Child of the River

Child of the River
Author: Irma Joubert
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Total Pages: 417
Release: 2016-10-18
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0718083091

A timeless coming-of-age tale of heartbreak and triumph set in South Africa at the dawn of apartheid. Persomi is young, white, and poor, born the middle child of illiterate sharecroppers on the prosperous Fourie farm in the South African Bushveld. Persomi’s world is extraordinarily small. She has never been to the local village and spends her days absorbed in the rhythms of the natural world around her, escaping the brutality and squalor of her family home through the newspapers and books passed down to her from the main house and through her walks in the nearby mountains. Persomi’s close relationship with her older brother Gerbrand and her fragile friendship with Boelie Fourie—heir to the Fourie farm and fortune—are her lifeline and her only connection to the outside world. When Gerbrand leaves the farm to fight on the side of the Anglos in WWII and Boelie joins an underground network of Boer nationalists, Persomi’s isolated world is blown wide open. But as her very small world falls apart, bigger dreams open to her—dreams of an education, a profession, a native country that values justice and equality, and of love. As Persomi navigates the changing landscape around her—the tragedies of war and the devastating racial strife of her homeland—she finally discovers who she truly is, where she belongs, and why her life—and every life—matters. The English language publication of Child of the River solidifies Irma Joubert as a unique and powerful voice in historical fiction. “Filled with lessons of grace and love, Child of the River is a story that reminds us all to hold steady through life’s most fragile hours.” —Julie Cantrell, New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author of Perennials

The River Child

The River Child
Author: Jo Tuscano
Publisher: Odyssey Books
Total Pages: 283
Release: 2021-11-17
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1922311480

Standing beside Elise’s grave, Siobhan Montrell remembers how her mother finally blew the perfect smoke ring on the day that Elise disappeared. Remembers the day that would change and define her life forever. The toddler's body was found in the river near Gables Guesthouse. Only eleven years old at the time, Siobhan has carried the guilt of Elise’s death with her since that day. Twenty-eight years later, Siobhan returns to Rachley Island, having inherited Gables -- guesthouse and family home -- from her aunt. Cleaning the property to prepare it for sale, she discovers an old book in which her aunt used to draw and write, revealing the truth about the tragic drowning. The River Child is a tale of grief and guilt, deceit and secrets, and ultimately forgiveness.

Child of the River

Child of the River
Author: Paul J. McAuley
Publisher:
Total Pages:
Release: 1999
Genre: Heroes
ISBN:

Found, as a baby, in a boat on the Great River and raised by an obscure bureaucrat, Yama becomes a clerk in Confluence's vast civil service. There he attracts the attention of schemers who have discovered that he is able to control the machines which maintain the fabric of the world. In order to reconcile his human nature with his dangerous powers, Yama must unravel the riddle of his birth.

Crossing the River

Crossing the River
Author: Carol Smith
Publisher: Abrams
Total Pages: 272
Release: 2021-05-04
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1647000963

A powerful exploration of grief and resilience following the death of the author's son that combines memoir, reportage, and lessons in how to heal Everyone deals with grief in their own way. Helen Macdonald found solace in training a wild gos­hawk. Cheryl Strayed found strength in hiking the Pacific Crest Trail. For Carol Smith, a Pulitzer Prize­ nominated journalist struggling with the sudden death of her seven-year-old son, Christopher, the way to cross the river of sorrow was through work. In Crossing the River, Smith recounts how she faced down her crippling loss through reporting a series of profiles of people coping with their own intense chal­lenges, whether a life-altering accident, injury, or diag­nosis. These were stories of survival and transformation, of people facing devastating situations that changed them in unexpected ways. Smith deftly mixes the stories of these individuals and their families with her own account of how they helped her heal. General John Shalikashvili, once the most powerful member of the American military, taught Carol how to face fear with discipline and endurance. Seth, a young boy with a rare and incurable illness, shed light on the totality of her son's experiences, and in turn helps readers see that the value of a life is not measured in days. Crossing the River is a beautiful and profoundly moving book, an unforgettable journey through grief toward hope, and a valuable, illuminating read for anyone coping with loss.

The Crooked Path

The Crooked Path
Author: Irma Joubert
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Total Pages: 414
Release: 2017-11-07
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0718098188

From the bestselling author of The Girl From the Train, comes another compelling coming of age story of delayed love, loss, and reconciliation in WWII-era South Africa. Lettie has always felt different from and overshadowed by the women around her– this friend is richer, that friend is more beautiful, those friends are closer. Still, she doesn’t let this hold her back. She works hard to apply her mind, trying to compensate for her perceived lack of beauty with diligent academic work and a successful career as a doctor. She learns to treasure her friendships, but she still wonders if any man will ever return her interest. Marco’s experience in the second world war have robbed him of love and health. When winters in his native Italy prove dangerous to his health even after the war has ended, he moves to South Africa to be with his brother, husband to one of Lettie’s best friends. Marco is Lettie’s first patient, and their relationship grows as she aids him on the road back to restored health. In the company of beloved characters from The Child of the River, Marco and Lettie find a happiness that neither of them thought possible. With that joy comes pain and loss, but Lettie learns that life—while perhaps a crooked path—is always a journey worth taking.

Crooked River

Crooked River
Author: Douglas Preston
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Total Pages: 392
Release: 2020-02-04
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 153874726X

From the #1 New York Times bestselling authors: Racing to uncover the mystery of several severed feet found floating in the Gulf of Mexico, Agent Pendergast is faced with the most inexplicable challenge of his career. A startling crime with dozens of victims. Appearing out of nowhere to horrify the quiet resort town of Sanibel Island, Florida, dozens of identical, ordinary-looking shoes float in on the tide and are washed up on the tropical beach—each one with a crudely severed human foot inside. A ghastly enigma with no apparent solution. Called away from vacation elsewhere in the state, Agent Pendergast reluctantly agrees to visit the crime scene—and, despite himself, is quickly drawn in by the incomprehensible puzzle. An early pathology report only adds to the mystery. With an ocean of possibilities confronting the investigation, no one is sure what happened, why, or from where the feet originated. And they desperately need to know: are the victims still alive? A worthy challenge for a brilliant mind. In short order, Pendergast finds himself facing the most complex and inexplicable challenge of his career: a tangled thread of evidence that spans seas and traverses continents, connected to one of the most baffling mysteries in modern medical science. Through shocking twists and turns, all trails lead back to a powerful adversary with a sadistic agenda and who—in a cruel irony—ultimately sees in Pendergast the ideal subject for their malevolent research.

Stones from the River

Stones from the River
Author: Ursula Hegi
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 528
Release: 2011-01-25
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1439144761

From the acclaimed author of Floating in My Mother’s Palm and Children and Fire, a stunning story about ordinary people living in extraordinary times—“epic, daring, magnificent, the product of a defining and mesmerizing vision” (Los Angeles Times). Trudi Montag is a Zwerg—a dwarf—short, undesirable, different, the voice of anyone who has ever tried to fit in. Eventually she learns that being different is a secret that all humans share—from her mother who flees into madness, to her friend Georg whose parents pretend he’s a girl, to the Jews Trudi harbors in her cellar. Ursula Hegi brings us a timeless and unforgettable story in Trudi and a small town, weaving together a profound tapestry of emotional power, humanity, and truth.

Over the River and Through the Wood

Over the River and Through the Wood
Author: Lydia Marie Child
Publisher: Macmillan
Total Pages: 36
Release: 1999-09-15
Genre: Juvenile Nonfiction
ISBN: 9780805063110

In this hilarious modern spoof of a favorite holiday song, the trip to Grandfather's house is no peaceful sleigh ride!

What Is a River?

What Is a River?
Author: Monika Vaicenavičiene
Publisher: Enchanted Lion Books
Total Pages: 48
Release: 2020-02-12
Genre: Juvenile Nonfiction
ISBN: 9781592702794

A river is a thread, embroidering our world. This non-fiction picture book brings attention to the rivers that stitch and thread our world together.