Rating: 
Summary: Innocent Until Proven Guilty
Review: "The people saying she watch the baby drown to get the chance to go a foreign." In Donna Hemans' debut novel RIVER WOMAN, the townspeople of Standfast, Jamaica cry in outrage as 20 year-old mother Kelithe Williams remains free after she allegedly observed her three-year old son, Timothy, drown in the Rio Minho River. Set in a rural community of Jamaica, the citizens of Standfast (stand fast) mourn, riot, protest and in some instances attempt to stone the main character Kelithe, in order to receive justice for a crime they feel has been committed. Kelithe's mother, Sonya receives news in Brooklyn, NY of her
grandson's tragic demise and her daughter's rumored
incrimination. It has been fifteen years since she last laid eyes on her daughter with a promise of "soon-soon I come for you." Three weeks before Timothy's death, Sonya sends for Kelithe, but with one exception; Timothy must stay behind. With searing questions, Sonya returns to her homeland-to bury a grandchild she never knew and face a daughter she abandoned
long, long ago. We read Kelithe's painful story as she sorrowfully retreats within herself, never fully mourning the loss of her beloved son, and Sonya's quest for answers as the "country women" relate the purported crime. What really happened that day at the Rio Minho River? Could a mother be guilty of such an act? Could Sonya be partly to blame? RIVER WOMAN is a mesmerizing narrative, filled with heartrending emotion of a child's endless quest for her mother's love and
acceptance, and a community's cry for justice . Donna Hemans
expertly intertwines Jamaica's patois with folklore adding credence to this fascinating tale. At times, I found myself laying the book aside as I shed tears of sorrow for the main character, and outrage at a mother's lack of solace. Donna Hemans has placed her mark in literary fiction with this lyrical debut novel! Reviewed by Nicki Lancaster
APOOO BookClub
Rating:
Summary: Innocent Until Proven Guilty
Review: "The people saying she watch the baby drown to get the chance to go a foreign." In Donna Hemans' debut novel RIVER WOMAN, the townspeople of Standfast, Jamaica cry in outrage as 20 year-old mother Kelithe Williams remains free after she allegedly observed her three-year old son, Timothy, drown in the Rio Minho River. Set in a rural community of Jamaica, the citizens of Standfast (stand fast) mourn, riot, protest and in some instances attempt to stone the main character Kelithe, in order to receive justice for a crime they feel has been committed. Kelithe's mother, Sonya receives news in Brooklyn, NY of her
grandson's tragic demise and her daughter's rumored
incrimination. It has been fifteen years since she last laid eyes on her daughter with a promise of "soon-soon I come for you." Three weeks before Timothy's death, Sonya sends for Kelithe, but with one exception; Timothy must stay behind. With searing questions, Sonya returns to her homeland-to bury a grandchild she never knew and face a daughter she abandoned
long, long ago. We read Kelithe's painful story as she sorrowfully retreats within herself, never fully mourning the loss of her beloved son, and Sonya's quest for answers as the "country women" relate the purported crime. What really happened that day at the Rio Minho River? Could a mother be guilty of such an act? Could Sonya be partly to blame? RIVER WOMAN is a mesmerizing narrative, filled with heartrending emotion of a child's endless quest for her mother's love and
acceptance, and a community's cry for justice . Donna Hemans
expertly intertwines Jamaica's patois with folklore adding credence to this fascinating tale. At times, I found myself laying the book aside as I shed tears of sorrow for the main character, and outrage at a mother's lack of solace. Donna Hemans has placed her mark in literary fiction with this lyrical debut novel! Reviewed by Nicki Lancaster
APOOO BookClub
Rating:
Summary: Great Style
Review: I had the opportunity to hear Ms. Hemans read from her work before publication and could hardly wait for this book to be published. This is the sort of book that deserves a wide readership -- a book that is a privilege to read. This is a book about the fundamental issues that make up our lives. A book that makes you look up at the end and see your own world in a whole new way. The characters in RIVER WOMAN are poignant, heartbreaking, yet rendered with such care and so real to the reader that they will resonate with you long after you close the covers. The writing is wise -- gentle in places -- but ultimately as true to itself as the women are to the story. This is a book that should have a wide reach. I hope every opportunity is given to RIVER WOMAN and Ms. Hemans to find the readers this book deserves.
Rating: 
Summary: This book is the Real Thing
Review: I had the opportunity to hear Ms. Hemans read from her work before publication and could hardly wait for this book to be published. This is the sort of book that deserves a wide readership -- a book that is a privilege to read. This is a book about the fundamental issues that make up our lives. A book that makes you look up at the end and see your own world in a whole new way. The characters in RIVER WOMAN are poignant, heartbreaking, yet rendered with such care and so real to the reader that they will resonate with you long after you close the covers. The writing is wise -- gentle in places -- but ultimately as true to itself as the women are to the story. This is a book that should have a wide reach. I hope every opportunity is given to RIVER WOMAN and Ms. Hemans to find the readers this book deserves.
Rating:
Summary: A Beautiful Book
Review: I heard about this book from a friend. I don't know why it isn't getting more publicity: it's absolutely fabulous! From the stunning first chapter, it's impossible to put this novel down. The author's style is poetic without being pretentious, and she's interested in the serious stuff of life: guilt, loneliness, heartbreak, love. I'm recommending this one to my book club!
Rating:
Summary: Riveting!!! Could not put it down.
Review: I think Donna Hemans did a masterful job with this novel. I picked it up and was unable to put it down until I finished it. The storytelling is wonderful and the character portrayal was first-rate. I would recommend this book whole-heartedly. I am looking forward to Donna's next book.
Rating:
Summary: Riveting!!! Could not put it down.
Review: I think Donna Hemans did a masterful job with this novel. I picked it up and was unable to put it down until I finished it. The storytelling is wonderful and the character portrayal was first-rate. I would recommend this book whole-heartedly. I am looking forward to Donna's next book.
Rating:
Summary: A mother's love
Review: Kelithe has always longed for the love and acceptance of her mother and she is doubtful that she will ever get it. Sonya, her mother has moved to America and has promised Kelithe for the last 15 years that she would return to Standfast,the small town in Jamaica where she is from, and whisk Kelithe away for a new life. In the meantime Kelithe is left behind to be raised by her grandmother, who holds a lot of contempt for Sonya and the way that she abandoned her child. Kelithe was once a girl that was filled with hope: she was a good student, she was attending a private and exclusive high school and she had dreams. However, as things go up they must come down. After a romantic encounter with a stranger from America Kelithe finds herself pregnant and scared. She is kicked out of school, and Sonya is forced to return to Jamaica and collect her. Sonya then takes Kelithe back to Standfast to be raised by her grandmother. Sonya is very disappointed and ashamed of her daughter even though she also had a child as a teenager. About 3 years later Sonya decides that it is time for Kelithe to be a part of her life, on one condition Kelithe must leave Timothy her child and Sonya's grandchild behind. This is a decision that Kelithe struggles with, she does not want to do to Timothy what her mother did to her. Unfortunately something happens that makes the decision a moot point. Little,3 year old Timothy is playing in shallow water at the Rio Minho river where his mother and the other women of Standfast are washing clothes. According to the other women Kelithe stood and watched her child die, and these women and other residents of the town are determined that she will not get away with this heinous act. River Woman is a heartbreaking and beautiful novel that tears at your emotions. There is outrage and sadness that you feel towards Kelithe and at the same time you feel contempt for the residents of Standfast because they have come to a decision in their minds that she has committed this horrible crime. This book is an outstanding debut by Donna Hemans and has one of the most beautiful covers that I have ever seen. I look forward to reading more of Donna Hemans work. Reviewed by Simone A. Hawks
Rating:
Summary: Heart-felt
Review: Light a candle, pour yourself a cup of tea and curl up in your favorite spot with this provocative novel. Standfast, Jamaica, the small, spineless community in which this story takes place lacks growth and economic development. Soon after an unfortunate mishap, the demoralized people of this community suddenly began to lash out. Unfortunately, the anger of their present condition is misdirected towards Kelithe, a young grieving mother, who wants more out of life than what Standfast has to offer. The plot thickens upon the arrival of Sonya, Kelithe's estranged mother, who has lived many miles away in America. She returns under the disguise of love as she subliminally began to participate in the public attempts to maliciously ruin Kelithe's character. Years of broken promises from mother to daughter test the strength of maternal love in a relationship that was abandoned by 'soon-soon' promises and a new family in America. The author uses many metaphorical themes that may be used to conclude several questions of "why". "Did she or did she not?" "Why did she or why didn't she?" are questions that will continue to probe the readers' thoughts as the pages are turned. River Woman is written with richness and delicacy. This novel has such a rhythm that keeps its pace consistent through out the pages.
Rating:
Summary: Forced Into Action
Review: River Woman is a haunting account at one woman's pain of lost love and an entire town's pain of justice denied. Kelithe is a nineteen year old woman whose son, Timothy, drowns in the Rio Minho River as his mother washed laundry. The other women at the river say that Kelithe stood by and let her son drown so that she could go "foreign" with her mother; a mother that left her in Standfast, Jamaica fifteen years prior. Enter Sonya, Kelithe's mother, who arrives back in Standfast for the wake. Kelithe denies her role in her son's drowning, while Sonya contemplates her daughter's role by shifting back and forth between blaming and not blaming her and listening to the natives' account of the drowning. The uniqueness of this story comes in the form of Kelithe and Sonya's contemplation through the reader only. Never do they deny or blame each other verbally for the drowning, the love denied, the false promises or the betrayal. The river and river women are symbolic as they represent all that Standfast has endured since Sonya was a young girl in Standfast and before. This incident forces the town into action and produces emotions that the island of Jamaica has never seen by the residents of Standfast. Written in a very lyrical tone, River Woman is a novel that will have you contemplating the ramifications of Sonya's actions fifteen years prior and her actions in the present. This is a sad account that leaves you wondering what exactly happened at the river that day and why.
Reviewed by Dawn R. Reeves, Apooo BookClub
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