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heidisreads's review
5.0
Loved it. I didn't expect to have so many emotions during this book. There were moments I had to set it down because I was so frustrated with the characters and there were moments I had to remember to breathe because I feared heartbreak. At its heart, it is a coming-of-age story people will/should talk about for a long time. If your book club enjoyed talking about Ordinary Grace or This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger, put this on your list for the summer!
Skip the audiobook - the narrator's pacing wasn't quite right for the tone of the book.
Skip the audiobook - the narrator's pacing wasn't quite right for the tone of the book.
barbaraskalberg's review against another edition
5.0
Bread and Fish (that imagery!) - two 10-year-old boys... I loved this story!
rachelmerry_'s review
3.0
Pro: loved the opening page
Con: every character was constantly wet and they didn’t let you forget it
Pro: I liked Fish as a narrator and the parts about them starting off on their adventure
Con: this man should not narrate for his female characters. the Tiffany parts were just…very obviously written by a straight, cisgender male
another con: for what a central part the fathers played in the story’s development, their relationships with their sons were not explored proportionally
Con: every character was constantly wet and they didn’t let you forget it
Pro: I liked Fish as a narrator and the parts about them starting off on their adventure
Con: this man should not narrate for his female characters. the Tiffany parts were just…very obviously written by a straight, cisgender male
another con: for what a central part the fathers played in the story’s development, their relationships with their sons were not explored proportionally
ja3m3's review
5.0
Wow! What a great story. I loved the characters, the action, the tension, but mostly I loved the bond of friendship that was formed between two boys as they faced down their fears and the wild river that tries to claim them. Highly recommend.
smalltownbookmom's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 rounded up - A solid debut that is getting compared a LOT to William Kent Krueger’s This tender land. The book is set in the 1990s and follows two young boys on the run. There are a cast of small town characters we the readers get invested in but I found the middle dragged a bit. The climax at the end is very edge of your seat compelling and worth reading through the book to get to. Lots of commentary on domestic abuse, rural poverty, following what makes you happy and the hardships endured from broken families. This was a slow-moving, but atmospheric wilderness adventure along the lines of Huckleberry Finn, This tender land or We begin at the end (another new book getting rave reviews). Overall I enjoyed it and look forward to what comes next from Andrew J Graff.
machadofam8's review
5.0
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of this outstanding book..
I am still digesting this book but wow, I am blown away. There is a description, early on, of what it is like when you set off fireworks in an empty silo. The anticipation, the strike of the match, the explosion. This is how the book progresses.
We're introduced to the characters Fish and Bread, two young boys, Bread's abusive father, Fish's grandfather, Sheriff Cal, and Tiffany. They live in a small town where the worst thing seems to be poachers.
Then the fuse is lit when Fish shoots Bread's father in the head and the boys decide to run for it.
The pacing was well done. It was hard to put down - I wanted to know what was going to happen, especially when Miranda, Fish's mom, and Tiffany set off to search for the boys. I could hear the thunder and smell the electricity from the lightning. I could hear the water rushing as they encountered rapids.
All-around excellent debut.
I am still digesting this book but wow, I am blown away. There is a description, early on, of what it is like when you set off fireworks in an empty silo. The anticipation, the strike of the match, the explosion. This is how the book progresses.
We're introduced to the characters Fish and Bread, two young boys, Bread's abusive father, Fish's grandfather, Sheriff Cal, and Tiffany. They live in a small town where the worst thing seems to be poachers.
Then the fuse is lit when Fish shoots Bread's father in the head and the boys decide to run for it.
The pacing was well done. It was hard to put down - I wanted to know what was going to happen, especially when Miranda, Fish's mom, and Tiffany set off to search for the boys. I could hear the thunder and smell the electricity from the lightning. I could hear the water rushing as they encountered rapids.
All-around excellent debut.
spaulk57's review
4.0
An enjoyable read with good characters - good in the sense they weren’t perfect but decent people you could care about.
The only weak part was near the end when the abusive father shows up on the river. The scenes on the River during the storm were compelling and frightening. The dad showing up was unnecessary to the story end. He could have been dealt with in a more fitting and believable way.
This book would also be suitable for teens.
The only weak part was near the end when the abusive father shows up on the river. The scenes on the River during the storm were compelling and frightening. The dad showing up was unnecessary to the story end. He could have been dealt with in a more fitting and believable way.
This book would also be suitable for teens.
jeffmauch's review
5.0
An adventurous coming of age novel set in the woods of Wisconsin? Sign me up! I stumbled across this book in a local book store a while back because it was being touted as a great debut novel. Once I read a brief synopsis, it immediately was added to my forever growing "to read" pile.
Raft of stars is the story of two 10 year old friends who run for the wilderness after some accidental trouble with the law. Both of the boys are also coming to terms with their fathers, but in much different ways. Mix into this a law man struggling in his new post, far from home, an old war vet, his daughter, and the local gas station attendant, all out in the woods with differing levels of being lost and you get quite a story. I thoroughly enjoyed this one from start to finish. The variety of characters and the depth given to each of them by the author shows a maturity in storytelling that far surpasses what I'd expect in a first novel. Throw in multiple narrators with a story being told from as many as 4 different points of view and you can color me impressed. I can't wait to see what Andrew J. Graff writes next. I have high hopes for him. 5/5
Raft of stars is the story of two 10 year old friends who run for the wilderness after some accidental trouble with the law. Both of the boys are also coming to terms with their fathers, but in much different ways. Mix into this a law man struggling in his new post, far from home, an old war vet, his daughter, and the local gas station attendant, all out in the woods with differing levels of being lost and you get quite a story. I thoroughly enjoyed this one from start to finish. The variety of characters and the depth given to each of them by the author shows a maturity in storytelling that far surpasses what I'd expect in a first novel. Throw in multiple narrators with a story being told from as many as 4 different points of view and you can color me impressed. I can't wait to see what Andrew J. Graff writes next. I have high hopes for him. 5/5
stmchester's review
3.0
I read this with my book group. Our consensus was that this is really a young adult book. I would recommend it for someone who enjoys outdoor adventure books or is looking for a book with 10 year old boys as the protagonists.
taylorthiel's review
4.0
3.5 rounded up. Maybe 3.75. I don’t really know how I feel about this book tbh. I’ve never read anything like it.
The story itself was unbelievable (literally) but also riveting. Any scene with the two boys Fish and Bread alone was amazing and really powerful. (Fish and Bread like Jesus’s miracle I think was the point of that).
The writing was really beautiful and mature. The descriptions of nature were especially good. It felt like a very cinematic book if that makes sense.
I also have read a book this recently that had Christian themes in a positive way. Not sure if the author intended that. But Fish’s mom was a straight up or Pentecostal Christian and she’s pretty much the most bad ass cool character in the book. It wasn’t overt, but it did feel like the author wanted us to see God in everything. So that was different. I didn’t hate it, but I also wasn’t fully bought into it either.
Tiffany bothered me on a lot of levels only because I feel like she was definitely a woman written by a man. This girl literally spent a year homeless, fighting for her life, and all she was worried about was getting a husband? That didn’t really track for me. I feel like after the trauma she endured it would’ve made more sense for her to know that she could take care of herself. But the whole time she kept calling herself worthless and hoping that the sheriff would marry her. So that is probably why I didn’t give this a higher rating honestly.
The story itself was unbelievable (literally) but also riveting. Any scene with the two boys Fish and Bread alone was amazing and really powerful. (Fish and Bread like Jesus’s miracle I think was the point of that).
The writing was really beautiful and mature. The descriptions of nature were especially good. It felt like a very cinematic book if that makes sense.
I also have read a book this recently that had Christian themes in a positive way. Not sure if the author intended that. But Fish’s mom was a straight up or Pentecostal Christian and she’s pretty much the most bad ass cool character in the book. It wasn’t overt, but it did feel like the author wanted us to see God in everything. So that was different. I didn’t hate it, but I also wasn’t fully bought into it either.
Tiffany bothered me on a lot of levels only because I feel like she was definitely a woman written by a man. This girl literally spent a year homeless, fighting for her life, and all she was worried about was getting a husband? That didn’t really track for me. I feel like after the trauma she endured it would’ve made more sense for her to know that she could take care of herself. But the whole time she kept calling herself worthless and hoping that the sheriff would marry her. So that is probably why I didn’t give this a higher rating honestly.