Rating: 
Summary: Unexpected Treat
Review: To be honest, I thought I would be doing my duty as a young Black American by reading a book of this genre: Black historical fiction, Black author, difficult time period, yada yada yada. I like to do that to help me be patient with the state of this country.I was pleasantly suprised at how I just fell in live with this book. I fell in love little Johnny and the Miller ladies. It made me really think about my own life and how blessed I should feel that I can walk the streets today and "swim" where ever I'd like. It helped me appreciate the fact that I have a job and get to come home to my husband at night, as opposed to having a "live in" job. A really quick read and very consistant with other historical and historical fiction pieces I have read of this time period. The Author's research was impeccable and th story line intriguing. This book was a blessing all 'round and I feel I was truly improved by it.
Rating:
Summary: GOOD PICK OPRAH
Review: I enjoyed this novel for a number of different reasons. Although I thought the description on the back of the book was misleading, I enjoyed it nonetheless. Typically when reading stories about African Americans and their lives and struggles in the early 1900's, authors have a tendency to highlight the negative and downplay the positive. This often leads to a true yet dpressing reflection of the lives of Blacks at that time. I found this book refreshing in that it dealt more with the positive aspects of this lives of the characters notwithstanding the racism that they dealt with on a daily basis. The description of the lives of these characters was not oppressive. Although the characters were aware and subject to the overt racism on a daily basis, they appeared to rise above it and live their lives with dignity, power, respect and control. The fact that they took control of their lives even in light of the racism was what I enjoyed about the book. More important than that, I felt that the book was more about triumph over tragedy with the river/water being the predominant theme. First, I thought that Johnnie Mae's character was developed in light of the issues dealt with in the novel. She took on the responsibility of caring for and protecting her sister yet was, in her mind, responsibile for the death of her sister. Her feelings about that were real. The best exapmle of that was at the picnic when she was thinking about her little brother and his safety. Equally as important however was her love for the water which was responsible for the death of her little sister. To me, the water signified her greatest joy yet her greatest pain. It was her ability to deal with these conflicting emotions that I found to be the triumph over tragedy. In her mom Alice, I saw the same thing. One daughter loved the river/water and one daughter died in the water. When Alice watched her daughter ( Johnnie Mae) at the competition coupled with her own fear of the water(Alice's) there was a mixture of emotion. Pain and joy. Seeing this young black girl in the 1920's defying the rules and swimming in "White Only" pool was great. To me, this was one of the highlights of the book. She was determined, confident and although there was a "Blacks Only" pool which she enjoyed, she refused to allow society to dictate where she could swin or what she could do. Gotta love that! All in all, I thought the novel was well written and for me, it was a "feel good" book. Of course, like the author, I am a Howard University alumni so maybe I am a little biased.
Rating: 
Summary: _River_...touched my heart
Review: River Cross My Heart touched my heart. I grew up in Washington DC and now I work in Georgetown. I walk the same streets mentioned in the book and took my own 'self-guided walking tour' of Georgetown while I was reading. I believe the focus of this book is Johnnie Mae and her coming of age, not Clara. Johnnie Mae has plenty to deal with such as her slow blooming figure, her longing to swim in the pool, acceptance by her step-father, her own guilt/stress over the death of little Clara, her new friend, Pearl (or the ghost of Clara), and her new baby brother. I think Miss Johnnie Mae Bynum was searching for her niche in the world and she found it through swimming. Unfortunately, her little sister died in the process. This book really hit home for me and touched my heart. It has quickly become a personal classic that I will re-read again and again.
Rating: 
Summary: Not enough depth
Review: Although I enjoyed learning about the life of black people in the early part of the century, I didn't find anything in this book that I could "sink my teeth in to". The relationships of the characters did not seem real. I never "felt" the characters. A good book but I wouldn't recommend it to my friends.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: While River, Cross My Heart brims with metaphorical significance, particularly the many references to the Potomac, the novel would benefit from a more cohesive narrative. In her debut effort, though, Breena Clarke delivers a worthwhile offering. The extensive research into the early African-American community of Georgetown is resoundingly evident, as the streets come alive. Moreover, the confident manner in which Clarke explores Johnnie Mae's inner turmoil will resonate for anyone who has had to cope with loss.
Rating:
Summary: A Good Read
Review: This book is good. It is well written, but it doesn't have much substance...Good for people who have short attention spans.
Rating: 
Summary: An Easy Read
Review: I bought this book because it was an Oprah book even though I did not know a thing about it. It not only shows how death affects people, it also shows how blacks were treated and how progress was so slow to racial equality. It was an easy read and I would recommend it if you don't mind going though the book quickly. I personally like Tara Road (another Oprah book) a little better because I had a greater attachment with the characters.
Rating:
Summary: An easy read.
Review: If you are looking for an good, easy reading book then I would recommend River, Cross by Heart. It's a sweet story about a young girl named Johnnie-Mae, growing up in Georgetown around the 1920's. Her younger sister, Clara, is her resonsibility. Clara drowns in the first chapter of the book. Johnnie-Mae feels responsible because she should havve been watching her closer and she feels haunted by her sister death. It's a sweet story. It is also very short. It is the type of book to bring on vacation to read while ypu are relaxing. If you like more complicated books then I would not recommend this.
Rating:
Summary: Huh?
Review: A most disappointing read, this book is not what it purports to be: "the effects of a young girl's tragic death on the people she left behind." In fact, one can't quite discern exactly what the book is about (or what it wants to be). All in all, I am inclined to think that Ms. Clarke was in a schizophrenic frame of mind when she wrote this book. It's fragmented, disjointed, and all over the place. One does not have to be an adept literary critic to see the shortcomings in this book: meaningless subplots, random events, underdeveloped characters, no focus. In all, a jigsaw puzzle with one too many pieces missing. And all this is too bad as this book has terrific potential. Ms. Clarke is a good writer and one does get some insight into black Georgetown of the 1920s. But even that is not in any great depth. A more appropriate name for the book would have been: "A brief look at lots of black folks & Johnnie Mae's fondness for swimming."
Rating:
Summary: Good read
Review: This book is a quick and very interesting read. I think that the author does a good job of describing Georgetown in 1929. I do not agree with reviews that have said that Clara was "killed" because of racism. Clara was a 6 year old girl who died tragically...no doubt about that. But she could have died at the "white" pool just as easily...she was a little girl who slipped on a log. She could have also slipped on the side of a pool. This story should be read more deeply than a story of a drowning and I think that the author does that in a very simple way. I think that this book provides a good read.
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