From the Bookshelf of Around the World in 80 Books…

Once Upon a River

Bonnie Jo Campbell

Find A Copy At

Libraries

Group Discussions About This Book

No group discussions for this book yet.

What Members Thought

Jul 30, 2011 Mary rated it really liked it

Bonnie Jo Campbell has created an unforgettable heroine in sixteen-year-old Margo Crane, a beauty whose unflinching gaze and uncanny ability with a rifle have not made her life any easier. After the violent death of her father, in which she is complicit, Margo takes to the Stark River in her boat, with only a few supplies and a biography of Annie Oakley, in search of her vanished mother. But the river, Margo's childhood paradise, is a dangerous place for a young woman traveling alone, and she mu ...more

Like · see review

Oct 26, 2011 Beverly rated it liked it

I rated this 3.5
• I thought this book had a strong beginning with a compelling heroine, but by the middle the book started meandering to me and lost focus – it was the same action and reaction over and over again.
• Margo (main character) reminded me of Esch in Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward – they had many of the same characteristics/traits/lives. While Esch used mythology to help her understand her world, Margo’s model is Annie Oakley.
• Campbell does a good job of showing this slice of Ameri ...more

1 like · Like · see review