Tuesday, March 19, 2013

The River

Written by Michael Neale
Original Publication Date: 2012
Rating: 3 Stars

Book Notes:
I received this book for free from the publisher, via Netgalley.

Review:
I didn't realize until after I requested the book that this is a novel that is considered religious fiction; the summary gave me no such clue.  I guess I wasn't thrilled when I read that, because while religions all fascinate me, "Religious Fiction" tends to mean a books that "Shove Christianity Down Your Throat."  Luckily, this book really didn't give off that vibe.  It's comparable to how I love Flyleaf - yes, they're technically Christian Metal, but they're not overtly so, and I love them anyway.  Now, I didn't love The River, but it was a nice story.

When Gabriel Clarke was five years old, his father took him out to The River.  A risk taker in a kayak didn't know The River well, and he went over the falls; Gabriel's father jumped in after the man.  The man survived, but Gabe's father never resurfaced.

Gabriel moves out of Colorado and to Kansas where his mother lives, where he struggles to overcome the mental issues that The River instilled in him.  He grows up, damaged, in more ways than a "normal" child, until he rediscovers The River and the healing begins.

Bottom Line:  This was a nice story, though the writing style was fairly simple and nothing terribly special.

2 comments:

  1. I got this book to read/blog about my opinion of it for free via BookSneeze. I didn't realize it was religious fiction either....

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    Replies
    1. I didn't think it was IN YOUR FACE religious fiction, which I was incredibly grateful for. It was more of a "look at the world, isn't it glorious?" spirituality.

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