Thirty odd years ago I got the worst sunburn of my life from an inner tube trip down the Wolf River in Northern Wisconsin. The most adventurous thing I've down in my seventies was white water rafting in Alaska. I must confess that most of my river and lake adventures have been less painful and less dangerous. But when I saw the raft on the cover of Andrew J. Graff's new book TRUE NORTH and learned that the setting was a fictional river in Northern Wisconsin I was all in. And this multi-plotted tale did not disappoint. First it is the story of a faltering marriage -- Sam has sunk his and Swarmi's life savings into his uncle's failing rafting business. And he has not shared that he will likely by furloughed from his art teaching position. He dreams of reconnecting to the adventurous Swarmi that he met and fell in love with. Swarmi only feels the weight of raising 3 very young children and coping with a whole summer in a small camper. Add in a new rafting business which offers shiny rafts and cute guides, and it is strike one. Then there is the authentic dilemma that many northern towns faced in the nineties -- should they let the miners in for surface mining or should they keep the waters pristine, but struggle to find new ways to survive? I read this book while home in central Wisconsin, but TRUE NORTH let me take virtual excursions to my beloved north woods

This was a DNF for me, I just couldn't get into the characters and storyline even though it sounded like a lot of fun!

I've been a fan of Andrew Graff since I first read Raft of Stars. Graff's writing of the landscapes in which his characters inhabit is so visceral you really feel like you are a part of their world. That being said, I didn't quite connect with this one in the way I did with his previous work. However, if you're looking for a family story set against the backdrop of the rugged outdoors, this would be a good one to check out.

This book was very atmospheric - it was peaceful reading about life on a river in the summer in Wisconsin in the depths of winter! However, this story dragged a bit and just generally felt that the pacing was off. I love how on the outside this looked like the story of a family getting in a new business (river rafting), but it's really the story of a marriage and the things we do to live the life we want, and please those we love. I just wish the flow and storylines worked a bit better, but this was an enjoyable read overall.

I was drawn to this story because it had white water rafting in it lol The setting for the story was great and so was the plot. I do think it moved a little slow for me, but family dramas tend to do that for me. I think this story and writing is for a niche group who would definitely enjoy reading about rafting with a side of drama.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC.

The opening scene of this novel will suck you right in! It totally sets the tone of the story, and introduces the majority of the characters perfectly. I loved it! The setting and timeline are an added bonus—summer of 1993 in the Wisconsin Northwoods? Yes, please! Husband and wife, Sam and Swami, along with their three young children have plans to take over the family’s rafting business. Let’s just say that the work involved to keep it afloat is a lot more than they expected, and it puts quite a strain on their relationship, as well as their bank account. This novel captures adulthood wonderfully as it explores marriage, parenting, finances, career choices, and friendship. If you love the great outdoors, adventure, and 90s nostalgia, then True North is just the book for you. I give it 4/5 stars! It’s out now!

Graff rrafts a beautifully atmospheric and poignant family drama in True North. I love a good comeback and this outdoorsy, found-family story brings emotion, drama and adventure via beautiful prose. Now I really want to go white water rafting!

Thanks to Ecco for the copy to review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
This is a great exploration into family and working together. Enjoyable to read and very well written. This was a well thought out novel by the author.

I'm a big fan of Andrew Graff's and the way he writes about the great outdoors. True North is written in the same vein as Raft of Stars and is perfect for folks who enjoy family dramas and coming of age stories. There are themes of adventure, conservation, in fighting between raft companies - an entertaining read that will make you long for days on the water.

Thank you to Ecco and NetGalley for this ARC.

I don't often like "adventure stories" but when told by Andrew J. Graff, I LOVE THEM. I enjoyed every minute on the raft with these two and all the children. A family story that was both unique and known to me at the same time. Fans of a comeback should run to True North!

I like family stories and literary fiction but not so much books about being a parent. I just don’t think I’m the audience for this.

It's 1993, and Sam and Swami Brecht and their children are heading north to Thunderwater, Wisconsin, a Northwoods town of just over 200 residents. Sam and Swami have just purchased half of Sam's uncle Chip's whitewater rafting company, Woodchuck. The couple met as bright-eyed young river guides, but now their marriage has fractured under the weight of money troubles and the responsibility of three young children. Sam is convinced that a fresh start in the wilds of the Northwoods is just what his family needs. But Woodchuck needs some serious TLC, and things become even more tenuous when a flashy new competitor starts taking their business, and a mining company begins early excavations along the river that serves as their livelihood. And then come the historic floods, and the realization that Sam and Swami must learn to cling to each other and their family -- or they're going to drown.

True North is a poignant, perceptive family drama, rich with atmosphere and adventure. Andrew Graff's prose is evocative and emotional, vivid with descriptions of the natural world and infused with deeply human insights. This story completely captivated me from the first page, drawing me into the life of this lovely, messy family, and I was rooting so hard for them to make it.

One of my favorite movies is The River Wild, and True North gave me similar vibes -- not for the action plot, and not just for the obvious whitewater rafting comparison -- but because of the way a family comes together on a literal river, navigating the rapids as a unit. This is a book about how it's all so complicated, life and marriage and family and all of it, but how it can also be so simple -- about how love can change and grow and fade over time, but never really goes away completely. It's just such a beautiful, moving exploration of the complexities of navigating life as a family.

The characters are well-developed, conveyed with tenderness and authenticity, even the children (it's so hard to write children well, but Graff does it). There's this wonderful small-town found family element to the book that I found so affecting and heartwarming. There's adventure, there's emotion, there's drama, there are characters that come to feel like friends, all rendered by a writer with a true gift for storytelling. If you enjoy family dramas and wilderness fiction, you will love True North. Thank you to Ecco and NetGalley for the early reading opportunity.

Thanks to Netgalley and Ecco for the ebook. A man, his wife and their three children head off to Wisconsin in a Winnebago to take over a whitewater rafting company for the summer. They are soon fighting for the company’s existence as a sleeker company has open nearby. But the real story is less about the two companies competing or the threat of a mining company coming in a drastically change this small community. The real story is about if this couple can find their way back to the love they once had for each other or should the separate.

Sam and Swami, who met as young river guides, head to Wisconsin in their Winnebago to take over Woodchuck Rafting Company, a floundering company run by Sam’s uncle. With three young kids and a strained marriage, the river company isn’t the only thing that’s falling apart. Bad luck and a lack of communication only make things worse. The characters are frustrating, but the story will keep you reading to find out whether the company and the marriage can survive the summer.

I’d do just about anything except go whitewater rafting. But it was an interesting read about a struggling northern Wisconsin company and how it weathered changes over just one season.
I had disdain for Sam for most of the book. He was a wispy washy pie in the sky dreamer who acted impulsively and never considered the long term ramifications,
I respected Swami for her actions to rectify the dilemma she was in and the weight of responsibility.
My favorite characters were Chip. Randy, and Debbie. I think they were the most genuine and realistic.
One part of the book I quibble with is Swami having a cell phone in 1993. With her budget constraints I don’t see how she could have afforded one.

Wisconsin’s Northwood's! I never dreamed this was the destination when I started reading this book.
It is a beautiful area and the descriptions in this story brought to life in my mind. What a great part of the country.
This story is a character-driven story about a marriage that over time, is falling apart, and the efforts of Sam and Swami Brecht, the husband and wife to salvage what is left and keep their family of 3 children together.
Sam’s family owns a white water rafting camp in Wisconsin and Sam talks Swami into purchasing it from his aging uncle. They buy a Winnebago with their last dollars, load up the kids, and set out for the camp from California. Sam hasn’t seen the camp since he was a kid and the situation on arrival is not great. But Sam dives in and works his heart out because this is where he wants to live, survive, and have his kids grow up. The town of Thunderwater is the destination and when they see the area they find a competing rafting group, clashing raft guides, stubborn townsfolk, and a mining company that begins to threaten their tenuous livelihood. Then nature intervenes, in the form of historic floods throughout the Midwest. Amid tumultuous currents both on and off the river, Sam and Swami struggle to maintain the new life they've built. It’s the trials and tribulations that the entire family endures and the adventures are so much fun to read.
Before the summer draws to a close, the Brechts must learn to face the floodwaters together to create a sustainable future for their family, the town, and the pristine river from which it all flows.
It is a great story and it is fast-paced. I enjoyed each character and was rooting for them to succeed and win the day!

True North by Andrew J. Graff is a very highly recommended intelligent domestic drama following challenges in a marriage and a community.

It is 1993 and Sam and Swami Brecht, along with their three children, arrive in Thunderwater, Wisconsin, to begin running Woodchuck Rafting Company. They met as whitewater rafting guides when in college, and Sam hopes this will be a fresh start for their troubled marriage. Their arrival starts with an accident that disables their twenty-six-foot Winnebago camper, requiring it to be towed to the campground where they are staying, which immediately threatens them financially. He knows funding is going to be cut and his teaching job is likely over. He has plans to stay in the Northwoods of Wisconsin. Swami thinks this will just be for the summer.

When the two see the rundown Woodchuck Rafting, sold to them by Sam’s uncle Chip, it becomes clear that making this a profitable business and bringing new life to their marriage is going to be an uphill struggle. Additional complications include the experienced but eccentric guides, a new, flashy rival rafting company, a mining company wanting to buy up the land, and one of the most rainy summers on record.

The quality of the writing is exceptional in True North. It is the story of a troubled marriage during a stressful summer, but it is much more than that and things are not as cut and dried as they seem. Emotions will run high as you read, as high as the rising water. This is a novel about family, whitewater rafting, and a love of nature versus the money a mining company could provide. This summer challenges all of the characters in ways that will require a reckoning for them even as the community is facing evaluating their own choices.

The characters are all fully-realized, unique individuals. Sam and Swami have depth and complicated thoughts and emotions that are buried under the surface. Every character in this novel is memorable.

True North is a literary character-driven domestic drama that will grab your attention and hold it throughout. The multiple struggles going on that multiple characters are facing and the imploding of Sam and Swami's marriage are equally compelling in this heartfelt novel. Adding to the drama are the adventures experienced in the narrative.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Ecco via NetGalley.
The review will be published on Edelweiss, X, Barnes & Noble and Amazon.

Excellent novel by Andrew Graff. I have never read any other work by this author and I was very impressed with this book. I found the plot very well-thought out,

Really enjoyed this novel about navigating marriage and white water rafting.Interesting characters a story that kept me interested and involved.Will be reading more by this author #eccobooks#netgalley

Like the winding waters of a river, Sam and Swami Brecht must navigate new currents after Sam loses his teaching job in the summer of 1993. TRUE NORTH is a family drama that follows Sam, Swami and their three children on an unexpected path to the Northwoods of Wisconsin to take over Sam’s Uncle’s whitewater rafting business. The family faces many barriers to success including a fractured marriage, a competing rafting outfit, and a mining company with a different vision for the land.

Andrew Graff’s love for the outdoors and adventure is evident in this book. As a previous whitewater rafting guide, Graff infuses his technical knowledge with a heart for the river. TRUE NORTH will appeal broadly to readers, especially those who enjoy family drama, wilderness fiction, and the challenges of marriage.

READ THIS IF:
-Found family and fresh starts resonate with you
-You can’t resist a good comeback story
-Books with a rugged outdoor setting (i.e Peter Heller) work well for you

RATING: 4/5
PUB DATE: January 16, 2024

Many thanks to Ecco and NetGalley for an electronic ARC in exchange for an honest review.