Swift River by R.C. Binstock

[Diane D.]

I'm picky, when it comes to historical fiction - and perhaps that's why I don't read it as much as other genres: I like my historical fiction to be based on facts and my protagonists believable - perhaps that's why, once again, I like young adult characters paired with realistic-feeling action - and why I enjoyed R.C. Binstock's new novel Swift River and can recommend it as a standout.

Polly is but a girl facing the impossible destruction of everything she knows, and everything that has involved generations of Americans in the pursuit of progress.

Now, this story has been told time and again in fiction and nonfiction; but what makes Swift River exceptional is an evocative, immersing writing style that mirrors the overwhelm of engulfing waters. Even the novel's first observational paragraph proceeds to wash the reader away with Polly's experiences.

While the novel is all about rebirth and how memories and influences of the past can be washed away to make room for a different future, don't expect Swift River to be about a singular event: this simply serves as the impetus for exploring Polly's wider world and the secrets she closely guards.

Ultimately Swift River becomes not just the story of one girl's observation of her heritage's destruction just as she's on the cusp of understanding its meaning to her life, but the story of how we all survive adversity and disaster. With its lyrical passages, powerful psychological insights and evocative text, Swift River will carry readers on an unexpected journey of amazing discoveries packed with philosophical reflection and observations about life's meaning.

 

[graysden]

Hi Diane D. If you, as you write, like your historical fiction to be based on facts and your protagonists believable then you surely must try Wilbur Smith if you haven't already done so. His first book "When the Lion Feeds" (Courtney Series) is a classic, followed by "The Sound of Thunder" and "A Sparrow Falls". Get them all here.http://www.amazon.com/When-Lion-Fee...1-1&keywords=when+the+lion+feeds+wilbur+smith. You can get the complete history of South African gold and diamonds, from Mzilikazi to Smith. Very good read, the Ballantyne Series "A Falcon Flies" , "Men of Men" and "The Angels Weep". Cover early history of South Africa and Rhodesia Get them here. http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_n...a+falcon+flies+&rh=n:283155,k:a+falcon+flies+