Die kleine Gemeinde Iola am Gunnison River am Fuße der Berge Colorados Ende der 1940er-Jahre: Auf einer alten, abgeschiedenen Pfirsichfarm lebt die 17-jährige Victoria Nash mit ihrem Vater und ihrem Bruder. Das Schicksal hat es nicht immer gut mit ihr gemeint. Dann kommt der Tag, an dem sie Wilson Moon begegnet und der alles für sie verändert. Victoria ist gezwungen, ihr bisheriges Leben aufzugeben und in die Wildnis zu fliehen.

„So weit der Fluss uns trägt“ ist der Debütroman von Shelley Read.

Meine Meinung:
Nach einem Prolog gliedert sich der Roman in mehrere Teile. Diese wiederum bestehen aus diversen Kapiteln. Die Handlung beginnt 1948 und umspannt einige Jahre. Erzählt wird aus der Ich-Perspektive aus der Sicht von Victoria. Der Aufbau ist unkompliziert und funktioniert prima.

Die Sprache des Romans hat mich auf Anhieb überzeugt. Der Stil ist bildstark, anschaulich und atmosphärisch. Vor allem die Naturbeschreibungen empfinde ich als sehr gelungen.

Die Protagonistin ist ein interessanter und realitätsnaher Charakter. Ich konnte mich gut in ihre Gedanken und Gefühle hineinversetzen. Trotz ihrer anfänglich naiven Art ist sie eine Sympathieträgerin. Auch die übrigen Figuren wirken weitestgehend plausibel.

Inhaltlich handelt es sich vordergründig um eine Liebesgeschichte. Auf den zweiten Blick ist das Themenspektrum weitaus breiter. Die Geschichte beleuchtet Rassismus, Vorurteile, Intoleranz und ähnliche Aspekte. Damit trifft sie den Zeitgeist und macht auf wichtige Probleme aufmerksam. Darüber hinaus spielen Verluste, Zugehörigkeit und andere existenzielle Themen eine Rolle.

Auf den rund 350 Seiten entfaltet sich die Handlung in ruhigem Tempo. Dennoch hat mich die Geschichte bei der Stange halten können.

Das deutsche Cover spricht mich nicht so sehr an wie das der amerikanischen Originalausgabe. Der deutsche Titel ist sinngemäß nah am Original („Go as a River“). Beide Formulierungen passen gut zum Inhalt.

Mein Fazit:
Mit „So weit der Fluss uns trägt“ ist Shelley Read ein empfehlenswerter Roman gelungen. Ein emotional bewegendes, psychologisch ausgefeiltes Debüt.

January has been left a house in Michigan by her late father. She goes up to live in it when she is broke and still is working on her current novel--or rather not working on it. Her next door neighbor is Gus Everett, her rival in college. After taking potshots at each other, they decide to have a contest where he writes a rom-com and she writes a literary novel and see which one can sell theirs first. In the course of their writing, truths come out.

I loved this book! I loved January. I could relate to her as she and Gus have their discussions at the end of their days of writing. I understood her thoughts. I also loved Gus. He is similar to January but his thoughts took on a darker tone. Once January can get him to open up, he reveals a lot to January--things she never expected. I did appreciate their openness when their thoughts and explanations came out. It is rare to have that much communication between characters. His explanation when they went to New Eden was wonderful and swoon-worthy.

I loved the other characters--Pete, Maggie, even Sonya. They are quirky (not Sonya). I was glad when Sonya made January listen to her. So much was said and pain was let go eventually. I wish January's mother had been more open with her earlier so her father's death would not have been a shock.

I liked the humor. There were times I was laughing out loud as I pictured these scenes. The dialog was snappy and snarky (reminds me of the dialog in The Maltese Falcon). This is one of the top books I have read this year. It is wonderful watching a curmudgeon fall in love.

Audience: Grades 4 & up

Format: Audiobook/Library

I shouldn't do it.

- first line

This book is based on a true story of kids that were travelling on the SS City of Benares to Canada to escape the Nazi bombing of London. When the ship is torpedoed, Ken (13) and other survivors are left on Lifeboat 12 in the middle of the ocean. It's the little details in this book that make it so impactful. Ken was supposed to be on a different lifeboat, the young woman who makes up stories for the boys, the one sailor who acts crazy to make everyone laugh.
The story is told in verse, so I recommend reading a written copy more than the audio (or maybe both together). The audio is very well done and I could hear the emphasis and lyricism in the narrator's voice. The story is compelling and shows the importance of believing in yourself and each other and joining together to survive. Highly recommended. A 6-8 Sunshine State nominated book for 2020-21.

Audience: Adult

Format: Hardcover/Owned

Harold opened the door that day to find a dark-skinned man in a well-cut suit smiling at him.

- first sentence

This book was okay. People start returning from the dead, not coming back from the grave, but just appearing in places all over the world. There is no pattern to where they appear or who returns, or how long they've been dead. So many of them come back that the "true living" get nervous. The returned are placed into camps and it just goes downhill from there (as we would expect). Imagine the religious objections, the people who don't accept those who are different, etc.
The book is well-written, but I found it just ok.