Rating: 
Summary: Mesmerizing!
Review: Drowning Ruth is an emotional powerhouse of a novel. Schwarz' unique writing style will keep you captivated and captured until the very end. Just as Amanda has done to Ruth, you won't be able to escape! The narrative switches between Amanda and Ruth and this is what keeps us guessing until the very very end. Even though you may think at different times that you know why and how Ruth "drowned", I doubt you'll be able to get it exactly right. Family secrets are powerful, deadly, and life-changing, as Christina Schwarz so aptly demonstrates in her first and wonderful novel. This poignant storyline will make you review your own family's secrets to see how they have affected your decsions and life. This alone makes the book worth reading. But there are many more reasons to buy, borrow, and savor this book!! Keep 'em coming Christina.
Rating: 
Summary: Drowning Amanda
Review: First, let me say that I know alot of people have given this book a great review and that's fine, as everyone has their own opinion and their own take on every book that is read. Personally, I would have liked it if Amanda had drowned instead of her sister. It is hard to read a book where you seriously dislike one of the main characters from the very beginning. And it never gets better, if anything it gets worse. Don't get me wrong, this is a very well written book, which is mandatory for me. However, I found the character of Amanda to be so awful that I have to rate it very low simply because of the intense dislike of her. She is weak, distrustful, manipulative and conniving. This is the first time I have had to rate a book so low simply because of character flaw, but it really distracted me from the rest of the book. I did not like it at all and really wonder why it ever got to be an "Oprah" book.
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.
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