sincerely swaim

River Sing Me Home by Eleanor Shearer

Barbados, 1834: The master of the Providence plantation in Barbados gathers his slaves and announces the king has decreed an end to slavery. As of the following day, the Emancipation Act of 1834 will come into effect. The cries of joy fall silent when he announces that they are no longer his slaves; they are now his apprentices. No one can leave. They must work for him for another six years. Freedom is just another name for the life they have always lived. So Rachel runs.
 
She begins a desperate search to find her children—the five who survived birth and were sold. Are any of them still alive? Rachel has to know. The grueling, dangerous journey takes her from Barbados then, by river, deep into the forest of British Guiana and finally across the sea to Trinidad. She is driven on by the certainty that a mother cannot be truly free without knowing what has become of her children, even if the answer is more than she can bear.

Shearer created a main character who lives in a world where fear is the only reliable emotion, yet Rachel rises above time and time again. Rachel demonstrates bravery, empathy, yearning, and a deep understanding of what matters most to her: her family and her freedom. I really enjoyed learning about an area that I haven’t read about before. Shearer wrote with conviction and you could feel her passion for these stories on every page.

How to Stop Time by Matt Haig

England, 1581 – Present Day: Tom Hazard has a dangerous secret. He may look like an ordinary 41-year-old history teacher, but he’s been alive for centuries. From Elizabethan England to Jazz-Age Paris, from New York to the South Seas, Tom has seen it all. As long as he keeps changing his identity he can keep one step ahead of his past – and stay alive. The only thing he must not do is fall in love.

I was intrigued by the idea of someone aging into seeming immortality. The struggles and stresses that come with everyone’s wish to live forever were presented in a way that didn’t feel too heavy in the sci-fi world. While I enjoyed Haig’s Midnight Library a bit more, this was a fun story that made history come alive.

Weyward by Emilia Hart

England, 1619, 1942 + Present Day:

1619: Altha is awaiting trial for the murder of a local farmer who was stampeded to death by his herd. When Altha was a girl, her mother taught her their magic, a kind not rooted in spell casting but in a deep knowledge of the natural world. But unusual women have always been deemed dangerous, and as the evidence of witchcraft is laid out against Altha, she knows it will take all her powers to maintain her freedom.

1942: As World War II rages, Violet is trapped in her family’s grand, crumbling estate. Straitjacketed by societal convention, she longs for the robust education her brother receives––and for her mother, long deceased, who was rumored to have gone mad before her death. The only traces Violet has of her are a locket bearing the initial W and the word weyward scratched into the baseboard of her bedroom.

2019: Under cover of darkness, Kate flees London for ramshackle Weyward Cottage, inherited from a great-aunt she barely remembers. With its tumbling ivy and overgrown garden, the cottage is worlds away from the abusive partner who tormented Kate. But she suspects that her great-aunt had a secret. One that lurks in the bones of the cottage, hidden ever since the witch-hunts of the 17th century.

While it took some time at the start to keep the varying storylines and time periods straight, I quickly became enthralled in each of the women’s journeys to better understand themselves and who they came from. It was such an easy and pleasant read filled with self-determination and a desire to preserve family lineage with fervent loyalty.

Lucky Boy by Shanthi Sekaran

California, Present Day: Kavya Reddy has created a beautiful life in Berkeley, but then she can’t get pregnant and that beautiful life seems suddenly empty.

Eighteen years old and fizzing with optimism, Solimar Castro-Valdez embarks on a perilous journey across the Mexican border. Weeks later, she arrives in Berkeley, California, dazed by first love found then lost, and pregnant with a son, Ignacio.

When Soli is placed in immigrant detention and Ignacio comes under Kavya’s care, Kavya finally gets to be the singing, story-telling kind of mother she dreamed of being. But she builds her love on a fault line, her heart wrapped around someone else’s child.

I’m searching for a word deeper than “disappointed.” The start of this book hooked me with Soli’s story and then lost me with Kavya’s lack of personality. Then to have a young boy thrown in the mix seemed to disjoint Sekaran’s efforts at strong storytelling even further. While there would be no happy ending to these women’s set of circumstances, the one provided was frustrating and rushed.

Low Pressure by Sandra Brown

Texas, Present Day: Bellamy Lyston was only twelve years old when her older sister Susan was killed on a stormy Memorial Day. Bellamy’s fear of storms is a legacy of the tornado that destroyed the crime scene along with her memory of what really happened during the day’s most devastating moments.

Now, eighteen years later, Bellamy has written a sensational bestselling novel based on Susan’s murder and must confront the ghosts of her past, including Susan’s wayward and reckless boyfriend, Dent Carter. Dent is intent on clearing his name, and he needs Bellamy’s help to do it. But her dangerous memories — once unlocked — could put both of their lives in peril.

While overall engaging in its essence, there were a lot of characters and a lot of bizarre backgrounds and motivations when it came to solving the murder of Susan Lyston. At 460+ pages, it was a commitment that I didn’t give up on, so that must stand for something; however, I likely won’t seek out another Sandra Brown book in the future.

The Last Runaway by Tracy Chevalier

Ohio, 1850s: Honor Bright, a modest English Quaker who to the United States, only to find herself alienated and alone in a strange land. Sick from the moment she leaves England, and fleeing personal disappointment, she is forced by family tragedy to rely on strangers in a harsh, unfamiliar landscape. Honor discovers that principles count for little, even within a religious community meant to be committed to human equality.

Drawn into the clandestine activities of the Underground Railroad, she befriends two surprising women who embody the remarkable power of defiance. Eventually she must decide if she too can act on what she believes in, whatever the personal costs.

I appreciated the way Chevalier introduced the inner conflict that often exists between religion, patriotism, and self-preservation. Honor Bright was likable enough, but I found myself most interested in the characters outside of her Quaker faith. (I did appreciate the use of Honor’s letters to friends and family as a way to build her character’s depth.)

Faithful by Alice Hoffman

Long Island, Present Day: Growing up, Shelby Richmond is an ordinary girl until one night an extraordinary tragedy changes her fate. Her best friend’s future is destroyed in an accident, while Shelby walks away with the burden of guilt.

What happens when a life is turned inside out? When love is something so distant it may as well be a star in the sky? Faithful is the story of a survivor, filled with emotion—from dark suffering to true happiness—a moving portrait of a young woman finding her way in the modern world. A fan of Chinese food, dogs, bookstores, and men she should stay away from, Shelby has to fight her way back to her own future. In New York City she finds a circle of lost and found souls—including an angel who’s been watching over her ever since that fateful icy night.

Having visited New York City earlier in the month, the setting of this book drew me in to familiar people and places. From its cover design to its final page, Faithful is a coming of age story that highlights the beauty of community, healing from hurt, and keeping an eye out for opportunities that may give you a chance to grow.