Reviewed by Lynn Bornath on from the hardcover edition, provided by HarperCollins Canada.įind this book at Amazon.ca,,. However, fans of Crow Lake, especially those who liked the feel of the story, will most likely enjoy this book, too.

After River reminded me strongly of Crow Lake at the beginning although the similarities became less noticeable as the book progressed. Waiting to find out why Natalie couldn't bear to be around her family kept me reading much longer than I normally would and the ending was touching and satisfying. It was easy to visualize the Watt farm, the surrounding mountains, the rose garden, the nearby small town of Atwood. The sense of time was good and the sense of place was even better. The characters were interesting, especially Natalie who felt honest and real. The story was good and went in directions I didn't expect. On the long bus ride home, she remembers the events that tore her seemingly perfect family apart. Many years later, Natalie is married for the third time and estranged from her family when she gets a call from Boyer, telling her that their mother is dying. 'And you must be Richard Jordan,' Mom said, her hand still resting in his. Her name slipped from his lips and into the air between us. 'Nettie,' Mom smiled back and took his hand. 'Good afternoon, ma'am,' he said, the 'a' in ma'am stretching out with a hint of a drawl. He set his guitar case down, shrugged the canvas bag from his shoulder, then held his hand out. The stranger smiled as Mom opened the gate, a smile that crinkled into premature crow's feet around those aquamarine eyes. In the summer of 1966, just before Natalie's fifteenth birthday, a young American is hired to work on the Ward farm. She idolizes him and he teaches her to appreciate words and language and books. Of her three brothers, Natalie feels closest to Boyer, the oldest. Her handsome father is the town's milkman and her beautiful mother is loving and devout.

Natalie Ward lives with her family on a dairy farm in the Cascade Mountains.

River donna milner