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A review by rouver
The Riverman by Aaron Starmer
2.0
This was a frustrating story. It clearly is meant for young adults, since the main character is a 12 year old boy, but the content was more mature than what I would want my daughters exposed to. The language & thought processes were more of a 30 year old. I know that people are cruel and mean, that boys can be sexual predators, but I don't want to have my kids reading those sorts of stories simply for entertainment purposes. This book wasn't about teaching morals or having empathy for others.
The story is about kids who enter into a magical world where all their dreams come true, except the true wishes of the heart; friendship, knowledge, love, acceptance. Each child's world is separated from the others, but kids can cross the barriers with some effort. Hunting the children through this world is a mysterious monster named The Riverman. After he sucks the soul from the child, they go missing in the real world & are never seen again.
Alistair learns about this world from a friend of his, Fiona. She is fearing for her life and worries the Riverman will take her next. Also featured in the story is Alistair's neighbor Charlie, and his older brother Kyle. Although Charlie is cruel, mocks girls for their looks or weight and makes weird sexual comments about the girls in his class, the book makes it clear that the reason his classmates don't like him is because he let his older brother's cool tree house fall into disrepair.
The book has themes of teen suicide, rape, teen pregnancy (one of the older teens specifically mentions she was pregnant at 14, but is presented as a role model), and suggests that it's a betrayal to protect someone by revealing their secrets.
"[Kyle] was a badass of the old mold. Wore a cigarette behind his ear, carried a butterfly knife, kept his van stocked with a stack of blankets and a candle in a jar and a jug of something sweet and alcoholic to ease things in his direction."
It was written in 2014, but was set in 1989. The story would be great, if it were for high school kids and adults. But with a 12 yr old main character? ...the themes didn't make sense for that age.
The story is about kids who enter into a magical world where all their dreams come true, except the true wishes of the heart; friendship, knowledge, love, acceptance. Each child's world is separated from the others, but kids can cross the barriers with some effort. Hunting the children through this world is a mysterious monster named The Riverman. After he sucks the soul from the child, they go missing in the real world & are never seen again.
Alistair learns about this world from a friend of his, Fiona. She is fearing for her life and worries the Riverman will take her next. Also featured in the story is Alistair's neighbor Charlie, and his older brother Kyle. Although Charlie is cruel, mocks girls for their looks or weight and makes weird sexual comments about the girls in his class, the book makes it clear that the reason his classmates don't like him is because he let his older brother's cool tree house fall into disrepair.
The book has themes of teen suicide, rape, teen pregnancy (one of the older teens specifically mentions she was pregnant at 14, but is presented as a role model), and suggests that it's a betrayal to protect someone by revealing their secrets.
"[Kyle] was a badass of the old mold. Wore a cigarette behind his ear, carried a butterfly knife, kept his van stocked with a stack of blankets and a candle in a jar and a jug of something sweet and alcoholic to ease things in his direction."
It was written in 2014, but was set in 1989. The story would be great, if it were for high school kids and adults. But with a 12 yr old main character? ...the themes didn't make sense for that age.