Tomorrow River by Lesley Kagen

Tomorrow River Reviews

• 
  Kristin

  I have to say, I wasn't expecting to actually read the whole book. In order to get ready for author, Leslie Kagen, to make an appearance, time had slipped away and I had one day to read this novel. I was told to read the last few chapters. I have a hard time reading the ending of books, unless they are real stinkers and I am about to give up on them. So, I read the first few chapters. This book was amazing! I was up all night finishing it and I am ready to read it again. It is reminisent of Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird in evoking the same type of Southern feeling and style. Deep South, deep traditions and characters who aren't really what they seem. Highly entertaining, heart breaking, yet, amazingly touching at the same time. I loved it!
• 
  Gökçe

  Yeni yıla harika başladık.
• 
  Theresa

  This book was fast paced with easy readability. I felt the author did a fantastic job of capturing a true sounding 11 year old narrator. I'm always frustrated when an author attempts to portray a child and said child thinks nothing like the given age. Often times authors give the child too much insight or too great an ability to see everyday life from an adult perspective. I thought Lesley Kagen made the main character, Shenny, an obviously bright, gregarious and very verbal 11 year old child. She effectively attributed childlike qualities and naiveté to the character as well. From my reading experience I know that is not easy to do, so kudos to her. However, the "problem" I had with this story was that the plot itself was a bit far-fetched and not entirely plausible. Therefore, it gets three stars. A perfect example of a good book while reading ----but will not hold long in my memory.
• 
  Kitty

  Intriguing mystery with a protagonist I fell in love with. The story is told by Shenandoah, known as Shen. She's 11 and determined to find her mother who's been missing for one year. Since her mother's been gone, her twin sister Woody, has been mute, communicating only through drawings and odd squawks and flaps. Their father is a drunk, abusive jackass, but Shen loves him with all her heart, even though he often locks her and her sister in a root cellar as punishment and won't let them go to school. What happened to their mother? Did she run away or was it something more sinister? The twists will keep you guessing.
• 
  Book Concierge

  Everyone in Rockbridge County knows the Carmody family – they’re the richest and most powerful clan in this part of Virginia. Shenandoah and Jane Woodrow Carmody are 11-year-old twins living at Lilyfield – a large home in rural Virginia – with their father, a judge, and their housekeeper Louise Jackson. As the novel opens, their mother has been missing for nearly a year, and their father has clearly descended into an alcoholic depression. He is keeping the twins virtual prisoners at home, though they manage to get to town when he’s not around. Shenny is most worried about her sister, because Woody hasn’t spoken a word since the night their mother disappeared, and Shenny believes their father is getting ready to send Woody to some sort of asylum. So Shenny decides the time has come to take matters into her own hands and find their mother and bring her home.
  
  This is an interesting premise and Kagen can write a suspenseful thriller (I really enjoyed her debut work Whistling in the Dark), but she didn’t quite pull it off in my opinion. For one thing I quickly got tired of the “Southernisms” with which Shenny expressed herself. I also grew frustrated with how unreliable she was as a narrator. Yes, I know, she’s only 11 and can’t be expected to understand all that is happening around her, especially with most of the adults specifically trying to keep things from her. Still, as a reader this drove me crazy. I enjoy a suspense/thriller that gives me that sense of dread and “evil lurking in the hearts of men.” But I also want some relief occasionally – the idea that the protagonist has some control and is making headway in finding the culprit or uncovering the truth. I didn’t get that here. So while I was as surprised as Shenny to discover the truth about her mother’s disappearance (not necessarily a bad thing, being surprised), I just didn’t feel that the whole novel quite worked. Sorry I can’t be more specific than that …. If my review frustrates you, that may approximate how I felt about this book.
  
• 
  Cathe Fein Olson

  12-year-old twin girls try to deal with the disappearance of their mother in different ways. Woody (Jane) retreats into herself, no longer talking or caring for herself. Shen takes care of her sister and tries to solve the mystery by secretly interviewing townspeople. Meanwhile, both girls have to deal with their father's increasing drunkenness and unpredictable moods.
  
  I found this book intriguing and definitely wanted to keep reading to find out what really happened on the night of the carnival when the mother disappeared. The writing was good, however, the father seemed kind of stereotypical and I had a hard time understanding, especially at the end, this undying love Shen had for her dad after he repeatedly locked her in the root cellar and allowed his family to mistreat her. I also didn't like the way Shen was made to be so dumb sometimes--when people said something she didn't believe she though they were addled . . . I means seriously, other than the grandmother who was definitely off, why would others keeping coming down with mental illness. The ending was also a little too much as one reviewer described it, Nancy Drew-like, where we suddenly get everything explained to us in a neat package tied up with a ribbon.
  
  All in all though, an enjoying and satisfying read.
• 
  Anya Tsinko

  I found the first half of the book a little slow. It was hard to get to know the characters as I found their development quite slow. I understand that the story is told from the point of view of a 11 year old and some things she just can't understand, still some parts were really frustraiting. For example, Shenny realized that Woody's drawings have changed over the past year to have a darker tone and depicted mainly the events around her mother, still it would take Shenny over half of the book to realize that her sister is trying to tell her something and not just show her drawings to recieve praise. It's those little parts, where I just wanted to shake Shenny and tell her to stop being so oblivious that frustraited me. As well as Woody's muteness. I am sure the author did a lot of research, but still it did not seem entirely believable. It made me question her developmental state before her mother's dissapearance.
  This book did make me frustraited at times, and at one point at time I just wanted to shut it and throw it out, yet I went through with it and at the end I found it did get better.
• 
  Kathryn

  First sentence: If you'd had the occasion to come calling on the Carmody clan of Rockbridge County that long-ago summer being a stranger and not familiar with our twisting mountain roads and all, you might've found yourself pulling into the Triple S for directions.
  
  Favorite quote: Today's worn itself down to a trickle, my sweetpeas in a pod. But tomorrow is a river waiting to carry us to our fondest dreams.
  
  This started out as just an okay story for me, worth reading, but not great. As the story progressed it took turns and developed characters in such a manner that I kept reading and reading wanting to know the real truth of the story. A definitely good book club choice.
• 
  Samantha Terrell

  For me this book started out slow and was difficult to become attached to. However, the plot does pick up and I became hooked on the story and characters. The ending was masterfully written to be heart-wrenching and heartwarming at the same time. It was a great book!
• 
  Emily

  As a mystery, the book is highly predictable. But that's okay, really, since the narrator is an eleven year old and it makes sense that an adult reader would piece things together faster than she would. I enjoyed the narrative voice, although I never could buy the twin character (Woody). I understand she was recently mute and psychologically fragile, but she was portrayed as being so developmentally stunted that I couldn't believe she hadn't been that way before the incident. Shen makes it seem like Woody is incapable of putting on her own shoes or combing her hair. Woody flaps and runs when agitated. Even when she does want to communicate with Shen, she doesn't write or rationally act out her message, she just points to her unclear drawings. Perhaps this character was based in mountains of psychological research. I don't know. All I know is I didn't buy it. Overall, though, an entertaining quick read.
• 
  Elizabeth

  The third I've read by Lesley Kagen. This is filled with so many characters (and some of them similar) that it takes a while to catch on. The protagonists are twin girls--Shenandoah and Woody. Shenandoah is taking care of Woody since she has gone mute due to a trauma. Both girls are trying to sort out the death of their mother and the cruelness of their father. Even though the subject matter is tough, Kagen again manages to brings a lighthearted attitude to the topic by creating an atmosphere where the girls are on an adventure. Kagen's language play in this book is that the girls have a secret twin language--that is very cool. In this book I very much enjoyed the southern rural setting and the intertwining of race relations.
  
• 
  Jeannie

  This is a GREAT story. I have read all of Lesely's books and enjoyed them, but in my opinion, this is her best work. She truly captures the emotions of the twin sisters as they try to solve the puzzle of their missing Mother, and endure the hardships placed upon them by their troubled Father--and twisted evil Grandparents and Uncle. The books has some outstanding support characters and a great ending. Kudos to Lesley--and I hope you've started your next book!!
  
  If you havent' read it yet--do so!
• 
  Julie

  It has been almost a year since Shenandoah Carmody’s mother disappeared, taking with her their idyllic life as a prominent family in their late-1960’s Virginia town: her twin sister has stopped speaking, and her father is withdrawn. Shenny is convinced that her mother is out there somewhere, and her return will restore their family life to the way it was. Her memories, and the actions of the narrative, however, reveal that issues of race, class, and gender were – and still are – at work. And Shenny, a bit later than the reader, realizes that things are not the way she thought.
• 
  Robin

  After I got this book home, I wondered whatever possessed me to pick it up. I'm glad that I did, as I thouroughly enjoyed every minute of this story. I fell in love ith the twins - one weak and needy, and the other one strong and resilient.
  The twins' mother disappears. Shenny wants to find her. Woody refuses to talk. Their father, the judge is abusive to them, and is going to wed another. What really happened to their mother? Is she dead like everyone imagines? Lots of story lines. I was surprised at the ending. Goodread, indeed...
• 
  Gayle Wingerter

  Set in Kentucky during 1969, this well-written story of twin girls hooked me from the first page. Their mother has been missing for a year, and the effect on the two very different 11 year-olds is devastating. As one twin tries to solve the mystery of her mother's disappearance, the other has withdrawn and become mute. Little by little the reader learns about family dynamics and secrets. I read the book in about 3 days, unusual for me.
• 
  Nan

  This is a page-turning novel of suspense and intrigue with interesting characters that come alive. Things are not what they appear. Shenandoah Wilson and Jane Woodrow are 12 year old twin girls living in West Virginia. Seeing the world through the eyes of a 12 year old child brings a sense of honesty and understanding that will leave you touched and tearful. This novel has a number of unexpected twists, which makes turning each page a delight. I truly enjoyed this one! I recommend!
  
• 
  Rebecca

  I really liked this story, but was a bit confused about the 11 year old's point of view - sometimes it is too advanced to be realistic, and at other times I found myself getting frustrated by how dense and overly innocent she seemed. (maybe this is realistic? I only know a few 11 year olds!)
  
  The plot moves along quickly enough and is interesting. I couldn't put the book down once I was halfway through. Great ending.
• 
  Andrea

  I love, love, love Lesley Kagen. This book had it all-a mystery, a suspense tale a love story, a family drama...The story is told from the innocent-eye point-of-view which helps create some dramatic irony. As for the mystery part, I thought I had that all figured out a third of the way into the book. Which of course I didn't! I was sorry when I had to put this one down.
• 
  Rachel

  This is my favorite of her books so far. The story follows two twins investigating the disappearance of their mother. The book starts out simple and charming, but turns progressively darker--not in a scary way though.
• 
  Katrina

  This book reminded me of a Nancy Drew or Scooby Do mystery; and not in a good way. In the end, everyone is related and someone is not who they said they were. So dumb. I probably would not read another book by this author.
• 
  Ariel

  Read Review here:
  
  http://mysterysuspence.blogspot.com/2...
• 
  Mechele McDaniel Rose

  Love this book!
• 
  DebParins Zich

  The author, Lesley Kagen, came to our book club and was as fantastic in person as her characters are in her novel :)
• 
  Jessica

  Love this book. It's the kind of book I may read a second time. Lesley Kagen's writing is so Addictive!