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    Crooked River: A Novel
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    Crooked River: A Novel
    Unavailable
    Crooked River: A Novel
    Ebook389 pages7 hours

    Crooked River: A Novel

    By Valerie Geary

    4/5

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    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    With the inventiveness and emotional power of Promise Not to Tell, The Death of Bees, and After Her, a powerful literary debut about family and friendship, good and evil, grief and forgiveness.

    He is not evil. I am not good.

    We are the same: broken and put back together again.

    Still grieving the sudden death of their mother, Sam and her younger sister Ollie McAlister move from the comforts of Eugene to rural Oregon to live in a meadow in a teepee under the stars with Bear, their beekeeper father. But soon after they arrive, a young woman is found dead floating in Crooked River, and the police arrest their eccentric father for the murder.

    Fifteen-year-old Sam knows that Bear is not a killer, even though the evidence points to his guilt. Unwilling to accept that her father could have hurt anyone, Sam embarks on a desperate hunt to save him and keep her damaged family together.

    I see things no one else does.

    I see them there and wish I didn’t. I want to tell and can’t.

    Ollie, too, knows that Bear is innocent. The Shimmering have told her so. One followed her home from her mom’s funeral and refuses to leave. Now, another is following Sam. Both spirits warn Ollie: the real killer is out there, closer and more dangerous than either girl can imagine.

    Told in Sam and Ollie’s vibrant voices, Crooked River is a family story, a coming of age story, a ghost story, and a psychological mystery that will touch reader’s hearts and keep them gripped until the final thrilling page.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateOct 14, 2014
    ISBN9780062326614
    Unavailable
    Crooked River: A Novel
    Author

    Valerie Geary

    Valerie Geary is the author of Crooked River, a finalist for the Ken Kesey Award. Her short stories have been published in The Rumpus and Day One. She lives in Portland, Oregon with her family.

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    Reviews for Crooked River

    4/5

    38 ratings11 reviews

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    • 4/5
      Ever since I was a young reader I have loved books about kids overcoming evil and coming of age. Beginning with to kill a mockingbird and this afternoon continuing with Crooked River. I can't get enough of them. With innocence coupled with a unjaded view of the world, honesty with a belief in right and wrong sets he ground work for the best stories.This book is yet another wonderful debut.
    • 5/5
      What a wonderful story and so lyrically written. I can’t wait for her next book.
    • 5/5
      When their mother dies, two sisters go to live with their father. But his home is a tent, his life is the keeping of bees, and one of the sisters has stopped talking. Also, there’s a body in the river.Sam doesn’t believe in ghosts or lost voices. Ollie can’t get away from them. But all could still be well until Bear comes under suspicion of murder. Then a town’s prejudice incites a child’s curiosity. And the ghost wants her killer found.A voiceless child might find it just as hard to be heard as one who can speak. A voiceless bee can’t prove who harmed the hive. And a voiceless ghost can’t answer. But there might be ways, and there might be more to life than can be seen. Good, bad and in between, the characters of this tale prove that good people make mistakes, and that mistakes can be forgiven. Even bees move on and try again. But If someone refuses to move…Evocative scenery, believable characters of all ages, heart-breaking plot, and a haunting touch of magical realism—this mystery has it all and I really enjoyed it.Disclosure: A friend knew I’d like it so she loaned it to me. Thank you!
    • 5/5
      Unique, and completely engaging, "Crooked River" is a wonderful debut work from author Valerie Geary. Told in the alternating voices of two sisters, fifteen-year old Sam and ten-year old Ollie, this is a mystery, a family drama, and so much more. An involving story line and compelling characters combined with beautifully descriptive writing will hold readers enthralled until the last page is turned. While Sam and Ollie's parents loved each other, they couldn't live together. The children lived with their mother in Eugene, Oregon while their father, Bear, settled in rural Oregon, living in a teepee and working as a beekeeper. He rented the land from good people, Zeb and Franny, whose friendship was like family to Bear and his daughters. Every summer, Sam would come to stay with her father. When Ollie was old enough to spend the summer, she chose instead to go to camp with her friends. Things changed forever when the girls' mother suddenly died from a heart attack and they were sent to live with their father on a trial basis. If things didn't work out, the girls would find a permanent home with their mother's parents. Adjusting to the new arrangement is somewhat of a challenge, especially for Ollie, who has not spoken since her mother's death. While Ollie may not be talking, she still sees plenty--including ghostly beings called "Shimmerings" who speak to her. One day, the sisters find the body of a dead woman floating in Crooked River. Sam tries to catch hold of the woman's body, but the river, swollen by rain and melting snow carries her away. When circumstantial evidence implicates Bear in death, the girls decide to keep their discovery a secret. However, Bear is arrested for the murder, and the girls must fight for their father's innocence and for the future of their family. "Crooked River" is a recommended reader's treat, and I look forward to more work from the talented Valerie Geary.Book Copy Gratis Amazon Vine
    • 4/5
      What a riveting story. I abandoned all other reading endeavors to finish this book because it was just plain good.

      A fascinating journey through the minds of two sisters: sharp-witted, courageous Sam & poetic, contemplative Ollie. Their relationship is rich and complex, but not sentimental. The cadence of Geary’s writing is effortless and almost mesmerizing, like the hum of a lazy hive. I was absorbed in the story from start to finish. The characters and setting are quiet and unassuming, but I was perpetually surprised by the story and felt the nagging itch of unease until the very end.
    • 5/5
      Crooked River by Valerie Geary is an incredible debut novel. I absolutely loved this mystery/ghost story/sister tale and very highly recommend it.

      It is the summer of 1988 and two sisters, Sam, 15, and Ollie, 10, are now living in teepees with their reclusive father, "Bear," in a meadow surrounded by bee hives outside of the small town of Terrebone, Oregon. Sam loves the meadow and knows the area because has spent every summer for the last three years with Bear in his meadow and helped with the bees, but this is Ollie's first summer there. Now the girls are going to live with their father full time after their mother died of a heart attack on July 4th. Ollie has not spoken since their mother died.

      Trying to help Ollie accept the new living arrangements and maybe start talking, Sam takes her down to Crooked River to swim. At the river they find a dead woman's body. When Sam tries to pull it ashore, she sends it on down the river instead. Ollie doesn't say a word as Sam puzzles out what to do, if she should tell someone or not. When they get back to their camp, Sam finds a jacket that looks like it has blood on it. Could Bear be responsible for the murder? Or, as Sam believes in her heart, is he really simply a victim of circumstances?

      Ollie may not be talking, but she's thinking and watching what is going on around her, including Shimmerings, the spirits of dead people who she can see and hear around her. Since her mother's funeral, the Shimmering that looks like her mom has been following Ollie. Since they found the body, an angry Shimmering with bared teeth has been following Sam. Ollie knows that Bear is innocent. She tries unsuccessfully to communicate her thoughts to Sam through various means, but she simply can't talk and tell Sam why and what to do or the Shimmerings might take over her voice completely.

      I was completely immersed in this well-written tale and felt the suspense ratchet up with each chapter. The chapters in the novel alternate between the voice of Sam and Ollie as the girls try to find clues and piece out what to do and how to prove to local law enforcement that their father is innocent. Even though it will be easy for readers to predict who the real killer is, the enjoyment was in the two sisters trying to work out the mystery and discover how to prove their father's innocence. I understood the reaction of the girls. I was emotionally invested in following Sam and Ollie's story to the end.

      The writing in Crooked River is sublime. Sam and Ollie have different voices in the narrative and you will find yourself wanting the girls to succeed, to make it. The writing is also wonderfully descriptive in establishing the setting. I felt like I was in the meadow, hearing the bees, feeling the heat during the end of the summer. I was in that small town. I understood the time and place. I will be anxiously awaiting another novel by Valerie Geary.

      Disclosure: My Kindle edition was courtesy of William Morrow for review purposes
    • 3/5
      I really enjoyed the characters in this book. Young Ollie, ten, who sees ghosts and has them trailing after her. Sam, a teenager dealing with her first crush while trying to clear her father of murder. Bear, the father, who in the past made a serious mistake, one that would haunt him. He now lives in a teepee with his daughter, after the death of their mother, and only wants to be left alone, to provide security and tend to his bee hives.A good first novel, but I do wish Ollie and her ghostly abilities would have been portrayed stronger. The mystery, after the half way point was very predictable, but the girls kept me reading. ARC from publisher.
    • 5/5
      Living in a meadow in a tepee with their father is how Sam and Ollie spent their summers because it was the only way they saw him after he left them and their mother. Would the meadow and the tepee be their permanent home now because their mother had died?That was the plan, but when a dead body is found floating in their swimming hole that summer, all is changed. Their father was accused of the murder, and all evidence pointed to this homeless beekeeper. His appearance and lifestyle made him the perfect suspect. Both Sam and Ollie are endearing, quite bright, and love their father. Ollie doesn't talk when she is upset, and she sees things that others do not. She sees things called Shimmerings that warn her about good and bad. Sam knows why Ollie doesn't talk, but she doesn't know what Ollie sees.CROOKED RIVER has wonderful characters and a wonderful storyline. You will fall in love with both of the girls and their adopted grandparents, Franny and Zeb, but their father, Bear/Frank, was a bit more difficult to like. Ms. Geary's writing is very descriptive, exceptionally absorbing, and keeps you glued to the pages as Sam and Ollie search for clues that could prove their father is innocent. As so many reviewers have said: "This book is difficult to put down." I wholeheartedly agree.Ms. Geary seamlessly and creatively takes you back and forth in time as the story unfolds and is told through each girl's voice in alternating chapters.Everything about CROOKED RIVER is warm and family oriented. CROOKED RIVER had me wanting to be there with Sam and Ollie to mother them and to tell them to be careful with their investigation of the murder and who they were befriending.I really enjoyed this book. I will be looking for more from Ms. Geary. Don't miss reading CROOKED RIVER. CROOKED RIVER just had a homey feel to it along with a storyline that had situations that could actually happen and a very suspenseful, tense ending. 5/5This book was given to me free of charge and without compensation by the publisher in return for an honest review.
    • 3/5
      The story of two sisters whose mother has just died and they are living with their father in a teepee in Oregon. Their father left a few years ago but the oldest one, Sam, spent summers with him in the forests of Oregon tending bees and living off the land. They both come to live with him when their mother dies suddenly and not long afterward a young journalist is killed and their father is the prime suspect. They set out to prove he could not have done this crime and won't stop until he is found innocent.
    • 5/5
      Sisters Sam and Ollie McAlister live with their bee-keeping father near the Crooked River in Oregon. Their mother died just four weeks earlier, and Ollie, 10 hasn’t spoken a word since. Sam, who is 15, is frustrated with Ollie’s reasons for not speaking, which has to do with Ollie claiming to see ghosts. As Ollie explains in the chapters she narrates (alternating with Sam):"As far back as I can remember I’ve seen them. In dim light, they seem almost solid. In bright light, barely visible. If I touch them, it’s ice and fire, energy burning. They are glints and specks, here and then gone. Shimmering. Like heat rising off pavement.”What is worse for Ollie is that these ghosts try to speak through her. If she opens her mouth, she knows it is their words that will come out, not hers, so after someone dies, she doesn't talk for a while.Sam doesn’t believe in ghosts, angels, a soul, or any afterlife at all. She thinks Ollie is just being foolish, and constantly admonishes her to “stop being a baby.”But Sam also loves Ollie, and now that their mom is gone, she tries to take care of her. Their dad, known as Bear, has been acting strange too. And when the girls find the body of a dead woman floating in the Crooked River, Sam is afraid that Bear is somehow involved. Sam isn’t the only one; before long, Bear is arrested.Ollie knows something, but she is afraid to speak. Sam can’t believe Bear is a killer but the police claim they have a solid case. Sam is determined to get at the truth, even though no likely outcome is appealing. If Bear is guilty, Sam and Ollie are for all intensive purposes orphans and homeless, which would be bad enough. But if she’s right and Bear is innocent, then whoever did is still out there, and has a stake in making sure that no one casts doubt on Bear's guilt. Evaluation: This is an excellent story. I was reminded a bit of John Hart. The characters are well-written; one can't help rooting for these two courageous and big-hearted girls who keep hope alive in the face of all they have suffered. The plot is imaginative and contains a great deal of suspense. And the reflections on family and love and trust turn this story into something much more than just a mystery.
    • 5/5
      Sam and her younger sister, Ollie, have a lot to adjust to since their mother’s death. Sam is trying to deal with her own grief, and Ollie has gone silent since her mother’s death. To make things more confusing, Ollie believes she is seeing spirits or “Shimmerings” as she calls them. The girls are sent to live with their father. Bear is reclusive, living in a teepee in the woods at the edge of town. Many question his ways and whether he can raise children in such an unusual way. However, Bear tries to be a good father. Gentle and attentive, he teaches the girls about nature, beekeeping, and simple living. The girls become as protective of him as he is of them. This family love and commitment will be put to a harsh test. One hot summer day, the girls find a dead woman’s body in Crooked River near their homestead. With the recent death of their mother too raw, they decide not to tell anyone. Then evidence begins to mount that their father may somehow be involved. Sam sets out on a mission to seek justice and prove that Bear is not involved. Searching for the killer, she uncovers secrets that will change everything for her entire family. Her pursuit for the truth will also jeopardize the safety of both herself and Ollie. Everything that Sam thought she could count on comes into question. Both Sam and Ollie are easy characters to care about, immediately drawing the reader into their story. The writing is direct and flows nicely, quickly pulling the reader along as Sam solves the mystery of Crooked River. I enjoyed Valerie Geary’s debut novel, and will definitely be looking for future stories by her.