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Three Rivers Rising

3.78 of 5 stars 3.78 · rating details · 548 ratings · 169 reviews

Sixteen-Year-Old Celstia spends every summer with her family at the elite resort at Lake Conemaugh, a shimmering Allegheny Mountain reservoir held in place by an earthen dam. Tired of the society crowd, Celestia prefers to swim and fish with Peter, the hotel’s hired boy. It’s a friendship she must keep secret, and when companionship turns to romance, it’s a love that could...more

Paperback, 304 pages

Published September 13th 2011 by Ember (first published April 2nd 2010)

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Jul 09, 2010 Frezanda rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: youngadult, fantasy-scifi-historical, romance, own

I usually don't like to read story written in verses. I gues that's because of my wariness of poetry. This book ....what can I say about this book...There are several point of views in this book. The verses style actually help and improve the feeling and emotion the characters had at that point of time. It's really poignant.

The story is really good but for me the story went from good to awesome when the flood happened. Instead of reading the story, it feels like you saw it. You were in the story...more

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Jun 25, 2011 Emily rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011-reading-challenge, historical-fiction, poetry-verse, ya-fiction, family-stories, love-story

I like novels in verse. I like books told from multiple perspectives. But I don't tend to like books in verse told from multiple perspectives. I find that the free verse doesn't lend itself to establishing different voices for the characters. And that's my major complaint with this book. I found the different stories to be interesting and the historical information at the end to fulfill my requirements--there is a timeline, information on whether characters are real people, modeled after real pe...more

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Apr 04, 2010 Kelsey rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: arcs

I was drawn in by Richards beautiful verse. Her writing style was fabulous and the plot was one I’d never read. Historical fiction is one of my favorite genres, but I’ve never read about the Johnstown Flood. Richards did a great job of tying historical facts in with a variety of sub plots. There were five different narrators which may seem like a lot, but it worked out well. The reader got to see different peoples perspectives of the flood and how their stories tied together. The romance was sw...more I was drawn in by Richards beautiful verse. Her writing style was fabulous and the plot was one I’d never read. Historical fiction is one of my favorite genres, but I’ve never read about the Johnstown Flood. Richards did a great job of tying historical facts in with a variety of sub plots. There were five different narrators which may seem like a lot, but it worked out well. The reader got to see different peoples perspectives of the flood and how their stories tied together. The romance was sweet and honest. Celestia and Peter’s relationship was believable and tugged on the readers heartstrings. When things got tough, I was anxious to find out what would happened next and Three Rivers Rising drew out a variety of emotions from me while reading. The first half of the novel let Celestia and Peter’s relationship develop as well as let the reader better understand all the characters. By the time the flood came I was on the edge of my seat, hoping my favorite characters would come out unscathed. It was a harrowing experience for the reader and I could picture everything that was happening. In the writing style of Ellen Hopkins and Lisa Schroeder, Jame Richards wrote an emotional and powerful debut that combines class tensions, family strife, love, friendship, disease, disaster, hope, death, love, and more. The ending was satisfying but I would love to read more about Celestia and Peter, as well as the other characters, in a future novel, but I think their stories are complete.

To elaborate, the multiple narrations were by Maura, Kate, Celestia, Peter, and Whitcomb. Maura was a young mother struggling to raise four children while her husband worked on the railroad. Her struggles to escape the flood with her family is empowering and awe-inspiring. Kate, a tough nurse, who has already faced death, is a character that meets up with all the other narrators at some point and even saves their lives. Celestia, a “rich” girl struggling to make her family understand her love for the “hired” boy is a great character. She doesn’t care about social class and wants her family to be together more than anything else. Peter, the love interest, is another great character- I loved him myself by the end. He was perfect for Celestia and their romance was well developed and real. Whitcomb, the final narrator, is Celestia’s father. He doesn’t have a huge role until the end, but his heartbreaking narration changes readers opinions of him from the beginning drastically. All in all, Richards did a terrific job of keeping the narrations easy to follow and developed each character perfectly. The reader gets very attached to the characters and they’ll definitely remain in my head for a long time.

The plot was extremely unique. I have never heard of the Johnstown Flood, much less read about it. Richards introduces readers to a time in our countries history rarely mentioned. Although the cast of characters are mainly fictional, she does portray this time in history quite accurately. Three Rivers Rising will attract both reluctant and veteran readers and I am definitely on the Jame Richards bandwagon now, I can’t wait to read more of her novels.

Keep in mind this was written in verse, one of my favorite writing styles and it perfectly fit this novel. The verse style helped capture emotions of the characters even more and made it a fast read. It wasn’t only a quick read because of the verse style, but also because it was hard to put down. By the time the story was going hour by hour on the day of the flood I couldn’t stop reading. I’ve already passed this book onto my mom, and will be sure to recommend it to my friends when it’s released. This is definitely one I’ll be picking up a finished copy of to add to my collection. A debut novel I wasn’t sure about at first, Three Rivers Rising surpassed all my expectations and more.

Overall: 5 out of 5 stars(less)

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Jan 03, 2013 Mrs. S rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2013

I picked up this novel-in-verse on a whim in the bookstore today and read it all in one sitting. Told from several (five, I think?) perspectives, this book does a remarkable job of building a world populated with characters I cared about and then crashing in with the flood waters to tear it all down.

If you're not familiar with the story of the flood (as I was not before I read this book), it's hard to believe. In the mid-1800s, a dam was built to create a reservoir for industrial use, perched o...more I picked up this novel-in-verse on a whim in the bookstore today and read it all in one sitting. Told from several (five, I think?) perspectives, this book does a remarkable job of building a world populated with characters I cared about and then crashing in with the flood waters to tear it all down.

If you're not familiar with the story of the flood (as I was not before I read this book), it's hard to believe. In the mid-1800s, a dam was built to create a reservoir for industrial use, perched on a mountain in rural Pennsylvania. Eventually the reservoir fell out of use and into disrepair. In 1879, it was purchased for use as a stocked fishing lake in what became a private club for wealthy sportsmen. The owner of the club made a few shoddy repairs in order to fill the lake, including several modifications that actually made it moredangerous. When an engineer came from the iron works that made up the backbone of the working class town just down the mountain and declared it unsafe, the owner of the club refused to change it. The iron works offered to pay for the repairs, but the owner couldn't be budged. The dam was so chronically on the verge of breaking that the citizens living below it had long stopped listening when anyone warned that danger was imminent by the time it actually broke in the spring of 1889. Thousands of lives were lost, both in the rushing waters of the flood and trying to survive the aftermath (cold, wet, ruined towns with little food, little heat, and the diseases borne by standing flood waters with no medicine to treat them.) The decisions made to keep a few wealthy people happy devastated several towns--which, of course, because this is the way of things--were all working-class or outright impoverished to begin with.

I found the story of the flood itself utterly fascinating and horrifying, and the author recommends David McCullough's book on the subject, which I may pick up. But the fictional stories woven against the backdrop of the flood were just as compelling. I found that some narrative voices worked better for me than others, especially in the beginning, but by the end of the story I was rooting for each and every one of them. I thought the verse format worked especially well for two of the supporting characters: one, a young woman turned to nursing to dull her pain after the drowning death of her fiance in a shallow stream near her home, the other, the young wife of a railroad worker who is half-married to her, and half-married to his work.

This is a quick read with a story that will sweep you away. It started a little slow for me but give it a chance: while it takes its time setting the stage, I think it's worth it for the investment I felt in the characters once the flood came.(less)

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Sep 30, 2012 Erica rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Three Rivers Rising is a novel written in verse and tells the story of the flood in Johnstown through multiple narrators. Johnstown is settled in the valley below three rivers and is a primarily mining community of working class families. On the hill, the South Fork Dam was built to create a lake for the aristocratic vacationers and members of the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club. Ultimately the flood forces the various narrators to reexamine their own values and perceptions of people living...more Three Rivers Rising is a novel written in verse and tells the story of the flood in Johnstown through multiple narrators. Johnstown is settled in the valley below three rivers and is a primarily mining community of working class families. On the hill, the South Fork Dam was built to create a lake for the aristocratic vacationers and members of the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club. Ultimately the flood forces the various narrators to reexamine their own values and perceptions of people living a few miles away but worlds apart.

Celestia is sixteen when she falls in love with a boy working for the elite hotel. With the genuine threat of being disowned, she hopes their love is enough to endure losing her family and privileged lifestyle. Peter’s father tells him that a relationship with a club member will never withstand the social pressures of their elitist society. So even though he knows it cannot work, he is not prepared for the heartache when her parents forbid Celestia to fraternize with Peter. Maura raises her broad of children mostly alone. She waits for her husband’s train whistle to foreshadow his homecoming, but one day his signal serves as a warning for all of the valley, and Maura must learn to share Joseph. Kate’s husband drowned in 10 inches of water, and, in an effort to forget her would-be life, she becomes a nurse obsessed with creating order out of chaos. Kate could not save Early, and she is required to remember her own tragedy in her effort to save others. Whitcomb loses one daughter when her actions prompt him to banish her in order to save his reputation and status. But when his youngest daughter’s rebellion places her in the path of the flood, Whitcomb must decide whose affection he values more. Their storylines develop and overlap when the dam breaks, and each character faces challenges that force them to cope with his or her past and make decisions that will affect his or her survival.

Each character’s story is compelling and heartbreaking, and although their backgrounds are well developed, voice is sacrificed by the multiple narrator approach. There is not a large distinction between the rhythm and style of each character even though their lifestyle and personalities are clearly varied. Although each character is not granted with a happy ending, there is the theme of hope that seems to suggest a purpose for the disaster. The audience sees love, survival, and faith threatened by social pressures and ultimately rearranged by the force of billions of gallons of water.(less)

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Aug 13, 2012 Rachel rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: want-to-own

I really liked Three Rivers Rising. It's probably going to be one of my favorite books that I've read in 2012. I love that it's historical, that it's sad but not too terribly sad and it's a love story, and it's written in verse. I love the names of the two daughters, Estrella and Celestia. And I love how brave and strong each one of them is. I love how Celestia understands the choices she makes and that they have consequences. I love that they all get happy endings! (Estrella's esp cracks me up!...more

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Jun 27, 2012 Alicia rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historical, novel-in-verse, romance, multiple-voices

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Jun 14, 2012 Ellen rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction

On May 31, 1889 the South Fork Dam in Western Pennsylvania failed causing a torrent of water from Lake Conemaugh (4.8 billion gallons) to rush out in a huge wave, flooding the towns located below the dam, including the populated city of Johnstown, Pennsylvania. It took only 40 minutes for the entire lake to empty, and the disaster captured national attention as rescuers worked together to provide support for the victims.

I didn't know very much about this famous disaster until I read Three Rivers...more

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May 21, 2012 Jake Rasmussen rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Celestia and her family spend every summer up at a fancy resort at Lake Conemaugh, which is held in place by an earthen dam from drowning Johnstown, Pennsylvania below. One summer, she meets up with a poor, hired hotel boy named Peter, who just happens to live in Johnstown. While this friendship would be frowned on by her parents and the rest of society, she must keep it quiet. As this friendship turns to romance, she finds it isn't that easy. This summer, there are plenty of heavy rains that fa...more

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May 07, 2012 Thayer Library rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction

On May 31, 1889 the South Fork Dam in Western Pennsylvania failed causing a torrent of water from Lake Conemaugh (4.8 billion gallons) to rush out in a huge rushing wave flooding the towns located below the dam, including the populated city of Johnstown, Pennsylvania, where there was a huge loss of life. It took only 40 minutes for the entire lake to empty, and the disaster captured national attention as rescuers worked together to provide support for the victims.

I didn't know very much about th...more

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Mar 08, 2012 Erin Sullivan rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I read the book Three Rivers Rising by Jame Richards. When I picked it up at the library I honestly did not think I was going to like it, although I wanted to try something new for once. I am not a girl who likes love storybooks but this one seemed to keep me interested. If you liked Romeo and Juliet then this is the book for you, two people who are in love but they cannot be together because of their different class levels.
It started out a bit slow, a long introduction with a great story to f...more

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Oct 18, 2011 Kellie rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Three Rivers Rising: A Novel of the Johnstown Flood
By: Jame Richards
This historical novel is based around the devastating Johnstown Flood in 1889. It centers around Celestia, the youngest daughter to a wealthy businessman, and Peter who is the “help” at The South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club, where Celestia, her family, and the other society families of Pittsburgh spend their summers. The story starts in the summer before the flood, where both Celestia and her sister get into trouble. Her belov...more

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Mar 11, 2011 Heather rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction, poetry-prose, ya

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Written in verse, this book tells the story of the 1889 Johnstown flood in Johnstown, Pennsylvannia. It is told through the eyes of five people who experience the flood in five very different ways. Celestia is the daughter of a wealthy businessman. Their whole life is about being proper to make the best connections for the family. The family is spending the summer of 1988 at the sporting club on top of the valley. The manmade lake which is the pride of the club is held in place by a flimsy dam....more Written in verse, this book tells the story of the 1889 Johnstown flood in Johnstown, Pennsylvannia. It is told through the eyes of five people who experience the flood in five very different ways. Celestia is the daughter of a wealthy businessman. Their whole life is about being proper to make the best connections for the family. The family is spending the summer of 1988 at the sporting club on top of the valley. The manmade lake which is the pride of the club is held in place by a flimsy dam. Estrella, Celestia's older sister, makes some bad decisions that result in her being disowned. Celestia finds love that summer with Peter, a local boy who is socially far beneath her. The couple is forcably separated by her father and he arranges an appropriate marriage for her.

When she returns to the camp in the spring of 1899, Celestia decides to give up her life and family in favor of Peter's love. Following the same path he had with her sister, Celestia's father declares her disowned.

Later that same week the dam, which has been rumored to be breaking for years, finally does. The lake is drained in a matter od minutes as water sweeps down the valley. One of the small towns is saved by a brave engineer tying down his whistle to alert the townspeople. His wife, Maura, is one of the five narrators. Her main concern is the safety of her children and husband.

Kate saw her financee drown and has forever dedicated her life to becoming a nurse. While taking the train to a new job, she flees just in time to escape the flood. Seeing that her services were required, in spite her fear of water, she sets to work.

Celestia and Peter were swept away in the water as it flooded Johnstown. Kate was able to rescue Celestia. Unaware of the two's connection, she nurses Peter back to health. He recovers in time to see Celestia take ill with thyphoid. While nursing her, Whitcomb (Celestia's father) shows up looking for her. He takes both her and Peter back to Pittsburgh. Finally convincing her family of their love, the couple is allowed to stay together. In the most self-sacrificng gesture, Estrella, her baby, and her new husband are able to return home. (less)

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Aug 18, 2010 Jennifer Wardrip rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: trt-posted-reviews

Reviewed by McKenzie Tritt for TeensReadToo.com

Johnstown is a quiet, unassuming home for many. During the summer, the residents travel a short distance to the country club to work and earn money. The rich folk spend their summers at the club swimming and relaxing. All seems well for this small area.

In the back of everyone's mind, however, is the dam. Rich men created the dam in order to build a man-made lake. After a heavy rain, news spreads that the dam is breaking, which threatens to wash out...more

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Jul 08, 2010 Margo Tanenbaum rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 19th-century, historical-fiction

Debut novelist Jame Richards has written a mesmerizing novel in verse set against the shocking backdrop of the Johnstown Flood of 1889. The story of the Johnstown Flood has plenty of juicy ingredients to make a compelling novel: an exclusive resort, where the wealthiest of Pittsburgh society vacationed, an intense storm, the failure of a dam, perhaps due to negligence, the destruction of a working class city, and an enormous national and even international relief effort, which included Clara Bar...more Debut novelist Jame Richards has written a mesmerizing novel in verse set against the shocking backdrop of the Johnstown Flood of 1889. The story of the Johnstown Flood has plenty of juicy ingredients to make a compelling novel: an exclusive resort, where the wealthiest of Pittsburgh society vacationed, an intense storm, the failure of a dam, perhaps due to negligence, the destruction of a working class city, and an enormous national and even international relief effort, which included Clara Barton and the Red Cross.

The story, told in free verse by multiple narrators, begins the summer before the flood, giving us ample time to get to know the characters before disaster hits. We first meet Celestia, daughter of a wealthy Pittsburgh businessman, who comes with her older sister, Estrella, and her parents to spend the summer at the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club, far from "the filth and crowds of the city." The club is at South Fork Reservoir, created by a seventy-foot earthen dam and better known to the owners of the club as Lake Conemaugh. Celestia soon begins a forbidden romance with one of the laborers at the club, Peter, who is from nearby Johnstown. Peter is a boy "not of her rank."

We also meet local resident Maura, not much older than Celestia but already with three babies, her husband Joseph, who is a train engineer and will play a key role when the tragedy hits, and Kate, a young widow who leaves the area to attend nursing school.

When Celestia's parents realize she's becoming too friendly with a young man from the wrong side of the tracks, she is whisked off to boarding school in Switzerland, where she soon learns her parents have arranged a suitable marriage for her. But Celestia has her own ideas, and when she arrives at the South Fork club the following summer for what her parents intend to be a quiet vacation before her marriage, she leaves her comfortable life behind and sets off in pursuit of Peter.

What neither she nor anyone else (except, of course, the reader) realizes is that disaster is about to strike. Richards works into the poems that the locals at Johnstown have been joking for years about the dam breaking, but the dam always seems to hold. However, the outlying communities' luck has run out. An unusually heavy rainstorm has clogged the screens put in by the club to keep the lake stocked with fish for the vacationers. With the clogged screens, there is no other outlet for the extra water, and as the people at the club watch in horror, "the better part of the dam just melts,/disappears./The water cannot get out fast enough,/far enough."

When Celestia's father realizes his daughter has run away and is likely in Johnstown, about to be hit by the flood waters, he is filled with regret, and can think only of finding her. Despite his knowledge of the imminent danger, he sets off for Johnstown in pursuit.

As the dam floods the nearby communities, the stories of our different narrators converge, as many residents escape but thousands die, washed away by the flood waters and the debris. Richards also portrays the terrible aftermath of the disaster, as morgues fill with bodies (many of whom were never identified), people look for loved ones, and struggle to survive and rebuild their lives, with the help of both neighbors and strangers alike.
(less)

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Jun 15, 2011 Megan rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Megan by: "Pure Poetry" VOYA April 2011

Shelves: historical, poetry, rms, romance

Although billed as a novel of the Johnstown Flood, this is more a story of a society girl who falls in love with a servant. Celestia and her family spend each summer at the resort where Peter works. The two meet in secret knowing that Celestia's family would disapprove of their relationship. When Celestia's unmarried sister becomes pregnant, the family sends her away to avoid scandal and they become even harsher with Celestia to try to keep her away from Peter. Celestia's feelings for Peter do n...more

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May 21, 2011 Carrie Abigail rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Three Rivers Rising was an excellent combination of a forbidden romance and major historical event. Books like this really capture my attention because they use something that really happened but weave interesting storylines around it.

This book really resonated with me because my relative survived the Johnstown Flood. However, I don't I ever really realized what happened that day in Johnstown, so this was perfect to provide me with the basic information. I'm now ready to read David McCullough's...more Three Rivers Rising was an excellent combination of a forbidden romance and major historical event. Books like this really capture my attention because they use something that really happened but weave interesting storylines around it.

This book really resonated with me because my relative survived the Johnstown Flood. However, I don't I ever really realized what happened that day in Johnstown, so this was perfect to provide me with the basic information. I'm now ready to read David McCullough's Johnstown Flood. What shocked me the most was that the men who are credited for making Pittsburgh what it is today - Andrew Carnegie, Henry Clay, Richard Mellon - were the same men who are essentially, not really personally, to blame for the flood in the first place. It was the wealthy Pittsburghers who built Lake Conemaugh to create an elitist club for hunting and fishing. After it all happened, Andrew Carnegie donated a library to Johnstown. Really? This is coming from the librarian - what is a library going to do for thousands of families who have lost their homes and maybe even loved ones?

Anyways, back to the story. The entire time I was reading this book, all I could think about was dirty dancing. It is about two daughters of a wealthy Pittsburgh couple who are spending their summer at the club. The younger one falls in love with a "hired boy." Her father promptly tells her that he will disown her if she does not end the relationship. He plans to send her away to Europe. Before any of this can transpire though, her sister ends up pregnant. Now for 1889 (?) that's pretty bold. She ends up being disowned and the story goes from their to detail the forbidden love between Peter and Celestia and the terrible day the dam broke and everybody's lives changed forever. It's hard to believe that any family would disown their children for lovign someone from a different social class, but it was a different time and rules were rules I guess.

I loved this story but the only thing that threw me off was how the author wrote in poem style. Not sure why she did that and if it was really necessary. I thought I wouldn't be able to read it but I did, although it would have been much easier as a regular novel.

I would highly recommend this to any Pittsburgher for the local ties, anyone interested in history or anyone interested in a really amazing story!(less)

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Jan 08, 2011 Randi rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ya

Novel in verse...can't wait to discuss this with the Challenge Book Club students. I love learning history from fiction!

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Aug 30, 2010 Christina rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: booksinverse, historical, romance

Wonderful book in verse set during the days leading up to and during the 1889 Johnstown Pa Flood. Having lived there three years, I'm always interested in this particular event and have read several nonfiction books on it. I enjoyed this fictional account very much, as it depicted what it must have been like to live through it from the point of view of several people: 16 year old Celestia, a wealthy girl who summers at the Hunting and Fishing Club where the flood began, and falls in love with a...more

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Sep 06, 2011 Khornberger rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This historical novel written in verse is a perfect selection for any student but what a great find it would be for someone required to read historical fiction! Jame Richard's knowledge and research is impressive; she weaves her wealth of knowledge (gathered on this one specific event in history since she was a child) into verse which is simple yet draws readers immediately into the various characters lives and situations. The class differences are interesting and they illustrate how money does...more

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Dec 05, 2011 Erin Forson rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Three Rivers Rising
by Jame Richards
Guys, what if you met a beautiful girl who fell for you, and you fell for her? You'd start dating her as soon as possible right? Not if you lived in Johnstown in the early 1900s you wouldn't. You see, in this novel Celestia comes from a family that has money and class. Meanwhile, Peter is just a guy who works at the resort hotel where she and her family stay ever summer. In order to spend time together, they must sneak around—which isn't good. If they are caugh...more

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Mar 27, 2011 Sherry rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: teacher-recs, ya-transitional

This verse novel tells the story of Celestia and Peter, who meet and fall in love at the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club the summer before the Johnstown Flood. Celestia is the daughter of a wealthy businessman who disapproves of her budding relationship with Peter, the son of a miner and summer employee of the club. After Celestia's sister is disowned and spirited off to Europe following a disastrous affair with a wealthy tycoon, the Whitcombs do everything they can to prevent Celestia from...more

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May 24, 2010 Briony Zlomke rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: bfya, historical-fiction, great-smelling-books, ya

This was an interesting perspective on a historical event. The author's purpose was to create an account that did not solely focus on the actual event but rather integrated it into her story line. While I immensely enjoyed the book, it was not what I originally expected.

Richards created a book that was beautifully written and smoothly transitioned from one person to the next. I also found it to be a very quick read and I had a hard time putting it down, but the book only received four stars for...more

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May 13, 2011 Heidi rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011-book-challenge, audio, fiction, historical, ya-12-19, 2012-beehive-nominee, character

Been wanting to read this when it first came in as a new book and I realized it was based in my good friend's home town. And I really, really liked it. It was fast and short. Though I hadn't expected it to focus more on the characters than the actual flood, I actually liked that. I liked the different walks of life portrayed, and how what they did during the flood, and how the flood affected them. I liked the happy (possibly too happy for some) ending. The audio's narrators were very good. It to...more

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Jul 05, 2010 Abby Johnson rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: blogged

Three and a half stars - sometimes a girl needs a half!!

I love historical fiction about events that I didn't know anything about and this book absolutely fits the bill. Lake Conemaugh was a man-made reservoir, stocked with fish for the pleasure of rich tourists. Though the dam showed signs of wear, the owners neglected to make the necessary repairs, even though tons of water threatened thousands of people living in the valleys below the resort. In 1889, the dam broke, flooding the valley and kil...more

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Nov 02, 2010 J rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: high-school-fiction, middle-school-fiction, historical-fiction

Good historical fiction! In 1889 heavy rains caused a dam in Pennsylvania to break, resulting in one of the worst floods in our nation's history. The entire town of Johnstown was washed away in a matter of minutes. Our story begins the summer before the tragedy as we meet two star-crossed (fictional) lovers, Celestia and Peter -- Celestia from a high-society family who summers at the resort where low-born Peter works. Celestia's secret gets out, and her family sends her off to a boarding school...more

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Mar 08, 2011 bjneary rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction, novels-in-verse, psla-2011, ya

What a great way to learn about the Johnstown Flood of 1889 than soaking up a novel in verse! Richards novel is powerfully told through protagonists Celestia, a young teen whose family are members of the prestigious South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club; Peter, who works summers at the club rather than joining his father in the mines in Johnstown. We learn about the rigid class system that exists in this society that would never agree to a relationship between Celestia and Peter. Maura is the wife...more

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Oct 22, 2010 Sarah rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ya-fiction, historical-fiction

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Dec 10, 2010 Ms. Mulhern Gross rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: forty-book-challenge

This marking period my seniors are focusing on environmental and engineering disasters. We just read Ibsen’s An Enemy of the People and our next book is David McCullough’s The Johnstown Flood. When I received a review copy of Jame Richards’ Three Rivers Rising: A Novel of the Johnstown Flood over the summer, I knew I would want to read it closer to when we were focusing on the Johnstown Flood disaster. Over the holiday weekend I finished the book and I can not wait to share it with my seniors. I...more This marking period my seniors are focusing on environmental and engineering disasters. We just read Ibsen’s An Enemy of the People and our next book is David McCullough’s The Johnstown Flood. When I received a review copy of Jame Richards’ Three Rivers Rising: A Novel of the Johnstown Flood over the summer, I knew I would want to read it closer to when we were focusing on the Johnstown Flood disaster. Over the holiday weekend I finished the book and I can not wait to share it with my seniors. I plan to make it our read-aloud this marking period because it will be such a great companion piece for McCullough’s book, especially as Richards was inspired by McCullough’s book to write Three Rivers Rising: A Novel of the Johnstown Flood.

Told in verse, from five different perspectives, Three Rivers Rising: A Novel of the Johnstown Flood does not overly focus on the disaster itself. Instead, it takes the history and helps the reader imagine what life was like for the people who experienced the dam burst and subsequent flood. For the most part, the reader follows Celestia, an upper-class girl who falls in love with a local boy, Peter. Maura is a young mother struggling to raise four children while her husband, Joseph, works on the railroad. Her struggle to escape the deluge with her children is awe-inspiring and tear-inducing. I really liked Kate, a tough nurse (who has lost her childhood love to drowin), who meets up with all the other characters at some point and even saves their lives. The verse captures each characters emotions perfectly and the varied perspectives allow the reader to see the disaster from different viewpoints.

The Johnstown flood killed 2200 people, but I have never read any YA historical fiction about this horrible engineering disaster. However, I also think this historical fiction novel will appeal to readers who shy away from historical fiction, because it is light on facts and heavy on story. The events of the flood are woven into the fabric of the characters’ lives and you never feel like you are reading a historical account. Instead, you feel like you know each character and are just hearing their story. Teens and MG readers will readily point out the similarities to Hurricane Katrina (unidentified bodies, sickness spreading, the flood itself, the upper-class reaction) and Three Rivers Rising would be a fabulous read aloud or literature circle book. I imagine that the conversations that would stem from this book would be stellar. I plan to find out when I begin reading it with my seniors tomorrow!

*review copy courtesy of publisher(less)

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Aug 03, 2012 Andrea Mullarkey rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: poetry

Three Rivers Rising is a truly remarkable book. It is a historical romance set before and during the Johnstown flood of 1889 which is not particularly remarkable on its own. To realize it is a novel in verse aimed at a teen audience makes it a bit more remarkable. But what really did it for me was how enjoyable it was. Richards’s clean prose and the interwoven stories moved the action along. In this novel issues of race and class are vital to the development of the plot and the characters. Celes...more

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“The sunset competes with the red glow over Johnstown.
And I know,
at any given moment,
metal is liquid fire
lighting the night sky,
becoming steel
that will build tracks
to anywhere she might be.
It will build bridges between the glittering stars
and the likes of me.” — 2 people liked it

“No artifice,
no pretending to faint
or slipping so he could catch me.
Just our locked gaze
tightening the space between us
until our voices
need only whisper,
lips to ear,
then lips upon lips.” — 1 person liked it

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