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A review by tani
Riverland by Fran Wilde
4.0
Eleanor and Mike are two troublesome little girls, who are constantly doing awful things and causing their poor father to get upset. He's under a lot of stress, you know, what with the housing deal and the trouble that the bank's giving him. They need to be on their best behavior, but they never seem to be able to do things right. And then things get broken, or disappear entirely. Sometimes, if the spells are strong enough, house magic can fix it, but only sometimes.
If this sounds suspiciously like an abusive situation to you, you've hit the nail on the head. This is a story with a very strong focus on domestic violence. The girls use stories to try and cope with the violence and fear that they face daily in their home, but it's just barely a stopgap. Then, one day, the father breaks a fishing float, and that night, a river appears under Eleanor's bed. The girls fall in, and learn that nightmares are on the verge of breaking into the real world, and only they can stop it. If only they knew how.
The first thing I want to say is that this book was so hard for me to read. I say this as a reader who's always kind of prided herself on not getting terribly upset over violent content. But this absolutely got to me. It was painful to see the day-to-day life that Eleanor and Mike are forced to endure, and I have to say, I absolutely hated their parents because of it. I'd say if any characters deserve hate, they're it. My bleeding heart can't even really muster up any pity for the mother, who is also a victim of abuse, because she's just so stubborn about refusing to admit it. YMMV on that, but it was definitely my experience.
That said, I think that this is an incredibly important book. It absolutely deserved its recent Nebula win for the very real way that it deals with domestic violence. This is the kind of book that could be a source of strength and courage to children in similar situations, and I completely admire that. I hope that it reaches some of the children who need it, and helps them.
The other point I really want to mention is the absolute skill that Fran Wilde brings to this story. Her writing deeply impressed me. It was subtle and patient and heartbreaking. The imagination she brought to the creatures of the river was wonderful, and her characterization of Mike and Eleanor was spot-on perfect. I definitely would like to seek out more books by her, although I hope they're a bit less painful than this one.
If this sounds suspiciously like an abusive situation to you, you've hit the nail on the head. This is a story with a very strong focus on domestic violence. The girls use stories to try and cope with the violence and fear that they face daily in their home, but it's just barely a stopgap. Then, one day, the father breaks a fishing float, and that night, a river appears under Eleanor's bed. The girls fall in, and learn that nightmares are on the verge of breaking into the real world, and only they can stop it. If only they knew how.
The first thing I want to say is that this book was so hard for me to read. I say this as a reader who's always kind of prided herself on not getting terribly upset over violent content. But this absolutely got to me. It was painful to see the day-to-day life that Eleanor and Mike are forced to endure, and I have to say, I absolutely hated their parents because of it. I'd say if any characters deserve hate, they're it. My bleeding heart can't even really muster up any pity for the mother, who is also a victim of abuse, because she's just so stubborn about refusing to admit it. YMMV on that, but it was definitely my experience.
That said, I think that this is an incredibly important book. It absolutely deserved its recent Nebula win for the very real way that it deals with domestic violence. This is the kind of book that could be a source of strength and courage to children in similar situations, and I completely admire that. I hope that it reaches some of the children who need it, and helps them.
The other point I really want to mention is the absolute skill that Fran Wilde brings to this story. Her writing deeply impressed me. It was subtle and patient and heartbreaking. The imagination she brought to the creatures of the river was wonderful, and her characterization of Mike and Eleanor was spot-on perfect. I definitely would like to seek out more books by her, although I hope they're a bit less painful than this one.