Rating: 
Summary: Just OK...
Review: I usually write my reviews immediately after finishing a book so the story is still fresh in my mind. I finished this book a week ago and since I've already forgotten some of the major plot points I guess I can say I didn't think it was an "amazing" read. The plots of amazing books usually don't slip my mind within a week. Anyway, on to the review..."Drowning Ruth" is a disturbing tale of woman named Amanda who is left to raise her niece Ruth due to the fact that her sister Mattie drowned when Ruth was just a baby. Amanda's character is somewhat emotionally disturbed because she never completely recovered from witnessing Mattie's tragic death. (The story takes place in 1919 and they didn't have Prozac or pop psychology books back then.) The story was somewhat confusing to me because it jumped back and forth chronologically and I had to keep flipping back to remember what had already taken place. I don't particularly like this style of writing. Each chapter is written from a different character's perspective which also added to my confusion. I think the book would have been a smoother read if it were written from just Amanda's point of view. However, the story is gripping and flowed nicely because as the mystery of the drowning unfolds the subplots are interesting and all of the characters are very well developed. This is an excellent FIRST novel. I'm sure we'll see more of Christina Schwartz in the years to come and I only hope her next book is a bit less scattered.
Rating: 
Summary: Simply and beautifully written.
Review: This beauty of this tale is in its telling -- Schwartz's prose is resourceful and exact. Her descriptions contain just enough clues to set her scene and draw her characters, with all the grace and brevity of a poet. Stories of family secrets are not uncommon, but this one stands out because of it's creative and thoughtful structure. Schwartz chooses to tell her story in both first and third persons. This is not unusual, but her reasons for doing so are not apparent until the very end. I found myself thinking the tale could have been told quite neatly in the third person -- but then there would not have been the dimension of doubting the narrative of it's protagonist, Amanda. The special quality of this book is that you are never quite sure (until the end) if you are being given the real facts of the story. You know Amanda has spent time in a mental hospital, but then she is telling most of the tale. By using the device of switching back and forth between persons, you are able to discern the real plot as well as gain a deeper understanding of its characters. My only complaint is that the structure could have been even more subtle. When the person switches -- often in mid narrative -- it is headed by the name of the character recounting the story, mostly Amanda. Only in a few instances is another character allowed their say. So, as you are reading, you will encounter the name "Amanda" in large italics (denoting her narrative), a single line of empty space (denoting a section of third-person narrative), then more "Amanda". As the author's intentions are not clear before the last page, her reasons for this odd structure will seem elusive and often irritating. Stick with it though. The story wraps up beautifully. This is an impressive first novel, and I expect many more from this talented writer.
Rating: 
Summary: An amazing novel
Review: Drowning Ruth was a fast-paced, captivating, and somewhat haunting story about love and loss and what these sentiments make human beings capable of. Christina Schwarz does a nearly flawless job of weaving the story together and keeping her audience intrigued throughout the novel. With fascinating characters, a riviting first line, and her captivating writing style, Schwarz introduces her readers to a world that will remain in your imagination long after you've read the last page of the book.
Rating:
Summary: Great Read!
Review: I absolutely loved this book especially the last two chapters. Well written, a page turner.
Rating:
Summary: What did I miss?
Review: I can't believe there was so much hype about this book. I was ready to drown myself if this book didn't get to some sort of point. It was well written, but just not very interesting I'm sorry to say...
Rating:
Summary: Good first try for Christina Schwarz
Review: After several years of nursing soldiers wounded in war, Amanda Starkey comes home to live with her sister, Mathilda, and 3-year-old niece, Ruth. Seems innocent enough until that one fateful night... Drowning Ruth is surely a page-turner although the pace of the storytelling is very deliberate and gradual. Ms. Schwarz doles out bits of the mystery like breaking off pieces of a brownie--you want to eat the whole thing at once although you know it is better to savor each morsel. It takes the span of the entire novel before we finally learn the truth about the drowning of Mattie Neumann, so to those who like their mysterys in big, heaping gulps, be prepared. I was truly captivated by the plotline even though it took me several chapters to get it together. The flashbacks were a little hard to get used to and it took much concentration at times to keep everything in chronological order. However, this novel is definitely a readable piece of work, and I love how the writing leisurely builds up to the climacteric finish.
Rating:
Summary: EXCELLENT PLOT, ALTHOUGH CONFUSING
Review: This first novel by Christina Schwarz grabbed my interest before the end of the first page. By the end of the first chapter, I had slid to the edge of my seat and stayed there until the end. The reason I didn't give this book five stars is because it was often confusing to follow. The author kept going back and forth between the past and the present, and sometimes I had to retrace my steps to make sure I had a handle on what was happening to which characters and when. Usually, when I get a book that does that, I take it back to the library, but in this instance, the plot thickened with every page, and I could not put it down. The book built up to an almost unbearable climax, but it didn't end the way I expected it to, which was a bit of a letdown. Nevertheless, I am now looking forward to a second novel by Christina Schwarz. She certainly knows how to weave a tale of great suspense.
Rating:
Summary: Characters Create Suspense in Drowning Ruth
Review: The opening line of Drowning Ruth, "Ruth remembered drowning," sets a suspensful tone which stays strong throughout the novel. Though the author gives away a little too much about the mystery contained in her plot, she reveals just enough about her characters to keep the reader interested and turning pages. The characters themselves create the suspense as they "talk" to the reader through first-person narration; and always, always, they leave the reader with the sense that there is "something more to know" about them. Each of the main characters, Amanda, Ruth and Carl, have an air of mystery about them. They hold secrets that compel the reader to keep reading in order to find out what makes these characters tick. Drowning Ruth is a worthwhile read for many reasons, not the least of which is the author's (different) approach to creating suspense, despite the fact that nothing suspenseful is really happening to her characters.
Rating:
Summary: Drowning Ruth . . .Surfacing Truth
Review: Christina Schwarz offers a dynamic mystery story about choices and consequences. At times the writing was reminiscent of Margaret Atwood's "Cat's Eyes" in that there are a few people's lives that are woven together so delicately yet so profoundly. I can't write much about the plot without sharing elements of surprise. I can share with you one of my favorite quotes from a very minor character in the story:" (Arthur) had a sense that there might also exist some entirely different destination, one that he couldn't yet see but which lay just beyond the obscuring undergrowth of long habit and expectations, troubled him and kept him from moving forward. He had no idea how to hack through that foliage, no whether whatever he uncovered would please him, but neither did he want to follow blindly the manicured course on which his feet were already set." This speaks with a beautiful metaphor of how hard it is to truly live a life free of habit and expectation--it is no easy journey!
Rating:
Summary: An Entertaining First Novel
Review: Chosen as an "Oprah's Book Club" selection, this well written first book by Christina Schwarz is a mysterious tragedy that slowly reveals itself as the book unfolds.Told in both the first and third person narrative,what happens to Amanda Starkey, her sister Mathilda, and Mathilda's daughter Ruth, become the backbone for a web of secrets that ultimately could ruin all their lives. To tell too much would give away crucial plot points, and considering the ending of the book doesn't come as much of a surprise, the less you know going in the better. I will say the story is rich in atmosphere, with vivid descriptions of the cold Nagawaukee Lake winters. It's also quite a well structured narrative, even if the payoff isn't as satisfying as I would of liked.
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