Thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Canada for this read. I love books like this. When I read YA give me all of these please. It was a hard read but a well written solid read that i quite enjoyed. This is a book I would recommend.

It would be the rather difficult-to-follow timelines. I was confused by the end, so I read the whole book again. This was no hardship, because Diamond’s personality enlivens every page. By the end of the second reading I had a much better grasp of the story and could enjoy the language more.

I have sat with this one for about a week now and I still don’t really know what I think about it. I don’t know if I like it or dislike it, if I enjoyed it or it was a struggle to read… or perhaps a bit of all of the above.

I felt like the book really started off strong, but lost me near the ending. The premise of the book is that seven years ago, Diamond’s father disappeared with only his shoes and ID being found. Now her mother is trying to declare him deceased to get the insurance money. From the family, it does appear to be any malicious intent, just a mother struggling to get by and trying to support herself and her daughter.

An additional two subplots occur; one where Diamond is talking to her fathers family (after not speaking to them much at all, if ever) and one where Diamond befriends Shelley, someone she has known for most her life (why now?).

Shelley’s story complete dies off and there is nothing meaningful at the end between the two or their friendship.

Diamond talking to her aunt does provide back story to her father’s life, but doesn’t give enough information as to why they wanted to stay in Swift River or what came of her father.

The story of Diamond’s father never really gets more information, we know he disappeared but that is all. There are hints about what might have happened, but nothing is solved.

Overall, following Diamond as she navigates teen-hood into adulthood is enjoyable. She has some life experiences and grows through the book, but overall I think there was just too much left unsaid.

The writing however was beautiful and at some points seemed poetic. It was enjoyable and lyrical to read, but the plot left me wanting more.

I’m always here for a family saga and this one didn’t disappoint. This book had layers. We follow Diamond who is coming into her own. She’s biracial, poor, and overweight, with no friends Diamond feels quite out of place in her small town, where she’s the ONLY Black person, in a once sundown town. Yes! Her mom is now trying to get her missing dad to be proclaimed legally dead for them to collect the insurance money. When Diamond connects with her Dad’s people in Georgia she feels inspired to get to know more about that side of the family. As we read on the story of family and resilience begins to form.
This was an interesting look at family, identity, racism and generational trauma.

Swift River is a beautifully written coming of age novel with lots of 1980’s nostalgia. It’s the story of Diamond whose father has disappeared and is presumed dead, so she lives with her white mother in a town with no other Black people. They all left Swift River decades ago during “The Leaving”, which Diamond learns through letters sent to her by her father’s cousin.

It’s heartbreaking as Diamond tries to find her way, gaining and losing hope, over and over. She’s a tough cookie, though! I love young protagonists with gumption. It reminded me of Fight Night a bit.

I don’t always love it when letters are used to present a historical storyline, but it worked well here. Swift River is an impressive debut and I will look for more by this author.

Overall, I enjoyed this book but I did find it hard to follow at times. The story was unique and I was initially invested. However, I was not a huge fan of the flipping between timelines and believe this made it difficult to connect to the characters. I also wish there was more of a clear resolution as to what happened with Diamond's dad. Thank you Simon and Schuster for the opportunity to review this arc.

I liked this but I didn’t love it. I can’t put my finger on why exactly except that it was a little too long and jumped around too much which made it confusing at times. i feel like i missed a lot and it was hard to hold all the threads.

Raw, atmospheric, and insightful!

Swift River is a descriptive, moving novel that sweeps you away to New England in 1987 and into the life of biracial teen Diamond Newberry, the only young girl of colour in her whole small town who, after her father suddenly disappears in 1980, struggles to come to grips with her burgeoning weight and a constant sense of being adrift and disconnected due to a lack of relationship and any knowledge into her paternal ancestry.

The prose is vivid and expressive. The characters are vulnerable, lonely, and adrift. And the plot is a heart-tugging, compelling tale of life, love, loss, family, friendship, poverty, prejudice, racism, community, courage, desperation, self-reflection, and coming of age.

Overall, Swift River is a rich, gritty, absorbing tale by Chambers that transports you to another time and place and immerses you so thoroughly into the feelings, lives, and personalities of the characters you can’t help but be enthralled, emotional, and invested from start to finish.

Life hasn’t been easy for Diamond Newberry. A teen of mixed race in a small town that holds only White skinned families. The daughter of a poor White woman who is always down on her luck and a Black man who fell in love with her despite the families knowing how hard their life will be.

Enter Diamond, the daughter of their marriage and the main character of this coming-of-age story. It was just seven years ago that Pop disappeared and never came back. Leaving shoes by the river and the town and family claiming his death.

Diamond’s mother is ready to declare him dead legally but can’t come up with the funds ($250) to get it started and there have been sightings of him over the years from random people the lawyer tells them.

The story begins so strong.. about racial divides; a coming of age story for a young woman who doesn’t know who she is and struggles to find herself. But then it kind of stalled. It veered into 2 subplots: one about friendship with Shelley and another about finding her roots.

For me, the strongest parts of the book were the letters of connection and stories shared between Diamond and her Auntie cousin, the cousin of her Pop. I just didn’t seem to be as emotionally connected to the Diamond/Shelley parts or even the Ma/Diamond parts. I wanted more of Auntie Lena and more of Diamond finding herself.

I also didn’t love the ending. It kind of felt like “that’s it?”.

It was a solid debut but for me, more of a ‘liked it’ not a ‘loved it’. Thank you @simonandschuster for the gifted copy in return for an honest review.

3.5 ⭐️

Swift River tells the story of Diamond through her present and past, along with the story of her family and the town of Swift River.

Swift River felt like a breath of fresh air while reading it. The layers in the story wove together beautifully to share the story of Diamond’s family. I was so pulled into the storylines that I could not put the book down while reading.

Through memories, letters, and the present, the story of how Diamond has come to be, and her family’s past comes to light. It is a beautiful coming of age story.

This is a true coming of age story. a story that had me hooked from page one. i devored it. i truly recommend.

Thanks Publisher and netgalley. all thoughts and opinions are my own and arent influenced by anyone else

Diamond has grown up as the sole person of colour in Swift River after her dad disappeared seven years prior. Swift River balances plot lines from the year Diamond's father disappeared, with letters from the year that all of the coloured people abandoned the town, and seven years later as Diamond remembers what happened to her father.

There were elements of this book that I found so interesting! I love the back-and-forth plot line, but inevitably I find myself drawn to one plot line over another. I found myself most connected to the story of her father disappearing, as it offered answers that I did not alway find in the other plot lines. The past storyline was told through letters, which was sometimes hard to connect to.

Overall, I found the beginning of this novel very intriguing, and I was quickly hooked. However, mid way through the novel, I found it moved very slowly and ultimately had very little pacing and no climatic ending. I found when I finished the novel I had more questions than answers, and disconnected from the overall point of the story. The characters are well developed, and Swift River is depicted beautifully. It is a book that is worth your time, yet not quite a must read.

This is so much more than a coming of age story. With the three timelines (two with Diamond, and one with "Aunt Clara"), this is a rich historical novel that delves into racism, what it means to be the only black person in a community. What it means to be an outsider. I sometimes find it difficult to properly review a title with this richness. There is so much to Diamond's story, from her listening in on adult conversations as a child when she is too young to understand what she is hearing, to her present day interactions with her mother. Those are interactions any teenage girl would have with her mother, but because of Diamond's deep need to be with people like her, it is bigger than that.

I deeply loved this book.

Diamond Newberry is the only Black girl in all of Swift River. Ostracized from her community after the disappearance of her father, Pop, Diamond lives with her mother, Ma. Seven years after her father’s disappearance, Ma is determined to have him declared legally dead to collect his insurance money and get their lives back on track. Diamond is a sweet, quiet girl who is relentlessly bullied for her weight and seeks comfort in food. This summer, things start to change, Diamond is determined to learn how to drive and she starts to make new friends through her driving lessons. She also starts receiving letters from long lost relatives of her father, learning about two generations of African American Newberry women and the challenges they have faced and the victories they have won.

This is a true coming of age story. The writing had an almost lyrical style. Diamond’s story was so sad, feeling abandoned by her father and othered by her mother and the rest of her community. Piece-by-piece Diamond’s story is revealed through flashbacks to her childhood and ultimately the letters she receives from Pa’s relatives. A very strong debut from Essie J. Chambers. Although it is a generational saga, Diamond’s story is never overshadowed by the past and those stories only strengthen hers.

A haunting saga about growing up different, disconnected and isolated, and the winding journey a life can take in its journey through to rootedness.

Diamond, our first-person POV narrator, is a uniquely authentic voice. A young black girl whose narrative age varies from nine or so to sixteen, as she appears in the current day. With a rawness that is often heartbreaking, Di takes us back through memories of her earliest childhood (disadvantaged and targeted) and eventually even further, as she uncovers the tender and poignant history of many of her key ancestors - those she loves, and those she never got a chance to know - revealed to her through stories shared in burgeoning relationships she eventually manages to claim.

The only remaining person of color in a splintered and racially hostile New England town, Diamond feels herself completely psychologically adrift - tangled up close to her free-spirited white mother, who has trouble holding a job and is in many ways, even more adrift than her daughter.

"Ma does not like the clutter of feelings."

When Diamond finds herself severed from a relationship with her black father, (who is suddenly declared missing), she comes to realize she has lived too long without the influence (translation: love and affinity) of his entire family cohort.

Diamond's experiences, both directly experienced and those revealed through her slowly coalescing kinship with her long-lost relatives, are both cruel and incredibly tender in this, her coming of age story. As Diamond comes to understand the richness of love, support, and accomplishments peppered throughout her family history, the possibilities this seeds for her own wholeness and future become apparent.

At once both a beautifully written love-note to families, and a thoughtful expose of racism, poverty, cultural change, and the townships left behind, this is a read for lovers of character-based literary fiction, as well as those who enjoy historically-rich stories.

A great big thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for an ARC of this book. All thoughts presented are my own.

Swift River - Book Review⁣
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I was #gifted an e-ARC copy of Swift River, a debut novel by @essiejchambers from @simonschusterca and @netgalley in exchange for my honest review. The book is set to be released June 4 2024.⁣
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The book follows Diamond Newberry in the summer of 1987. Since her father disappeared 7 years ago, she is the only black person left in Swift River. She has a complicated relationship with her mother, her weight and her identity. Her mother is determined to have her missing husband finally declared dead so they can collect the life insurance money, and Diamond decides now is the time to get her driver’s license. ⁣
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Swift River is a beautifully written coming of age story centred around Diamond, as she struggles with the complexities of having a white mother, the relationship with her missing father, the nuance of new friendships and story of her family history. ⁣
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Told from Diamond’s point of view, the book uses letters and past memories to help connect Diamond to her family and the history of where she lives. As she navigates the complex relationship with her mother and home situation (the bank has taken ownership of their house) she finds solace in the new connection she has made to her father’s cousin, and in turn learns things about her pop and how her family history has shaped who he was, and her place in the world and as the only black person in Swift River. ⁣
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Diamond as a main character draws you in with her vulnerabilities and naivety, but you her desperation to fit in. I wanted to hug this girl through the book, and tell her to follow her intuition and listen to her gut. I was rooting for her the whole time. ⁣
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I did find the flashbacks and the letters of the past a little confusing to follow at times, but will say that Diamond’s voice is loud and clear and moves the story along with ease. I am not entirely certain I know what actually happened to her father, but think that was intentional. Overall, I found the book was beautifully crafted and would definitely check out the author’s future books. ⁣
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4 stars⁣
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#bookreview #booksof2024 #debutnovel #swiftriver #gifted #womenauthors #reader #bookstagram #bookworm #booksofig #bookthoughts #bookaddict #bookrecommendations #simonschusterca #netgalley

Swift River follows a mixed-race teenage girl as she tries to escape her insular 1980s American small town called Swift River. Being the only person of colour the townsfolk have ever seen, Diamond is constantly made aware of her body. Compounding her self-consciousness is her body image struggles, having gained weight in her teens due to a diet of processed foods—the only ones that her and her can’t-hold-down-a-job mother can afford.

Interwoven in between the present-day storyline are letters from Diamond’s estranged aunt, her bygone father’s sister, who teaches her more about the history of the Black population in Swift River and the forces that drove the community out. In other chapters, Diamond recalls her childhood, when her father was still around, dissecting the moments that led up to his leaving. In each timeline, the book highlights various struggles that Black women faced in a historical American Midwest.

The writing of Swift River is good, with distinct voices for both teenage and child Diamond, as well as the two women in the letters. I was impressed by the detail of Diamond’s inner monologue, especially when it came to observations about how her body existed in the world.

But I wanted more to come out of this book. None of the themes are explored in depth and the characters have very little development. All the subplots focused on different elements, such that all four POVs don’t cohesively relate to one another. Overall, Swift River's execution doesn't stack up to comparable titles, such as Black Cake and The Vanishing Half, which also deal with the experiences of young Black mixed-race Americans, the legacy of absent parents, and how family lineages impact our present.

Diamond Newberry broke my heart and lifted my spirit, all in one big emotional read.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster Canada and Netgalley for the eArc of this novel and the opportunity to share my honest opinion.

Based in the 80s, in small town America, Diamond's a young girl who's future is based on her mom's ability to prove her missing Pop's is dead. Bi-racial in a town where she's the only Black person, poor, overweight and friendless, Diamond's story is one that showcases the shades of resilience and self-preservation. In an effort to create a future for herself, Diamond secretly goes against her mom's rules and pursues her drivers licence. That same summer, she makes her first real friend, smashes her way through summer in a way that only teens can and is reunited with an Aunty from her Pop's side of the family, giving voice to her Blackness and ancestral lineage.

What I loved - Diamond's patience and love for her mom nearly did me in. This sweet baby, she just cared for her momma so much. Her ability to love on a mother that had all but dissociated from real life and scrape some semblance of a life, regardless of the humiliation, was hard to read... and yet so relatable.

What didn't land - two things, really. I wasn't a big fan of how much was left unanswered when it came to Pop's. I'm also not sure I'm okay with Mr. Jimmy and Shelly's relationship.

Favourite character - I mean, I'm obsessed with Diamond (I grew up in a small town in the 80s as the only Black person and am a biracial adoptee to a white family, so...). Shelly, however, was everything for me. She just kinda showed up, loved on Diamond in away that allowed her to believe in tomorrow. It was so simple and effortless, uncomplicated. Two broken young souls, helping each other put the pieces back together.

Least favourite character - I really really really want to hate her mom, but I can't. I get it. And I'm just so sad for her, but I also just wanna give her a big shake and tell her to stop making her baby hitchhike through life.

Favourite scene - Diamond and Shelly sneaking in a swim at work after hours. Everything about that moment was written in a way that felt like a long lost memory, and exercise in hopefullnesss. I didn't want that moment to end, for either girl.

Last impression - Diamond sharing her letters from Lena with her mom and what that meant for her future. And the gift her mom had waiting for her... insert ugly cry.

I would recommend this for anyone likes Summer Sisters, Dumplin' and Lullibies for Little Criminal

A really good but rough read,
A dual POV between Diamond and Her aunts letters.
Diamond is living in the 80s after intergration and narrates her life on living with biracial parents.
It also heavily discusses family issues, racism and classism.
Diamonds Aunts letters disscuss family secrets, life living in the north after fleeing slavery in the south.
I will add there is alot of derogatory use of the n-word towards the mc and her family. There is no friendly manner use, even between family members.
This book will make you ponder on life and fill you with apathy and empathy