Rating: 
Summary: Great story of love and secrets...
Review: "Drowning Ruth" really makes you think about how humans react to tragedy and stresses in their lives and the effect their reactions can have on other people. Amanda couldn't have known that her secret would have the outcome that it did, but she had to live with the consequences nonetheless. It really makes you think about the ramifications of the actions you take in your own life.I loved the imagery in this book - you can almost feel the cold, dampness of the Wisconsin farm. Living in the Milwaukee area, I know the kind of winters she describes and can imagine the gray bleakness over the entire story. The water imagery is the other thing that struck me about this story. Water has been long used as a symbol of birth. In this case, it was death that was associated with the water but also a strange kind of birth - the birth of how Amanda and Ruth's lives would be forever changed and played out. It's definitely worth the read!!
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.
Rating: 
Summary: ----- What Secrets We Keep ------
Review: Loved this book! First off, great book to read in the dead of winter. Curl up & get comfy 'cause it gets your attention.
Schwarz switches from the past back to the present a lot, so once you have that down, it's easy to become absorbed within.
The characters are so true to form for this near-turn-of-the-century tale that you seem to walk among them! The secrets they hold shed light on what it was like living during that era, especially as a woman. Yet, just the same, it reminded me of the common bonds that all women share. The emotions were shockingly real & raw at times.
And please, don't be fooled by that title. I was intrigued by it, but I think some might shy away from it because of the title. This is not some antique horror tale.
Take some time to escape with this wonderful author! Her style is creepingly effective throughout! You'll see!!
Rating:
Summary: Did Ruth really drowned?
Review: This book grabbed my attention the minute I read the title..."Drowning Ruth"...no...that looks like a sad and morbid story...ok, pick it up, what does it say on the back cover? "A gripping psycholigical thriller... In the winter of 1919, a young mother named Mathilda Neumann drowns beneath the ice of a rural Winsconsin lake. The shock of her death dramatically changes the lives of her daughter, troubled sister, and husband..."
-Francine Prose, Us Weekly Even after reading that, I still didn't like the title, yet...the red letters on the cover kept calling my name, so after almost an hour I bought it!... I'm so happy I did!!... It was no mistake!!! This is an excellent book, and took me only three days to read. I could barely put it down, and it is the type of book that stays in your mind all through the day, even while you are doing other things. It is honestly hard to believe that this is the first book of Christina Schwarz, because she is amazing!... She manages beautifally to develop the story from very different points of view, bringing the characters to life, and to go back and forth in history without causing confussion, and if you add to that the incredibly well developed characters and a simply but magnificent story line.... you can only take your hat off and applaud!!.... I loved it so much I'm buying more copies to give away... I really want her to write many more books! Ok... enough about what I thought... let's talk about the story. It starts in 1919, told by Amanda, or Aunt Mandy as Ruth would call her, on the night when Mathilda, Ruth's mother and Amanda's sister dies. Aunt Mandy has no choice but to take care of Ruth, and raise her, until Ruth is old enough to start asking, remembering and finding out the secrets that surround her mother's death, and Aunt Mandy's obession with her. Ok... I won't tell you more, just that I highly recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: Haunting read
Review: Though it tends to interweave the main characters among themselves, Schwartz did a wonderful job keeping the thread of the story intact throughout the book. It is a delightful, quick read ~~ I read it in one day. Ruth and Amanda are the main characters in this book. Ruth lost her mother at a young age to drowning, and Amanda is her aunt, who raised her from toddler on. This story is about their relationship and how love can be too smothering at times. There is also a mystery woven throughout the book as well, just exactly how did Ruth's mother drown ~~ when she was an agile swimmer? This book keeps you hopping and engrossed ~~ just when you think you can't read another page, you find yourself turning the page just to see what happens next. It is a bittersweet story of a woman growing up and of a woman letting go. Out of all the Oprah's picks I've read lately, this book ranks among the top picks. It is easy to read and it still haunts you after finishing the book. I recommend this book if you're looking for a lighter Oprah read.
Rating:
Summary: A Spellbinding, Depressing Psychological Thriller!
Review: The story of a young girl whose mother mysteriously drowned while her husband was away at war and whose troubled aunt then takes over her upbringing (whew!), "Drowning Ruth" is well-written, enthralling, and...depressing.
I, personally, did not actually like any of the characters in this book except for Ruth and her friends Imogene and Arthur, and all of the characters just seemed so hopeless.
This added to the overall aura of depression that I felt eminated from "Drowning Ruth," but each reader will view its premise quite differently.
Despite its depressing nature, "Drowning Ruth" was an excellent psychological thriller, especially toward the end. The characters were fully and well developed, and the storyline was complicated yet extremely interesting.
"Drowning Ruth" is extraordinarily haunting, perhaps even causing readers to evaluate their own lives and relationships, as well as their deepest secrets.
I found that the changes in tense intensified my interest in the book, as I learned more about the past but could also keep track of what was going on in the book's present time.
This is one book readers will likely not want to put down. I'd highly recommend it.
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Summary: Couldn't put the book down!!!!
Review: I thought this book was brilliant. The character development made you feel like you actually knew Ruth and Amanda. I am an avid reader and it is one of the best books I have read in a long time.
Rating:
Summary: ----- What Secrets We Keep ------
Review: Loved this book! First off, great book to read in the dead of winter. Curl up & get comfy 'cause it gets your attention.
Schwarz switches from the past back to the present a lot, so once you have that down, it's easy to become absorbed within.
The characters are so true to form for this near-turn-of-the-century tale that you seem to walk among them! The secrets they hold shed light on what it was like living during that era, especially as a woman. Yet, just the same, it reminded me of the common bonds that all women share. The emotions were shockingly real & raw at times.
And please, don't be fooled by that title. I was intrigued by it, but I think some might shy away from it because of the title. This is not some antique horror tale.
Take some time to escape with this wonderful author! Her style is creepingly effective throughout! You'll see!!
Rating:
Summary: A Thrilling Story!
Review: Eerie, suspenseful and page turning! I could not put this book down. Thw words flow so well, allowing you to visualize the characters, the landscape, everything described in the book! The story itself is unusual and keeps you wanting more with each page you read.
Rating: 
Summary: The Most Inane Drivel
Review: (...) I had very low expectations for DROWNING RUTH, (...)but even those very low expectations didn't come close to being fulfilled. I saw DROWNING RUTH in an airport bookshop and, being able to make up my own mind about books, (...), I bought DROWNING RUTH because the cover blurb made it sound interesting. I guess I was too preoccupied with my flight (which was going to be a very long one) to realize that editors can make anything, even the most inane drivel, sound interesting. Let's get one thing straight: DROWNING RUTH is certainly NOT a thriller and it's only marginally psychological, if that. (...) As for the "thriller" part, well, this is a book with very little plot and the ending can be predicted almost from page one. I'm not kidding or being nasty. I really don't need a lot of plot in the books I read (...), but I do need complex characters that I want to spend time with and care about, i.e., either love or hate. [This book] doesn't give us either. There is really no one to like and the "bad" guys simply aren't bad enough. (...) If that is what happened (and I have no way of knowing), then it certainly backfired as it almost always does. Readers don't like weak characters be they bad, good or something in between. Structurally, DROWNING RUTH is a mess. (...) transitions from one character to the next, from one time period to the next, are awkward and choppy. (...) flashbacks are terrible. (...) prose is okay, but what plot there is is scattered and trails off into meaningless subplots far too much of the time. I did finish the book, but only because I have a penchant for finishing every book I begin. Honestly (and I really mean this), I found staring out the window of the plane at the black night sky and the blinking red light on the wing of the 767 more interesting. DROWNING RUTH was one of the worst books I've ever read. It has no continuity, no throughline, no one to love or hate and it's dreadfully predictable. (...). Books like this don't do anything but make people mad. Two thumbs and eight fingers down. Way down.
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