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A review by liacooper
Riverland by Fran Wilde
4.0
I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
4*
It's weird to say I enjoyed reading this book because it does focus on some incredibly serious topics, but I did enjoy it. I was thoroughly swept up in it. It resonated with me on a deeply personal level because, while I won't go into specifics here, I can say that I saw my childhood self represented by Eleanor and the struggles she goes through with her parents, in particular her emotionally abusive father.
This is a Middle Grade contemporary/fantasy story that flips back and forth between our world and an imaginary Riverland made up of dreams and nightmares. Our protagonists fall into the Riverland after their father spends yet another evening rampaging through their house, blaming the girls for stuff outside their control and breaking important familiar artifacts. This kicks off an increasing problem where cracks start splitting between the world of Riverland and the girls' home reality, turning an already tense homelife into an increasing pressure cooker and burdening a 12 and 7 year old with the task of trying to be "good enough" to hold their homelife together.
This book deals with emotional and physical abuse. It won't be for everyone and definitely consider trigger warnings for angry and emotionally abusive parents. That being said, I do think it's a valuable story and easily something I would give to a kid suffering in similar settings or for in general any young reader who likes portal fantasies.
You can hear more of my thoughts about Riverland by checking out my full video review down below.
Link to full video review: https://youtu.be/KOWuEvH6zMc
4*
It's weird to say I enjoyed reading this book because it does focus on some incredibly serious topics, but I did enjoy it. I was thoroughly swept up in it. It resonated with me on a deeply personal level because, while I won't go into specifics here, I can say that I saw my childhood self represented by Eleanor and the struggles she goes through with her parents, in particular her emotionally abusive father.
This is a Middle Grade contemporary/fantasy story that flips back and forth between our world and an imaginary Riverland made up of dreams and nightmares. Our protagonists fall into the Riverland after their father spends yet another evening rampaging through their house, blaming the girls for stuff outside their control and breaking important familiar artifacts. This kicks off an increasing problem where cracks start splitting between the world of Riverland and the girls' home reality, turning an already tense homelife into an increasing pressure cooker and burdening a 12 and 7 year old with the task of trying to be "good enough" to hold their homelife together.
This book deals with emotional and physical abuse. It won't be for everyone and definitely consider trigger warnings for angry and emotionally abusive parents. That being said, I do think it's a valuable story and easily something I would give to a kid suffering in similar settings or for in general any young reader who likes portal fantasies.
You can hear more of my thoughts about Riverland by checking out my full video review down below.
Link to full video review: https://youtu.be/KOWuEvH6zMc