It’s 1987, in an old mill town that seems like a dead end for most who reside there. Diamond’s father is 7 years missing, her relationship with her mother is tenuous at best, and as the lone black teenager in a predominantly white town, she stands out in more ways than she fits in.

This brilliant debut from author Essie Chambers tugged on all my heartstrings; a story that took me right back to what it felt like to be a child eager to please, to a teenager trying to pave a path in life. The backstory is told through creative (albeit sometimes disorienting) timelines by way of letters from Diamond’s Aunt Lena in present day, as well as preserved letters from her great Aunt Clara, who anchored the family in Swift River in the early 1900s. The points of the protagonist Diamond’s development throughout the story are subtle, but ultimately pivotal to her self discovery. It’s a complicated story with themes of racism, self-esteem, and broken families, woven together in a plain but powerful narrative.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for providing me with an eARC of this novel.

Swift River tells the story of Diamond Newberry, an overweight Black adolescent in a mostly white New England town. It also tells a bit of Diamond’s family history, but those sections didn’t resonate as strongly with me.

Diamond is in high school. She doesn’t fit in. Diamond’s father is missing, and while she and her mother presume him dead, rumors abound regarding his whereabouts. Diamond is eager to escape her life, her town, everything. Diamond’s mother is in turns loving, self-absorbed, helpful, neglectful, and more. And they’re poor, which is a thread woven through the entire story. Diamond’s mother is convinced that their lives will turn around once seven years have passed and she can claim the life insurance policy of her husband (since he can be declared legally dead).

Diamond’s relationship with her only friend, Shelly, is sweet to watch unfold—and painful in the way of adolescent girl relationships.

Overall, I liked this book. It’s tender, sad, funny, and more. I didn’t love how the author wove in the letters from past eras because it didn’t feel cohesive to me. I appreciated the concept, but not the execution. Recommended. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was an emotional ride. Words cannot describe how I felt reading this book. I now have a new fav author.

A lovely first novel about a biracial girl who is trying to find her place in the world after her father has gone missing. Swift River is told in multiple timelines and while I enjoyed it, it was difficult to keep track at times. Perhaps in the print version the eras will be more apparent and help keep the characters and their connections straight.

I feel like a written review of Swift River won’t do it justice because this book is a feeling. It’s incredibly powerful writing & I unfortunately don’t have the correct words to review this book at the moment without making myself seem like an idiot. A great story with a lot to think about & mull over. Beautiful writing. My only complaint is the cover - I don’t think it reflects Diamond well. My only complaint is the cover - Diamond is described as very overweight, but that is not reflected in the cover. Overall, Well done!

Let me review this beautiful book while I still have tears in my eyes after having just finished it. This book kept breaking my heart over and over again, but ultimately, it is a story full of hope and love. I was initially drawn into this book because it takes place in MA, my home state. Swift River is a tender, poignant examination of love among family members, as well as tensions and moments of hope among races. Diamond quietly persists against such difficult challenges until she is able to create an identity for herself that she can believe in. The book makes us question how much of ourselves we should choose to sacrifice for the people we love. Such a good read.

Thank you to Net Galley and Simon and Schuster for an early copy of Swift River by Essie Chambers

Diamond Newberry is a 15-year old biracial girl, dangerously overweight and struggling to find her place in a small town where she is the only person of color since her father disappeared. The story is driven by her mother's attempt to declare the father dead and collect life insurance money.

Swift River is a difficult read. Told in four timelines, the reader may find it frustrating to remember which of Diamond's characters belong in which time frame. While they all bring something to the back story, a more chronological retelling would have been helpful.

Diamond's white mother is a lesson in frustration. She hitchhikes with young Diamond and gets into cars with strangers, she is in no way helpful in curbing Diamond's eating habits, and she continuously puts dreamy ideas into Diamond's head of all the things they will have when she collects the insurance money yet she does no prep work for the lawyer regarding the declaration of death.

Diamond wants a drivers' license (a sure sign of maturity in her eyes). The scenes with the drivers' education instructor are disturbing and point once again to Diamond living in a world with no instruction booklet.

Essie Chambers's strongest writing appears in the form of letters written by Diamond's midwife ancestor Aunt Clara circa 1915. If there is any role model for young Diamond, Clara is it.

The author has made strong use of irony when Diamond gives away her bicycle at the beginning of the book, perhaps Diamond's way of giving up on her childhood. At the conclusion, Diamond's mother purchases two bicycles and lays the foundation for a new relationship with her daughter.

This is a moving account of a girl and her mother living in a racist town and barely getting by. The mother is white but the girl is mixed.
The story covers a lot of ground - self esteem, first friendships, mother/daughter relationships, identity, family history and how to make sense of a world where many things make no sense at all.

It's 1987 and Diamond is learning how to drive in her rural town of Swift River. It's just Diamond and her mom now that "Pop" has disappeared and it's important that Diamond learn to drive to fit in with the school crowd as well as help with family responsibilities. When Diamone receives a letter from an Aunt that she didn't realize existed she is transformed to a new life - a life where she isn't the only African-American in town, a life where she truly has a place in her family.

This story is a heart string puller! I loved Diamond and enjoyed the ride with her as she began to mature and "come of age." The flashback were interesting but Diamond was my favorite. This is a great novel for anyone who is looking to fit in and especially great for the many African American students that find themselves the sole Black learner in a classroom. #simon&schuster #essiechambers #swiftriver

Swift River by Essie Chambers is a swirling generational saga describing an absent father and the women who suffer the ripple effect of his disappearance. It opens in 1987 with his now 16-year-old daughter, Diamond Newberry, telling her story as the only black person in her town of Swift River. She and her mother have to hitch rides to get anywhere and are trying to make ends meet after Diamond's dad left them eight years earlier. The storyline dips back into this time, revealing Robbie Newberry’s character and complicated past, as well as the turbulent relationship between he and Diamond’s mom.

Meanwhile, Diamond, who is significantly overweight and isolated, is learning to drive in secret and dreams of breaking free from her drug dependent, co-dependent mother. About this time she gets a letter from a relative who tells her more about her dad’s family and offers Diamond a life-raft at a time she is about to be swallowed up by her life with her mom and their problems. A third timeline in the novel comes in the epistolary story of Diamond’s great-aunt and her life as a midwife working in Swift River after “the leaving,” when all the other blacks in town chose to leave rather than live in fear of their lives.

These three time periods and alternating perspectives of women in the Newberry family make for a captivating story, although I found the storyline around Diamond’s life to be the most engaging. Diamond's character-driven life is nuanced and hard-hitting while the other places and times seem two-dimensional. Chamber's writing is strong and peppered with poignant and original observations. Overall, I enjoyed the journey down Swift River and found myself wishing I could accompany Diamond on the next phase of her life.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Shuster for the opportunity to slip into the lives shared in this touching debut.

Reading “Swift River” before its full release was truly a gift. This novel further reminds of the beauty in the way words can convey and hold so much. The character-building in this novel was done with such care and honesty that you could feel their joys and sorrows. This novel explored so many realms of life: the highs and lows that coming-of-age and navigating the complexity of one’s identity brings as well as explored the immense impact of intergenerational trauma due to racism, erasure, and historical displacement.

I truly appreciated the structure and inclusion of the letters from Diamond’s relatives. This novel reminded me of the power of letter writing and how they serve to document lived realities as well as bring healing and understanding to loved ones long after one has passed. A letter is a way of affirming life and preserving both its beauties and horrors. I look forward to more of Essie Chamber’s writing and am deeply grateful this novel exists.

****Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for my honest review****

Many thanks to Simon and Schuster and Netgalley for an ARC of this inspirational read. Diamond is a young brown girl, the only one in fact in her entire town. Her father was a large black man and mom Caucasian. Seven years prior, her father disappears presumably drowned, but questions arise as to whether this is actually the case. While awaiting the seven year window to obtain an official death certificate in order to declare him officially deceased and collect his life insurance we follow their existence.

Diamond is resilient and smart. She preserveres through much adversity. Her mom is loving and over protective on one hand, on the other is somewhat unstable and quirky. Diamond faces prejudices from others for her excessive weight and the color of her skin. She takes it upon herself to save money and enrolls in a Drivers Ed class in order to learn to drive and gain independence. She enrolls without her mother’s permission, it is here she finally makes a friend.

During this time (she’s about 16) a family member of her father’s begins to write letters to Diamond. She has lots of family details and history to share. This has a profound effect on Diamond’s life.

Visiting Swift River was a beautiful trip. This is an excellent read. Believable with likable, realistic characters. Intrigue (was her dad really dead? I’m still not sure). The letters from Aunt Sweetie were informative and loving. Her family never gave up wanting to be part of her life.

I think this was a good book, but it just wasn’t right for me — the alternating timelines were kind of hard to follow, especially with the letters mixed in. I had trouble staying engaged with the book, but I did find Diamond’s character to be compelling and she acted as a powerful narrator for the story.

Swift River follows Diamond and her experience being the only black person in her town. She finds out information about her dead father’s family through letters, which jump from a past and present timeline. I enjoyed following Diamond and watching her learn new things and grow, but I ultimately wasn't too connected with anybody. The story was enjoyable but nothing grasped my attention too much.

This ARC was provided by Net Galley and the publisher Simon & Schuster.

It is 1987 and Diamond Newberry (16) and her mother live together in Swift River. Diamond's father disappeared 7 years earlier. Until he disappeared Diamond and her father were the only two Blacks in Swift River, now she's the only one.

Diamond is surprised to receive a box and a letter from her father's relative she'd never heard of. Finally, she learns about her father's side of the family, her people, and their history.

Diamond's mother is planning to obtain a death certificate from the court with hopes of collecting his life insurance money, so that she and Diamond can start over. Diamond now sees that although Swift River is where her mother was raised, Diamond realizes that she has other places and people and relatives to meet.

A coming-of-age story of a teen girl whose life opens up when she makes her first real friend and learns of an extended family and family history that she had previously not known of. She sees options for herself that she hadn't previously known
she had.

The story is sound but was occasionally confusing. It did not completely hold my interest. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you NetGalley and Simon & Schuster and
for an advanced copy of Swift River in exchange for an unbiased review. Publication date: June 4, 2024

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Wow, what a gorgeous novel. The story follows Diamond who overcomes so much - racism, abandonment, a tricky relationship with her mom and so much more.

It is so well written and the characters come to life through the exceptional writing. An absolute must read!

Swift River will stay with me for a long time; it brought up so many emotions and really made me FEEL for the characters in the book. I enjoy a great coming of age story, and this one also was filled with mystery and awe. There are so many lessons to learn just by diving into this story. I felt great empathy for the struggles of the past and how they affect the future. I really connected with the main character, Diamond, and the paths she traveled in life.

I struggled to keep reading this book to the end. Not only did I find it boring but it was hard to follow what was actually happening and when because there was so much jumping around to different time periods. I received an arc of this book from NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions expressed are my own.

write this as tears sting my eyes, having just finished the book. Have you ever read a book and truly felt like you knew the characters, like they were as real as yourself? Chambers brought these characters to life with every word they spoke, every thought and observation Diamond had, every letter her lost relatives wrote. The realness of Swift River is at times painfully uncomfortable, tragic, but always at least a little bit hopeful.

Daughter to a wispy white mother and a black father who went missing years ago, Diamond is the only brown person in town. The only one. In so many ways her struggle was foreign to me, in others I felt such a kinship with her as a lost teenage girl that her thoughts perfectly echoed my own from situations long since past.

I struggle to put into words how this book touched me and will stay with me for a while, but it’s rawness has left me examining previous interactions with others in my own life, community and family. This has left me feeling a little sad and wistful, but I am grateful for it.

Thank you NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the ARC.

What I really like about this story is that the main character Diamond keeps on going even if her life isn't where it should be. I also like when Diamond is contacted by her Aunt Sweetie who not only becomes a friend but also tells her who her ancestors were and why there aren't any African Americans in Swift River.

The story that Sweetie tells Diamond about her ancestors is both fascinating and inspiring since being another race was dangerous in the Swift River, and yet Diamond's Aunt Clara not only survived but was inspiration to read about. Aunt Sweetie also tells Diamond about her father, who he was and where he came from and it became important to Diamond since her dad drowned seven years before.

As Diamond is learning about her ancestors and becoming friends with Sweetie, she is also having deal with a mother who is stuck in her past and not going anywhere and not dealing with the repercussions of never having any money to fix things. But it doesn't stop Diamond from learning to drive, making a friend and trying to change her circumstances which she does. It made me happy to see Diamond get her chance to have a better life.
I want to thank Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for an advance copy of this inspirational story.