Caroline Starr Rose

picture book and middle-grade author

Spread the Awesome: Books That Deserve Ten Stars

54 Comments

Welcome to a day of young adult/mid-grade recommended reading! Here’s the complete list of bloggers/books participating in Elana Johnson’s Spread the Awesome.  You can also click on the link below to read the next post on the list. Before you go, make sure to enter my contest for your own signed copy of THREE RIVERS RISING.

I have always loved how historical fiction gives a glimpse of everyday lives at a different time. Add to this the mix of natural disaster, a love story, secrets between sisters, a class system thrown off course by tragedy, and a chance at redemption, and you have Jame Richards’s beautiful debut, THREE RIVERS RISING: A NOVEL OF THE JOHNSTOWN FLOOD.
Three Rivers Rising: A Novel of the Johnstown Flood

Three Rivers Rising: A Novel of the Johnstown Flood, Jame Richards (Knopf 2010)

3RR is a YA historical novel-in-verse. I know a lot of you aren’t familiar with NiVs, so here’s a feel for Jame’s story:

Thunder falls toward us
from high up the mountain pass.
Breath and screams
leave the lungs
all at once.
Fingernails dig into the tree
and my face buries itself
in the wet trunk.

It’s coming.
The water is on its way
and I am already drowning.

From the cover: Sixteen-year-old Clelestia vacations with her family at the elite resort at Lake Conemaugh, a shimmering Allegheny Mountain reservoir held in place by an earthern dam. Tired of the superficial cheer and sly judgments of the society crowd, she much prefers to swim and fish with Peter, the hotel’s hired boy. It’s a friendship she must keep secret — her parents would never approve — and when companionship turns to romance, it’s a love that could get Celestia disowned.

These affairs of the heart become all the more wrenching on a single, tragic day in May 1889. After days of heavy rain, the dam fails, unleashing twenty million tons of water onto Johnstown, Pennsylvania, in the valley below — the town where Peter lives with his father.

Told by multiple narrators, Jame Richards’s searing novel in poems explores a cross-class romance, the random hand of disaster, and a tragic and indelible event in American history.

Not only is Jame’s work remarkable, she is approachable. When I first heard about her novel (thank you, Valerie!), my own historical NiV was on submission. It’s stressful having any book out with editors, but I think there’s a special anxiety for those of us whose work isn’t commerical or cutting edge, or for that matter, written as prose. I emailed Jame, asking about her submission process. She shared with me her experiences and told me there would eventually be an editor who got what I was trying to do. I’ve kept a print out of that email in my calendar ever since. Thank you, Jame, for encouraging me along the way.

If you would like to win a signed copy of Jame’s THREE RIVERS RISING, comment below. This contest is open to all readers (international friends, too) You don’t have to follow my blog to participate. The contest closes Friday, 7 May 6:00pm CDT.

Be sure to read the next recommended book by clicking the link below:
Jackee Alston at Winded Words reviews Elizabeth Bunce (A Curse As Dark As Gold)

Comments

  3. Amy says

    I am finishing my first novel in verse…have read several and they’re all over the map. Excited to check out May B., maybe win Three Rivers.

    Best,
    a.

    Reply

  12. Precious says

    That’s so nice. That she was approachable and that she shared her experience with you. 🙂

    I haven’t read a novel in verse yet. I’m really interested in this one. I’d love to win a copy. It’s been in my wishlist since I found out about it.

    Thank you for making this open internationally.

    precious_shusky@yahoo.com

    Reply

  16. Taffy says

    The book sounds interesting! I added “Life and Death in Shanghai” to my favorites list recently. Moving account of a woman in China during Mao’s rule.
    PS Love your blog picture!

    Reply

  20. Jackee says

    This book sounds absolutely gorgeous, Caroline! I’ve always meant to read a book in verse, I think I’ve now found the one I’ll have to try first (since it sounds right up my alley. Wink, wink.).

    Thanks!

    Reply

  23. Priya Parmar says

    hello! i wanted to pop by and tell you that i have some awards for your super wonderful blog–awards that i have no idea how to do the links to–i am sorry!

    they are at the plum bean project. i am supposed to pass them on to blogs i love!

    Reply

  38. ~Nicole Ducleroir~ says

    First, I’m in awe of authors who can write novels in verse. That alone makes me want to read this book. But Jame’s willingness to encourage you during your submission process endears her to me! Definitely picking up a copy of this one.

    Great giveaway, too!!

    Reply

  41. Carolina Valdez Miller says

    What a great story! I love hearing of authors that encourage others. This business is so fickle and scary and discouraging at times that I need we really need to stick together and boost each other up when we can.

    I love historical fiction, although I tend to read fiction that goes way way back historically. But this one sounds fascinating–and in verse, too! So very lyrical and beautiful just this excerpt, and the cover is gorgeous.

    Thanks for your recommendation!

    Reply

  47. Jenn Wilks says

    I admit, I’ve never read a NiV yet. But it does sound intriguing. I’ll definitely add it to my to-read list. It’ll hit the top, though, if I win your contest. 😀

    And good luck with your own NiV submission!!!

    Reply

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