River, Cross My Heart: A Novel (Oprah's Book Club) by Breena Clarke Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of River, Cross My Heart: A Novel (Oprah's Book Club)
Book Review: Absolutely a brilliant read, couldn't put it down.
Summary: 5 Stars
This was set in Georgetown, Washington DC and even though I'm not even from the US I'd spent time there and this book caught my eye. A wonderfully told tale about how how family and friends react to the death of a young child. Great first novel.
Book Review: Great storytelling,filled with wisdom.
Summary: 5 Stars
Enjoyed this book, well worth the time. Breena Clarke is an excellent storyteller. "River" is filled with wisdom sayings and reflections on cultural traditions of Blacks from the South. Those insights reflect research done within Breena's family/the kind of listening research that many Blacks fail to do with the elders in their clans. The story of Johnnie Mae is a powerful one with lessons for young and old. I recommend teachers consider this for class assignments. This book will take off with reading clubs.Book Review: Where's the passion?
Summary: 2 Stars
Breena Clarke's portrayal of a family living in 1920s Washington teetered on the edge of being really very interesting, however her style of writing is so bland and wan that we don't venture into truly creative writing. Rather oddly, some of the potential high points in the lives of the characters were summed up in a few paragraphs, whilst mundane events seemed to take centre stage. I very much wanted to root for Johnnie-Mae, but couldn't empathise with the character. It's more Mills & Boon than Toni Morrison.Book Review: Soaked in religion, faith and belief....
Summary: 4 Stars
I picked this book up on a recommendation- i had previously read "Cane River" by Lalita Tademy and "River, Cross you heart" was also on the Oprah book list and I am so glad I purchased this.
From the very first page you are tugged into an emotional rollercoaster- happiness, sadness, loss, crisis of faith- pulling you in different directions in every chapter. Combine all these emotions with the problems of Johnnie Mae- a young, black girl on the cusp of adolesence and you have got a fantastic book.
By the time you reach the end of the book; you feel as if you have invested time in looking after Johnnie Mae in her growing up and her struggling with the death of her sister Clara- to which she feels she played a part in.
Absolutley fantastic. For people who have read "The Lovely Bones" by Alice Sebold- this makes for an interesting contrast.