Current River Redemption

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Summary: Two Young Girls Find Their Redemption
Review:
This story concerns the natural need two young girls share for a life of self determination and to be freed from the hold their past has upon them.

They are heroines worthy of admiration whose struggles and sadnesses I felt strongly.

The girls live in 1917 rural Arkansas with their grandfather whose absorption into his religion makes him blind to the human needs of his family for much of his time. His wife is a cold hearted individual whose real self is hidden from her family, and indeed from herself, for most of the story. When the reality of what she is and what deeds she has done come to known near the story's end, she is proven to be the catalyst who will call much of the needed "redemption" in the title into being. The stoic steadfastness of the girls themselves and the strengths they gain through their own learning bring the rest.

Each time the older of the two girls, Amy, stikes out to begin life anew with courage and hope, she comes to stand against unforseen circumstances which call for all her young life holds in endurance and perserverance; but she prevails just the same to stand proud of her efforts at the end.

Her younger sister Effie has her own cross to bear and to struggle through the difficulties her life presents her to reach a place of peace and hope.

Their story and their struggles are told with sparse narrative comment which therefore allows the scenes and the dialogue to move the pace swiftly; while some descriptions are so apt you will hear those cat fish sizzle as they fry and you will feel what it is to live without so much we just take for granted.

It will be a long time before I forget these young women and the struggles they endured.

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Summary: Enjoyment and reflection in one book.
Review: I not only enjoyed this book, I found it very thought provoking.
The time frame it was written about, and the problems people then faced. It clearly kept my attention, as I finished it quickly.

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Summary: A compelling read that sets you in another era....
Review: I was drawn quickly into the story of Amy and her sister Effie, and found myself on the train, at the doctor's office, and up late at night, racing through it to see what would happen. The story is beautifully written, and Stover has crafted lyrical passages that will impress those who yearn for the literary along with a good yarn. Stover has done a wonderful job capturing another era and culture so that you feel yourself transported as well. I hope to read more of Stover's work in the future, for a first-time novelist, her efforts are well worth your time.

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Summary: Review from Connecticut
Review: It took but only a couple pages into the book to be completely enveloped in this beautifully written story. Stover certainly captures a period of time and culture that is sometimes difficult to understand. Some being the misinterpretations of one's faith and the values that are carried forth with those misinterpretations. Frankly, I couldn't put the book down. It kept me wanting to know what happened next. Can't wait for the next book !