thebooktrail88 's review for:

The River by Peter Heller

4.0

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Visit the locations in the novel

What an adventure!! Two boys who meet through a love of books and adventure. I loved them from the start. They want to go on the adventure of a lifetime and so head on a canoe down the long and winding Maskwa River in Canada.

It all starts well – they are prepared with food, tents and all the necessary equipment. These boys know what they are doing. It all starts off quite gentle and that is reflected in the gorgeous stunning scenery. It’s green, pleasant, calming. The water is rippling and the feeling of freedom stretches out before them with the river.

But then there’s news of wildfires. And they are restricted by where they can go. But that’s not the worst of it. The fire is not the thing they should be afraid of. Blimey it’s like they’ve been sailing along in the canoe and hit a rocky incline, a whirlpool and a hazardous bend all at once.

The sense of urgency and panic ramps up and the book jolts the reader along at the same speed as that pulsating river. I couldn’t have stopped reading if I’d wanted to. It was that realistic I almost felt seasick. You just know you’re miles from anywhere, the sat phone doesn’t work and where the hell are you going with these boys?

This is a riproaring experience of a novel. I really feel as if I’ve been in the heart of the rockies and that’s a river journey I’m not going to forget in a hurry. I got out alive but did the boys? Well, no spoilers here, but it’s a blast finding out!