Riverland is a 2019 Middle Grade/YA Portal Fantasy novel by author Fran Wilde, who previously one the Norton Award - the Nebula Award for best YA SF/F novel - for her novel "Updraft", and has been a Hugo/Nebula nominee for multiple other works. Riverland itself wound up winning this year's Norton Award for best YA/Middle-Grade Fantasy novel and is nominated as well for the Lodestar Award, the equivalent award in the Hugos. In short, Wilde is critically acclaimed in the field, especially in writing for YA audiences, and while I haven't always loved her works as much as some, they've always been interesting, and so Riverland was the first book I decided to read from the now released Hugo Voters Packet.

And Riverland is worth the praise....but it's an utterly brutal one, and I absolutely wish it wasn't necessary. This is a tale of parental abuse, and while the abuse basically never gets physical, it's no less brutal for it, and Riverland pulls absolutely no punches. it is not a long book, but it took me longer than a book nearly twice its size to finish because it is the type of content that is that rough to read. And yet, while the fantasy elements are probably not the strongest, Riverland is a terrifyingly believable story of abuse that will absolutely be useful for the many many kids who grow up in such a household, and god, I wish that wasn't the case.

Trigger Warnings: Emotional Parental Abuse, if you couldn't tell from above.

-------------------------------------------------Plot Summary------------------------------------------------

The "Magic" doesn't work if you don't follow the rules. That's what Eleanor tells herself and more importantly, tells her younger sister Mike. For when they don't follow the rules, their parents get upset - in their own ways - and things in the house start breaking or disappearing. No matter how insignificant the rules are. But if they do follow the rules, their mother's "House Magic" makes sure everything stays intact, or even becomes better.

Eleanor has grown up in this house, unable to tell anyone else about it (because that would break another rule), and has tried to comfort her sister at night, hiding under Eleanor's bed, by telling stories of magic to her sister - stories of a Troll Father, a Magic Mother, and of real parents rescuing kids from monsters. But when a family heirloom is broken by their father after one day, Eleanor and Mike find themselves swept away through a river that appears under the bed, into a fantasy world of dreams and nightmares.

But this is not a happy fantasy world - it's one that's breaking and in need of repair. But when every time Eleanor tries to fix anything - in real life or in fantasy - it goes wrong, and if she can't tell anyone of the problem, then how can she possibly manage to put things right?

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Riverland is a rough book to read, as I've mentioned above, because it is a tale of parental abuse. Eleanor and Mike's father is a control freak, who reacts to any small thing out of his desires with rage, yelling, and destruction (of property for most of the book). Their mother reacts to their father's reactions by blaming the pair of them, as if they were the only ones in the wrong. And not all of their parents reactions are even due to actions by Eleanor and Mike - their father is invested in real estate, including their house, and it isn't going well, and his reactions to that carry over to their domestic life. It's a terrifying atmosphere to read for me, an adult in his 30s, and this is a book for Middle-Grade audiences! But there are unfortunately too many in that audience who are living in such an atmosphere, and that's who this book is really aimed at.

Eleanor and Mike's reactions toward this abuse - not that they understand enough being in middle and elementary school respectively - are honestly as painfully real as the descriptions of the abusive behavior themselves. Mike acts out in school, sometimes with violence, other times with actions designed to fix things based upon the white lies Eleanor has told her. And poor Eleanor lives in desperate fear of breaking the rules to the point of being desperately scared to try and prevent anyone from finding out about them for fear of what will happen - an act of holding things in that constantly threatens to ruin her one significant friendship and has ruined friendships from the past. Her best friend, a girl named Pendra who comes from a more loving family, just wants to be closer to Eleanor and to share secrets, and Eleanor is too terrified to say otherwise. And mind you, Eleanor is not a simple or dumb girl, she's clearly very smart as seen in the book - but her environment forces her inside herself, so that she will not under any circumstances get in trouble.

This attitude of course carries over to the portal fantasy world as well, where Eleanor is afraid to trust others with truths, afraid to make promises, and doesn't feel like anything she can do will go right. And really, that's the lesson this book is going for throughout - that Eleanor (and Mike eventually) needs to figure out their own self worth, to assert themselves for who they are, and do what they need to do, not their parents. That they need to be able to admit the truth to themselves and to others at times, and well, that's hard. It's a rough journey and this book makes it work - ending in a situation where Eleanor has thankfully been able to do that. It's not all better, but it's better, thank god.

I should point out that this book has some flaws - you'll note I barely mention the fantasy world in this review: that's deliberate, as it's probably the weakest part of the book: it's both utterly strange and unusual in ways and absolutely generic in others, with its dreams/nightmares/villains setup and a crab repairmen sequence that feels almost out of a Disney movie. The book is powerful enough in the real world parts - which take up nearly all of the book mind you - that this doesn't matter, and the fantasy world does serve as a significant part in Eleanor's emotional journey, so it works out in the long run. I also kind of disliked an aspect of the ending which suggests a very different end for several characters, who absolutely deserved that end, only to chicken out at the last moment. I honestly wonder if that was a last minute switch because of the Middle Grade nature of this novel.

Spoiler in ROT13: Va gur svany frdhrapr, nf n uheevpnar ornef qbja ba gur gbja, Ryrnabe'f cneragf, yrq ol ure pbagebyyvat sngure, ershfr gb yrnir gurve ubhfr qrfcvgr gur rinphngvba beqre, naq Ryrnabe naq Zvxr yrnir jvgubhg gurz (snagnfl fghss unccraf nf jryy va guvf). Vg jbhyq xvaq bs znxr frafr sbe gur cneragf gb qvr nf n erfhyg, be ng yrnfg fhssre frirer unez, ohg nyy gung unccraf va gur raq vf Ryrnabe naq Zvxr jvaqvat hc yvivat jvgu gurve tenaqzn juvyr gurve cneragf erohvyq, frrzvatyl ab jbefr sbe jrne. Vg'f n ynpx bs pbafrdhraprf sbe gurz gung qbrfa'g ernyyl znxr frafr tvira rirelguvat ryfr.

But overall, Riverland is a terrifyingly powerful novel, and one which i fear is all too needed for the Middle-Grade audience. It's the best and worst thing of Wilde's I've ever read as a result, and it deserves the awards it earns for sure.

Ugh what an emotional and tear jerking book! The writing was phenomenal and I love the love between the siblings.

A story about sisterly love, triumph & loyalty, This story very much reminded me of a story I read and enjoyed a few years ago, “Rules for Stealing Stars”. These sisters created a world I. Which to escape from the harsh realities of life.

Sorry I did not get to read and review this one as my college exam season started. I will look out for it elsewhere.

I wasn't sure what to expect, but I enjoyed reading this. An interesting story with fun characters. Well written.

What I did like about Riverland was the strong bond between the sisters Eleanor and Mike. Eleanor does her best to shield her sister from Poppa's outbursts and tempers, and she does what she can to make sure Mike still sees things in a child-like way, as she should. Eleanor has her own issues, though, because she feels helpless and powerless, and the way Poppa speaks to her hardly helps. She hopes to be brave and strong for others.

The one aspect that was critical to the story was the way Eleanor and Mike dealt with the abusive relationships at home. Children have to deal with some truly horrible things at times, and the way the topic was approached showed not only the issues of domestic violence but also the wider ramifications of what it means to grow up in an abusive household. Eleanor and Mike bear the brunt of what happens between their Poppa and Momma. What Eleanor's friend Pendra thinks is magical about her home is really just her mother picking things up after her father's rages. They are all compensating for their Poppa's anger and the damage he does.

The way the girls and their mother deal with the father's temper and lashing out follows a pattern that is ingrained in them. There is denial, escapism, belief that stronger forces are at work. The unwillingness to accept help or admit the abuse. The fear of speaking out and being honest. They are constantly doing their best to hide the issues in their family from teachers, their grandmother, and the counselor.

Overall, though, Riverland didn't entirely hit the mark for me. I wanted to like the fantasy world and was looking forward to an Alice-in-Wonderland-like adventure. I also hoped for more developed characters overall, especially the adults. Even with these important scenes between the sisters, where they try to protect each other, I spent the first half of the book really unsure of what Riverland was, how the creatures in it were connected, who the characters were meant to be, and what was going on even in the real world ... and the second half of the book didn't answer these questions as much as I would have liked. I was admittedly confused at times by the nature of Riverland and the creatures. The moments in and out of Riverland felt fragmented between bouts in the real world above.

Of course, handling the topic of domestic abuse with young children is a sensitive thing. This book might help bring up difficult topics for discussion and allow for the building of empathy.

Thank you to Netgalley ARC and ABRAMS Kids/Amulet Books for advance access to this book in exchange for an honest review. 

Many readers might engage with the emotions of the two sisters. A worry, however, is that while often kids blame themselves for the anger and sadness they see their parents experience, I don't believe the author went far enough to show how that isn't true.

At times the narrative was confusing, I struggled to see how the river fit in with the overall arc of the story. I wished there had been more of a development with the relationship between the sisters and their grandmother and that the parents had been more fully fleshed out.

This was a great book in theory, but rather difficult to follow. The theme of domestic violence was very strong. I appreciated that the sisters could band together for safety.

A magical read that touches on the very real=life topic of domestic violence. While Riverland is aimed at the middle grade reader, the content is also extremely relatable and appropriate for young adult and adult readers. This book shows the real life consequences of living with abuse in the home and as the writer shares, she hopes her work will be accessible on a bookshelf for those who need it most.

The author is a skilled writer and I enjoyed the flow of the story. The plot is solid and I look forward to reading more from Fran Wilde.

***Thank you to NetGalley and Abrams Kids for providing me with an advanced ARC of Riverland by Fran Wilde in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.***

Mini review:

Trigger warning: Mention of bad temper regarding the MCs father. Up till the point I read.

DNF

I received this E-ARC via Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I was really looking forward to reading this book! Unfortunately I didn’t like it.

To put it simply I started losing interest while reading. I couldn’t wrap my head around the beginning and while I wanted to read more, I couldn’t bring myself to.

I still recommend.

This is an interesting and magical story about two sisters Eleanor and Mike in a bad situation at home. When their parents are upset they hide under the bed and tell stories where they feel safe. But when a family heirloom gets smashed, their whole world changes and it sends the two sisters down a magical river taking, them away from their home. This Riverland that they find themselves in was hard for me to connect with and just didn’t appeal to me personally. I could see how children growing up in an emotionally abusive home might find comfort in creating this type of story to escape.
Thank you to Abrams Kids and NetGalley for this copy to review, my opinions are my own.

When I first read Riverland I thought it was excellent, but questioned the YA designation. The theme of domestic violence is pervasive, and I found myself wondering if it was "suitable" for young readers. Then I read the author's acknowledgements, where she noted that this book was for anyone who needed it and a testament to the fact that she "saw" the young people who are surviving these situations and that such books needed to be on shelves for those in similar situations so they feel seen and heard. She is right. 100% right. I hope this book ends up in every single library in the land (it absolutely will be in mine), because this beautiful and heartbreaking book needs to be there for those who need it.