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River
From the Australian Outback, where she meets a young Aboriginal man, to racist, rigidly segregated South Africa during World War II, to the midst of a pogrom in Lithuania, and then all the way back to the Babylon of biblical times, Emily has deep encounters with the young women she meets and ultimately, the histories that have mysteriously and yet powerfully shaped her own soul.
"Eloquent and polished, with characters who breathe and speak as if they are in the same room as the reader, this fourth novel by Nayman (A Mind of Winter) would be a valuable choice for teen Jewish studies as well as for YA and adult book discussion groups. Highly recommended." -- Library Journal, starred review
"Eloquent and polished, with characters who breathe and speak as if they are in the same room as the reader, this fourth novel by Nayman (A Mind of Winter) would be a valuable choice for teen Jewish studies as well as for YA and adult book discussion groups. Highly recommended." -- Library Journal, starred review
285 pages, Paperback
Published April 1, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
January 21, 2020
RIVER is built around a very smart concept - at once the wondrous story of a fourteen-year-old girl who meets her own mother, grandmother and great grandmother at the very same age, and a voyage into a young woman’s soul-defining, psychological battle, all wrapped up in a powerful, intersectional message.
It's essentially a turbulent, psychologically masterful swerving of The Wizard of Oz. Nayman takes her feverish fourteen-year-old Emily on a similar, tornado-driven, time tumble to distant lands with even darker enemies and goodly guides.
“In the luminescent River, Shira Nayman brilliantly imagines a fourteen-year-old girl who is magically haunted and invigorated by the beautiful and brutal history of the world. Nayman takes the reader from contemporary Brooklyn to the Australian Outback to Biblical times, investigating what the history of a family truly means and how it endures. A breathtaking read.” Jennifer Gilmore, author of If Only
It's essentially a turbulent, psychologically masterful swerving of The Wizard of Oz. Nayman takes her feverish fourteen-year-old Emily on a similar, tornado-driven, time tumble to distant lands with even darker enemies and goodly guides.
“In the luminescent River, Shira Nayman brilliantly imagines a fourteen-year-old girl who is magically haunted and invigorated by the beautiful and brutal history of the world. Nayman takes the reader from contemporary Brooklyn to the Australian Outback to Biblical times, investigating what the history of a family truly means and how it endures. A breathtaking read.” Jennifer Gilmore, author of If Only
March 23, 2020
Thank you for the opportunity to read this lovely book and give an honest review. In River, Shira Nayman paints with language. The use of beautiful descriptions and historical accuracy is so unique for a lower young adult novel, I highly recommend for younger teens. While the language was lovely and the main character's experiences were fascinating and made me want to go on a google search storm, the plot was missing actual stakes. At no point did I feel that she was at risk or worried or emotionally invested in her own experiences, etc. I would still recommend this read for the story itself, but go into it knowing it's enjoyable for its own sake, not necessarily for the tension of the plot.
March 20, 2020
Meticulous fingers went through this unfolding plot, deep characters searched the author, and the truth, knocked from her consciousness, lay winking before a profound 'River.' I left this beautiful story and river glinting in the soft moonlight. It is light that meant certain things - Hadi Atallah, author of 'Rosemary Bluebell.'
February 21, 2020
With a big shout out I would like to thank Shira Nayman, Guernica Editions and NetGalley for the ARC of River.
This is the first book I’ve read by Shira Nayman, I’ve added A Mind of Winter to my reading list as I’m excited to read earlier books written by Shira. I enjoyed River, its unique crafted writing style captivated and entertained. The protagonist Emily is a teenage girl who encounters relatives past in various locations around the world by travelling in time. I loved the accounts of Australia told with beautiful descriptive writing. Definitely recommend.
This is the first book I’ve read by Shira Nayman, I’ve added A Mind of Winter to my reading list as I’m excited to read earlier books written by Shira. I enjoyed River, its unique crafted writing style captivated and entertained. The protagonist Emily is a teenage girl who encounters relatives past in various locations around the world by travelling in time. I loved the accounts of Australia told with beautiful descriptive writing. Definitely recommend.
January 7, 2020
An incredible story spanning generations—Nayman's imaginative force carries the book into rich, alien settings, and despite the breadth and depth of the novel, her writing never loses the emotional pulse of its characters, their conflicts and relationships. 100% the kind of book you'll read and want to share. Masterfully written.
November 24, 2021
I liked the concept far better than I liked the execution, alas.
Emily is a 21st century young girl living in Brooklyn, as an assimilated, interfaith child of a Jewish woman. When she is 14, her immediate family, including herself, her five year old brother, Billy, and her parents go on a brief road trip before having to return home when her mother is diagnosed with cancer. The children are then shipped off to Australia to stay with their grandmother for the rest of the summer.
It's here where Emily falls back in time, as you do. :P She dips in on several female forebears when they were her age, taking the guise of a female friend named after each girl’s favorite flower. She visits her mother in 1974 Australia, her grandmother in 1943 South Africa, her great-grandmother in 1905 Lithuania and finally an ancient ancestor in Biblical Babylon.
The point of these excursions is quite obvious for Emily to find her “home” in her ancestry, and to cultivate a pride in Judaism. I mean, I should be an easy mark for this book—oh, how I’d long to get a clear sense of the lives of my female ancestors and to marvel in Judaism’s positives throughout the generations! But Nayman hit readers over the head with these ideas, using polemic rather than nuance to make her points. Her characters were completely bombastic, and came off more as historical talking points than real people. She even used a couple of “magical POC” characters to help Emily down the path of this obvious river metaphor—a strange move for an otherwise progressive novel. The writing was mediocre. It also included a framing device by way of a prologue and epilogue when Emily, a decade later, says goodbye to her grandmother on her deathbed. Not to be too callous about the sentimental angle, but it didn’t do anything important for the story.
To return to the progressive tilt, I’d argue that the novel was self-aware (except of how much it was beating us over the head with its messaging.) But still, I appreciated the through lines between Emily’s road trip experiences at a southern plantation vs talk of systemic mistreatment of Aboriginals and native Blacks in Australia and South Africa specifically vs the violent antisemitism of the pogroms and the Holocaust, and finally vs the pagan human sacrifices of ancient times that Judaism stood against. It’s in the Babylon storyline where Nayman made her most poignant argument, regarding a beautiful sheen (floating gardens and other ancient wonders, beautiful and well kept plantations) over a reality of inhuman cruelty (murdering babies for a god’s protection, forcing a “lesser race” into bondage.)
I naturally gravitated most to the Babylon chapter, because I am writing my own Jewish-inspired fantasy novel with Ancient Israel as a loose setting. Props to Nayman for providing me with ideas for worldbuilding (I remember putting a few lines in one of my chapters about camels kneeling so riders could get on, but Nayman included ancient footholds, too!) Plus, Emily was named Shoshana in this storyline, which is my MC’s name, too. :P Still, this section also included an overwrought “love story,” if one can call it that, which I presume was there so Emily would forge connections in the future, too. I guess by way of reincarnation because obviously her fiancée in the framing chapters was meant to be the same dude as the one she fell for in Babylon? I’m probably overthinking the magical rules, but the relationship(s) didn’t work for me. All tell, no show.
I’m grateful I gave this novel a go, and thank you to the Jewish Book Council for my free copy via a book giveaway at the start of covid! But ultimately, my feeling is pretty meh.
Emily is a 21st century young girl living in Brooklyn, as an assimilated, interfaith child of a Jewish woman. When she is 14, her immediate family, including herself, her five year old brother, Billy, and her parents go on a brief road trip before having to return home when her mother is diagnosed with cancer. The children are then shipped off to Australia to stay with their grandmother for the rest of the summer.
It's here where Emily falls back in time, as you do. :P She dips in on several female forebears when they were her age, taking the guise of a female friend named after each girl’s favorite flower. She visits her mother in 1974 Australia, her grandmother in 1943 South Africa, her great-grandmother in 1905 Lithuania and finally an ancient ancestor in Biblical Babylon.
The point of these excursions is quite obvious for Emily to find her “home” in her ancestry, and to cultivate a pride in Judaism. I mean, I should be an easy mark for this book—oh, how I’d long to get a clear sense of the lives of my female ancestors and to marvel in Judaism’s positives throughout the generations! But Nayman hit readers over the head with these ideas, using polemic rather than nuance to make her points. Her characters were completely bombastic, and came off more as historical talking points than real people. She even used a couple of “magical POC” characters to help Emily down the path of this obvious river metaphor—a strange move for an otherwise progressive novel. The writing was mediocre. It also included a framing device by way of a prologue and epilogue when Emily, a decade later, says goodbye to her grandmother on her deathbed. Not to be too callous about the sentimental angle, but it didn’t do anything important for the story.
To return to the progressive tilt, I’d argue that the novel was self-aware (except of how much it was beating us over the head with its messaging.) But still, I appreciated the through lines between Emily’s road trip experiences at a southern plantation vs talk of systemic mistreatment of Aboriginals and native Blacks in Australia and South Africa specifically vs the violent antisemitism of the pogroms and the Holocaust, and finally vs the pagan human sacrifices of ancient times that Judaism stood against. It’s in the Babylon storyline where Nayman made her most poignant argument, regarding a beautiful sheen (floating gardens and other ancient wonders, beautiful and well kept plantations) over a reality of inhuman cruelty (murdering babies for a god’s protection, forcing a “lesser race” into bondage.)
I naturally gravitated most to the Babylon chapter, because I am writing my own Jewish-inspired fantasy novel with Ancient Israel as a loose setting. Props to Nayman for providing me with ideas for worldbuilding (I remember putting a few lines in one of my chapters about camels kneeling so riders could get on, but Nayman included ancient footholds, too!) Plus, Emily was named Shoshana in this storyline, which is my MC’s name, too. :P Still, this section also included an overwrought “love story,” if one can call it that, which I presume was there so Emily would forge connections in the future, too. I guess by way of reincarnation because obviously her fiancée in the framing chapters was meant to be the same dude as the one she fell for in Babylon? I’m probably overthinking the magical rules, but the relationship(s) didn’t work for me. All tell, no show.
I’m grateful I gave this novel a go, and thank you to the Jewish Book Council for my free copy via a book giveaway at the start of covid! But ultimately, my feeling is pretty meh.
November 2, 2020
River is the kind of book that gives readers the chance to investigate the sensations of fear, anticipation and impetuous joy that are so much a part of adolescent discovery. Through the eyes, ears and emotions of a teenage girl who moves backwards in time, across generations and eras, I, as reader, experienced one girl’s journey across continents and generations. Like an avatar in a science fiction novel, our protagonist articulates her intimate interactions with relatives and new-found friends through a delicate, age-specific yet truly polyvocal language. In River, I read the different iterations of the same teenage girl engaging with people in the Outback of Australia, the Apartheid of South Africa or the war-torn ghetto of Lithuania. Afterward, I, as a Jewish-American woman with grand-parents who were also born the US, was finally able to better understand the lives of my own predecessors who left everything behind so many years ago. After putting down River, I thought not just about Nayman’s marvelous tale-told but also about our contemporary refugee crisis. This book helped me to better understand the struggles of individuals who are searching for new places to call home while simultaneously holding tight to the culture and identity they will never abandon.
April 17, 2020
I got this book from one of the giveaways on goodreads and am really glad I was able to read it. Firstly I would have more enjoyed this if I was much younger. I would definitely recommend this as a YA only category. Roughly middle school me, would be enamored with it. However, it is a beautifully written book with great details and information, I just don’t think there was much to the plot that gripped me. I read 70% of it easily, and then slowed down as the plot just kept and kept without enticing me and just dragging me along. Now, the information that the narrator portrays is fun and exciting but I never felt that action that I desperately needed to feel compelled.
June 21, 2020
Imagine if you were a teenager and could go back in time to meet your mother, grandmother and other foremothers when they were that age. That’s the premise of “River” by Shira Nayman (Guernica World Editions).
See the rest of my review at https://www.thereportergroup.org/past...
See the rest of my review at https://www.thereportergroup.org/past...
October 14, 2020
A turbulent, powerful, and meticulously crafted voyage into a young woman's time-tumbling journey. Lush with rich, foreign cultures and soul-defining moments, the story - the river - is a metaphor for the continuity of life.
Nayman's writing, enamoring as it is masterful, captures history and emotion with flawless command of the human language.
Picked RIVER up from the library on a whim and was enchanted immediately. Will be buying a copy to reread - this book needs more publicity!
Nayman's writing, enamoring as it is masterful, captures history and emotion with flawless command of the human language.
Picked RIVER up from the library on a whim and was enchanted immediately. Will be buying a copy to reread - this book needs more publicity!
May 1, 2020
A powerful book spanning generations. The language is beautifully captivating as well. I can imagine students in my classroom will truly enjoy this story. My only negative is reading online. I really wanted to pour into this story and clicking rather than turning pages broke the reality of the read. My preference but still it is part of my review of this experience.
November 23, 2020
#River by author # Shira Nayman is a wonderful teen and Ya novel. About a 14 year old who travels back in time. That should catch your interest for all stay at home readers with teens.
Thank you,
#Netgalley, # Shira Nayman, and # Guernica Editions Inc for the advanced copy
Thank you,
#Netgalley, # Shira Nayman, and # Guernica Editions Inc for the advanced copy
March 1, 2020
Thank you to Netgalley, Guernica, and Shira Nayman for the opportunity to read this book and give an honest review.
River is a story of a woman who goes to visit her sick grandma in Australia. While there, she takes us on a path down memory lane and we get to experience some of her life at 14 years of age. We are taken through the stories of the women in her life and family tree, in an attempt to help this young girl find her place and home. This story dips into racism and genecide, not in detail but more as a brief observation, so warning to those who may be sensitive to this type of content.
I didn’t love this story, as much as I wanted to. I find the idea of it quite interesting, the process the main character, Emily, goes through a great way to discover her place, and love the focus on important connections between women. I had a really hard time connecting with the story and characters. I can’t pinpoint anything specific, it just did not draw me in. Having said that, I think it could be an important story for young women to read for their own self-discovery and to evaluate the relationships in their lives.
River is a story of a woman who goes to visit her sick grandma in Australia. While there, she takes us on a path down memory lane and we get to experience some of her life at 14 years of age. We are taken through the stories of the women in her life and family tree, in an attempt to help this young girl find her place and home. This story dips into racism and genecide, not in detail but more as a brief observation, so warning to those who may be sensitive to this type of content.
I didn’t love this story, as much as I wanted to. I find the idea of it quite interesting, the process the main character, Emily, goes through a great way to discover her place, and love the focus on important connections between women. I had a really hard time connecting with the story and characters. I can’t pinpoint anything specific, it just did not draw me in. Having said that, I think it could be an important story for young women to read for their own self-discovery and to evaluate the relationships in their lives.
June 8, 2020
River by Shira Nayman is deep, thought-provoking, and magical. As a child, Emily is transported back in time to meet the women of her family. She meets her mother when she was 14, her grandmother and great-grandmother when they were both 14, and a distant relative in Babylon during Biblical times, again when she was 14. Emily learns family secrets, learns about her history, and sees new sides of the women she came from, while learning about herself in the process. This story is beautifully-written and I finished it in three hours. I could not put it down.
*I received an ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review
*I received an ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews