES: 224

MY RATING: 

INSIDE COVER SUMMARY: Veronica Severance feels cut off from the world. Forced to move from the city to rural Oregon with her parents, she is haunted by loneliness and the chilling sounds of the Santiam, the river that runs through her backyard.

Through the fog of isolation, Ronnie finds herself becoming close with Karen, a young girl whom she babysits. But when she discovers Karen's body on the banks of the Santiam, Ronnie feels compelled to uncover the truth.

As she becomes increasingly obsessed with solving the mystery of Karen's death, Ronnie is lead deeper and deeper into the dark secret hidden within its midst.

The River is a darkly atmospheric story of murder, isolation, obsession, and deadly secrets that will keep you on the edge of your seat until the very last page.

OVERALL IMPRESSION: I have to say that the beginning and the ending of this book were great. The description of Ronnie (the main character) finding the body was pretty graphic and definitely grossed me out. There was a lot of imagery happening. And the last part of the book was really intense and action packed. The in-between wasn't so great. Now, don't get me wrong, it wasn't terrible, I just feel like it could have been better. I feel like Ronnie made quite a few dumb choices that could have easily been avoided, especially since she seemed like a smart girl.

CHARACTERS: This book needed a lot more character development, but what I read about the characters I did like, I just wish we had some more. I really liked Tomas. He's that rugged on the outside, mushy on the inside type of person.

COVER: I'm not a huge fan of the cover. It just doesn't grab my attention.