August 1, 2022
River's bad day leads to a life-changing summer and brighter future. Near the end of seventh grade, River has a terrible day. Her best friend, Emi, dumps her because of their socio-economic differences: Sunny, River's single mom, is a bar waitress who often works nights, and River can't afford to pay her way when she's with Emi's wealthy family. Then Principal Martinez, worried about River's frequent absences, makes a home visit--but unreliable Sunny is a no-show. Fed up, River runs away. Although Sunny never discusses her family, she's kept a letter sent from Great Bear Island, so River heads there. By unbelievable chance, when she arrives, she's mistaken for Liv, a high school student who had accepted, then rejected, a job at the Great Bear Lodge run by Sunny's sister, Jemma. To give herself time to assess her newfound family, River assumes Liv's identity, saying she changed her mind about working there. No sooner has River come to love her relatives, their Norwegian and Tsimshian heritage, and the island, than Sunny shows up to drag her home. All seems lost until a lottery ticket given to River by a stranger wins! Descriptions of island life are captivating, and likable River narrates with spirit and honesty. Wishful thinkers will buy into her story despite the many times they must suspend disbelief, including the unconvincing change in Sunny after the windfall. Names cue some diversity in the cast. Implausible but dreamy. (Fiction. 10-14)
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October 3, 2022
Thirteen-year-old River Ryland’s life “has pretty much been chaos from day one”; her mother Sunny works late as a waitress and goes out on the weekends, and their trailer often lacks basic necessities. After a friend distances herself from River (“You always need rides. You never have any money”), the teen finds an eviction notice on the trailer’s front door, and a visit from the assistant principal results in the authorities being called. Taking matters into her own hands, River runs away, heading north from her Seattle-area home to Great Bear, a remote island in the fjords, where the maternal aunt she’s never met runs a lodge with few amenities. Posing as a 16-year-old summer worker, River gets to know her Norwegian and Tsimshian family’s history, and develops a deep connection to the spectacular nature around her. After her mother shows up to take her home, a sudden reversal of fortune offers River the chance to decide whom she is and where she belongs. Through River’s candid voice, Shull (Bounce) intersperses sometimes unbelievable plot twists with languorous descriptions of the natural world, organically exploring themes of environmentalism and human connection. Ages 10–14.