Riverland

Gorgeous. Dark. Dread-filled. Beautifully written. Full of terrible truths, different kinds of magic, and the real complexities of sisterly love - and a hard-won hope by the end. To be entirely (embarrassingly) honest, I found it painful to read because ever since I had kids of my own, I've gotten m......more

This was a hard book to follow. The fantasy part was confusing. The heart of the story was in the love that sisters Eleanor and Mike shared for each other. There is violence among the parents, but the girls find safety for themselves. They both have good friends and there are adults along the way th......more

Eleanor and Mike Prine are sisters who live in the oldest house in Riverland, the riverside development—estuarial, even, as it's very close to the sea—for which their father Simon is very close to closing a major land deal. Riverland is much more than that, though, as the Prine sisters soon discover......more

This was cute. 12 year old me would probably have loved it--it's like the "12 year old girl's story checklist": best friends, ponies, dreams, and magic. A couple decades later, I think it was strong but not perfect. CONTENT WARNING: (view spoiler)[ Domestic abuse, child abuse, gaslighting. (hide spoiler)] Things to love: -The siste......more

"Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way." - Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy My reaction to this book is deeply personal. From its opening passages, which I found excruciatingly familiar, I felt a kinship with the rituals of safety- the house rules, and the magic that......more