River

March 15, 2020
Fourteen-year-old Emily, a Jewish American girl, is pushed through time to meet her ancestors in their youth. In the prologue, the married adult Emily travels to Australia to visit her sickly grandmother, who mentions the summer years ago "when we were both fourteen." From Chapter 1, Emily narrates the strange events of that summer: how a family trip got cut short by her mother's cancer diagnosis and treatment and she and her 5-year-old brother, Billy, were sent to Australia to stay with their grandmother. During a midnight storm, Emily was transported back in time: first to her mother's childhood in Australia, where she met the grandfather she never knew, then to her grandmother's childhood in South Africa, the Lithuania of her great-grandmother, and, finally, ancient Babylon. In each region and era, Emily finds herself able to speak the language and pretend to be a local despite her need to ask questions whose answers she should know. She traces a history of anti-Semitism and varying injustices against Indigenous peoples while also reciting cultural and historical facts for readers' edification. While the story's concept is intriguing, its execution is lacking. The characters feel like place holders serving the plot, which itself lacks direction and momentum. Indigenous and black characters appear to explain or demonstrate their peoples' plights to white main characters in strange, inauthentic ways. With more skillful writing and editing, this could have been an engrossing tale. (notes) (Fantasy. 12-16)

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Starred review from April 1, 2020

Time travel underlies this excellent YA/adult crossover novel, with 14-year-old Emily returning to previous eras to visit her mother, grandmother, and great grandmother--all at her age--as she sojourns in 1974 Australia, 1943 South Africa, and 1905 Lithuania, then continues on to ancient Babylon for deeper spiritual understanding. Along the way, she experiences the horrors of religious persecution, racial hatred, and poverty as well as the joys of family gatherings and the giddiness of falling in love. Each encounter is an act of self-discovery, of reclaiming her soul, even as Emily learns more about her Jewish heritage and comes to appreciate fully the meaning of home. Together, these encounters shape her into the young woman who emerges at the end of this tremendous adventure. VERDICT 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. [See Prepub Alert, 10/7/19.]--Lisa Rohrbaugh, Leetonia Community P.L., OH

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