Swift River: A Read with Jenna Pick

Swift River is a combination of a coming of age story, a bit of mystery, and historical fiction.Diamond Newberry is turning 18 in the summer of 1987 . She has grown up in the town of Swift River her entire life. The town hasn't really been a haven for her, she has never felt especially part of it's fabric. That summer, her father has been gone for 7 years and her mother is finally going to have him legally declared dead. After her father's disappearance Diamond was the only black person still living in Swift River. One of her Aunts on her father's starts to share letters with her, explaining their family history and the strength of the women that came before her. She learned about the shadowy day when all of the black people fled the town her people her people had called home for over a hundred years and how she and her father came to live there.The reader definitely hopes Diamond finds the future she deserves and learns to thrive.

I enjoyed the book, the story was powerful. I have already been recommending to friends as I was reading it. The truths in this story really hit me hard. Its unimaginable what the people of this era lived through.

There were some aspects of the story I liked. An okay read

I loved this book! I think everyone has known families that lived like the main character, but this book gives you a real feel for what it would be like to live like this! Best book that I have read in 2024! It reminds me of Kent Krueger at bit. In the since that it reads as sort of an adventure. Excellent read!

Nothing is or should be black and white. However, Swift River has seen transformation from an all-black community to a nearly all-white community, such that a single family has any black members. And for one family, the past and present finally merge closing gaps, filling space, and forging identity.This is not a light, easy-to-read book, not escapism. Instead, it is a slip inside these moments and see more fully. Examine the gray bits, strands, and times.

What an amazing story of girlhood and growing up way before she had to. Diamond is such a lovable character and you really see how much she grows from the beginning of the book to the end. I love all the storylines within the book as well. Great writing.

Essie created an entrancing storyline in her first novel. The sociological, psychological and historical components align to take you away into the story, but also keep you in the present with their importance.Kudos, Essie. I look forward to Diamond's next chapter and Congratulations on your first novel!

Truly a great debut novel. Can’t wait to see what she comes up with for her next novel. I enjoyed the juxtaposition of current day and family history.

My friend enjoyed the book, she did not specify.

I'm on my second read for a book club and I laughed just as hard, gasped in all of the same places and cried again and again. I'm from a small town in Georgia and even though it's different from New England I've never read anything that captures what it feels like to be an outsider in a place like that. Diamond feels like a friend or a sister! I couldn't love this book any more. We had a great book club discussion too!

I am in a book club and once a week the group get together to discuss the book we all enjoy this one .

Purchased for a trip but it was very good. It was hard to put it down. Great book!

A good friend recommened this book and I'm glad I read it. It tells the story of a teenaged biracial fat girl, living in an all white "sundown" town with her white crazy mother after her Black father disappears.Chambers vividly captures a teen's emotions, "My excitement for tomorrow feels both bright and heavy, like a first chuckle after a long cry."Her writing is beautiful, "The night is thick and holding its breath." "...her sadness is something awful--thick and heavy with its own sour smell."As a recovering compulsive overeater myself, I felt Chambers' deep understanding of the disease. Diamond, the main character, badly wanted to eat a discarded McDonald's burger. The author knows about dumb, crazy, naive teenage girls who've been sexually abused, noticing how normal people eat.There are several story lines laced throughout the book. Diamond receives letters from an Aunt on her missing father's side, detailing her father's childhood and the mysterious leaving of all the Black people from their small town. Her aunt decided to stay when everyone left and she shares her intense feelings when she sees a Black man after years of being the only Black person in town.Woven on top of that is the present day story line of Diamond's fraught relationship with classmate Shelly. They both hope to leave the oppressive town forever, but will they?

I felt the writer was running out of material for the story line and the ending felt like it was rushed

Reading this book, I knew I was reading the first novel of one of America’s greatest writers. Her voice is unique, compelling and in this book – moving seamlessly between time periods that connect and intersect – Chambers creates characters whose lives illuminate universal emotions experienced within some of the most powerful forces shaping our nation’s history. But Chambers never broadcasts ideas or outcomes, rather she slowly interweaves memory, desire and longing. Her imagery makes the ordinary become unexpectedly revelatory, often gut ripping. There are some books that once you begin them, all else falls aside. Swift River is one of those. It took my breath away.

Essie Chambers’s writing is so vivid, so lush, so immersive that you are taken fully into the world of Diamond - I felt the cool it the river, the smell of Jergens, the heat of the summer- I was surprised and delighted by the humor which only further establishes Essie as a prominent new voice - bringing a fresh new perspective to a history that we all think that we know. I have been waiting for a read like this for a while.

What a powerful tale of sorrow, growth and triumph. Finding your roots and growing as you come to see your roots. Journey of a young biracial teen as she struggles to deal with the loss of her father and to forge her own racial identity as she connects with her mother, friends, her extended family and others in her life.You won’t want to put this book down. I read it two times.

I love this book. It pulled all my heartstrings and opened my eyes to not only the hurt we as humans endure, but also the hurt our actions cause others. Thank you, Ms Essie Chambers for the pleasure of reading your well written book. Xoxo 💗

Visceral, heartbreaking and oftentimes funny, Essie Chambers excels on multiple fronts as she weaves a tale that simultaneously covers a young girl’s rites of passage, the 80s, complicated family dynamics, the history of sundown towns, and reconciling our past and the identities we can’t escape. You will leave wanting not only to be Diamond Newberry’s next friend, but you’ll also wonder where she lands in the future. I LOVED IT.

This book was hard to put down. The struggles and resilience of this family was inspiring. Loved the character of Diamond. Would love to read in detail about her journey and growth when she left Swift River.