The Riverman

March 3, 2014
Starmer (The Only Ones) explores the relationship between creation and theft, reality and fantasy in this haunting novel, narrated retrospectively by Alistair Cleary as he looks back at the autumn of 1989. It's then that a classmate, Fiona Loomis, invites him to write her biography. After 12-year-old Alistair tentatively agrees, Fiona tells him about her repeated trips to a land called Aquavania (via a cylinder of water in her house's boiler), where she and other children can shape reality as they choose. Alistair is understandably skeptical, believing that Fiona has invented this fantasy to cope with some kind of trauma, but the novel's strength is in the pervasive aura of unknowing that Starmer creates and sustains. Is Fiona's uncle a scarred veteran or a menace? Is the Riverman hunting down Aquavania's residents responsible for the disappearance of children in the real world? Starmer makes the possibilities presented by Fiona's stories feel no less improbable (or unsettling) than the scenarios Alistair constructs to explain them away, or the actions he takes in an attempt to protect her. Ages 10â14. Agent: Michael Bourret, Dystel & Goderich Literary Management.

August 1, 2014

Gr 5-9-On his 12th birthday, Alistair receives a tape recording from his classmate, Fiona. In it, she talks about a world called Aquavania where stories are born and anything is possible. Curious, he talks to Fiona in person and learns that any kid can go to Aquavania, but many are being killed by a creature known as the Riverman. Ones who die there also disappear in the real world. It seems like fiction until Alistair digs deeper and discovers that the kids Fiona refers to have all disappeared. Making matters worse, Fiona also disappears without a trace. Could she be telling the truth? Does the Riverman really exist and if so, who is he? Can Alistair solve the mystery before it's too late? Narrator Graham Halstead is an excellent choice for Starmer's dark mix of fantasy and realistic fiction. The characters are well developed and are unique voiced by Halstead. Although more moderately paced, this book's intersection of real problems and fantasy mystery will not disappoint readers. Listeners who like authors such as Holly Black and Neil Gaiman will have a hard time putting this book down and will be glad there are expected sequels.-Kira Moody, Whitmore Public Library, Salt Lake City, UT

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