The River King

Rating:
Summary: Ultimately unsatisfying
Review: I didn't care for this book. The descriptions of places and the character development in the first half of the book are interesting, but nothing gets resolved! Gus' murder goes unsolved and no one goes to jail for it. Abe the detective was hot on the trail of the killers, but totally changes character at the end of the book and just gives up and runs off with his girlfriend instead of staying put, like he's done all his life, and solving the crime!

The only interesting female character was crusty old Miss Davis, the teacher who's been at the school forever. The other women are flat, indecisive, and uninteresting, although Carlin could grow up to be an adult of character.

I presume Gus is the "River King" of the title, but king in what way? He's just a poor kid who got picked on and was murdered by cruel teenagers with a mob mentality. No one except Carlin seems to miss him, or learn any lessons from his short tragic life.

I really liked "Practical Magic" but I'm wary of reading any other books by Alice Hoffman if they're going to resemble The River King.

Rating:
Summary: wished I waited for the used paperback
Review: ... I found the plot and characters only marginally interesting and the ending rather ho hum for a supposed murder mystery. I guess I am spoiled by my favorite writers... .

Rating:
Summary: Roses, Water, Blood and Redemption
Review: Everytime you open an Alice Hoffman novel, you are taken into a world that is half magic and half horror. Yet through the elements of water and blood and her ever present symbol of love and hope, the rose, she weaves a tale takes you to another plane where a ordinary old black overcoat becomes a symbol of evil and transforms itself into a symbol of resolution, forgiveness and finally an uneasy solice of a lost soul. In the River King, Ms. Hoffman weaves a tale of past sorrows and cruelties and brings them together in a single resolution. Her clever interweaving of the characters lives is ingenious, yet strangley uncomplicated. You never walk away from an Alice Hoffman book without looking at a rose or an old overcoat without wondering what secret it may hold. Ms. Hoffman gets highest honors for taking us away from the daily commute, the daily grind of working. I only wish it would last longer.

Rating:
Summary: Another good book written by Alice Hoffman.
Review: "The River King" takes place in Massachusetts. Carlin Leander and Gus Pierce are both students at the Haddan School, which is a boarding school. Carlin attends on a swimming scholarship, while Gus, a troubled kid, is sent there by his father. The two meet and become good friends. In the meantime, Carlin starts dating Harry McKenna, a senior with a lot of influence on the other students. Other characters are introduced throughout the story, such as Betsy Chase, a woman who is engaged to a man who also works for the school, and Abel Grey, a police officer who becomes interested in Betsy.

One morning, a student's drowned body is found in a river by the school. The school wants to keep the situation quiet, and labels the death an accidental drowning; however, when an autopsy is conducted, the results suggest foul play. Abel ignores the warnings from the school and the police department, and further investigates the situation. He knows that there is a murderer, or murderers, out there, and he wants justice.

"The River King" was well written. The reader will be kept interested throughout the whole book, even though I found that the story picked up speed in the middle. Fans will not be disappointed.

Rating:
Summary: A hauntingly realistic tale
Review: Hoffman writes like one would build a puzzle. Gradually she adds piece by piece of fascinating characters and astonishing plots, until you can see the whole breathtaking picture lying in front of you.

The River King is no exception, with its intriguing story about love, sorrow and evil. The world isn't always as it seems, you never know what lies under the surface, especially not in the shallow waters surrounding the Haddan School. Where an ordinary writer simply would stop at the edge, Hoffman crosses the invisible line and enters the unknown, the world beyond ours. Gus is no longer among the mortals, but he is still at Carlins side, running with her along the river and keeping her safe from harm. And nobody will ever be able to forget Annie, sensing the longing in her heart and the love she gave but never got in return, everytime they pass the beautiful roses she planted in her garden, a long time ago. The scent is enough to make a young girl cry, lying alone in her bed at night.

Every character is drawn so exquisitely, that they become vivid in your imagination, creating a feeling that you know these individuals and every secret thought and craving they so carefully have hidden away.

I really envy Hoffman for her amazing talent in writing spellbounding books that keeps you turning page by page, so eager to find out what will happen next and if everything will turn out right in the end. Of course, it doesn't always. Hoffman does not create predictable, trashy novels where the plot consists of boy meets girl, boy gets girl and nothing more. Like life itself, couples don't always live happily ever after.

Rating:
Summary: Hoffmann at her best!
Review: Having read the majority of Hoffmann's books, I can say for sure that the this is one of her best. Great characters, that develop through the story. The story itself is captivating and it contains all the elements, we love from her books: a hint of magic, love and personality... Absolutely loved it - I wish, Í could read it for the first time again!

Rating:
Summary: River of Sorrows!
Review: Alice Hoffman is a wonderful writer known for her books filled with magical realism, similar to authors like Isabel Allende (House of Spirits) and Laura Esquivel(Like Water for Chocolate). This author also write the book Practical Magic which was made into a movie starring Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman.

And while Alice Hoffman's latest book, The River King, is also filled with imagery and a writer's vivid imagination, as a reader I felt as though something went wrong with this book. And I'm stil not sure what happened since I have always enjoye dHogfman's books mreo than other authors'.

The River King takes place at a boarding school where previously all sorts of strange things have happened. It is a classic tale of the haves and the have nots as students from various backgrounds assmeble the first day. One motherless young man is sent by his father to try and make his way in the world while a young woman,a scholarship student, feels very out of place. The teachers have made their own alliances while the old timers reminisce about the way things use to be. And rounding out the characters are the townspoeple clearly though to be the have nots and yest the ones who are keepers of the Haddan School secrets.

What a young man is found floating in the river, an investigation begins to see, if in fact, he killed himself by drowning or if he was killed. With a cast of interesting and eccentric charcters, I thought this book would have been as good as some of Hoffman's other titles. Unfortunately, nothing in this book really grabbed me or caused me to gulp it down. Also, the topic wasn't that new or or presented in a fresh manner that I finsihed it with that feeling that I was sad it ended.Ultimately I was left disappointed in the plot and outcome.

If you're interested in reading Hoffman books which will captivate you then do read Turtle Moon, Practical Magic or Local Girls. These titles are among the very best I've read from her so far. And luckily, I still have quite a few titles left to read.

Rating:
Summary: a disappointment
Review: I've read and greatly enjoyed many of Hoffman's other novels, but here I found one plot point impossible to get past. A boy sporting virtually every one of the signs of a Youth in Crisis, (in a black trench coat, no less!), comes forward to report abuse and nobody takes him seriously? After Columbine? This was hard to swallow.

As for the rest, the descriptions (as usual) were beautiful, but there were just too many characters whose stories weren't woven together enough for me to sustain interest in them. Keeping the focus on Betsy Chase, Abel or Carlin might have helped. As it is, Elizabeth George's mystery "Well Schooled in Murder," tells a very similiar story and does it better.

Rating:
Summary: Not her best.
Review: I love the way Alice Hoffman writes. Her phrasing is lyrical, her scenes vivid and evocative. Her characters are usually well drawn. However, this book was not her best. I came away feeling that there were just too many ideas or themes floating around in this book, none of them in any depth. The characters just did not feel fully fleshed out. The writing style, as always, is beautiful, though. You can picture the town and the school and especially the river. I just felt that the characters were lacking. The one character, Gus, seemed to be the most interesting, and he wasn't in the story for long. Alice Hoffman always does young people, especially troubled young people, very well. Her young people really ring true. She also does a certain type of man very well, and older women, especially those with a past. All of these are her strong suits. But adult women seem to be her weak point. Betsy in this book really is not believable. Maybe it's because we don't really get to know her. As I said, I love Alice Hoffman's style and always look forward to her books. This just wasn't her best. Try "Turtle Moon" or "Second Nature" for good, believable characters, and good plot.

Kathleen

Rating:
Summary: Too Cruel
Review: I've loved every Alice Hoffman book I've ever read and waited with anticipation until this one was shipped.

Unfortunately I almost did not finish it. Something about Gus touched me and when the river king was discovered I was devastated. So much so that I skipped ahead in the book to see what had truly happened. At that point I put the book on the shelf and left it there for over a week.

Thinking surely that justice would prevail I went back only to be disappointed. The magic of Alice Hoffman could not overcome the cruelty Gus endured. Nothing about the book could overshadow the hazing that took the life of a teenager struggling as so many do through that period of their life.

Maybe Ms. Hoffman wanted to shock, if so she succeeded, but this time I was disappointed more than anything.