I was #gifted One by One by Freida McFadden from @NetGalley and @poisonedpenpress in exchange for my honest review. The book was published April 2.
The story follows Claire Matchett as she sets off on a child-free week holiday with her husband and two couple friends. With her marriage on the rocks, she needs a break from her every day life and is looking forward to a quiet week away. But when Claire’s minivan breaks down on a dirt road, there is no choice but to start hiking. With no cellphone reception and a paper map, the group inevitably gets lost on their way to the hotel. What takes place in the woods not only strikes down their party of six one by one, but leaves them wondering who’s going to make it home?
I didn’t expect to read a McFadden book so quickly after The Handmaid’s Secret, however when I had the opportunity to receive this book I took it. And it did not let me down! Told from Claire’s POV and an Anonymous POV, McFadden has a way of drawing you in quickly and always leaves you wanting more. I finished this book in six days and couldn’t put it down. McFadden may just be the queen of confusion – in a good way. I have not guessed the ending of her books yet and appreciate that she has such a way of leading the readers in one direction and then flipping the script in another.
I give this book four-stars. It was fast-paced, and easy to read. The characters are likeable and the reader really takes you along on her journey and you go willingly. It left me guessing until the end.

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Swift River follows a mixed-race teenage girl as she tries to escape her insular 1980s American small town called Swift River. Being the only person of colour the townsfolk have ever seen, Diamond is constantly made aware of her body. Compounding her self-consciousness is her body image struggles, having gained weight in her teens due to a diet of processed foods—the only ones that her and her can’t-hold-down-a-job mother can afford.

Interwoven in between the present-day storyline are letters from Diamond’s estranged aunt, her bygone father’s sister, who teaches her more about the history of the Black population in Swift River and the forces that drove the community out. In other chapters, Diamond recalls her childhood, when her father was still around, dissecting the moments that led up to his leaving. In each timeline, the book highlights various struggles that Black women faced in a historical American Midwest.

The writing of Swift River is good, with distinct voices for both teenage and child Diamond, as well as the two women in the letters. I was impressed by the detail of Diamond’s inner monologue, especially when it came to observations about how her body existed in the world.

But I wanted more to come out of this book. None of the themes are explored in depth and the characters have very little development. All the subplots focused on different elements, such that all four POVs don’t cohesively relate to one another. Overall, Swift River's execution doesn't stack up to comparable titles, such as Black Cake and The Vanishing Half, which also deal with the experiences of young Black mixed-race Americans, the legacy of absent parents, and how family lineages impact our present.

Diamond Newberry broke my heart and lifted my spirit, all in one big emotional read.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster Canada and Netgalley for the eArc of this novel and the opportunity to share my honest opinion.

Based in the 80s, in small town America, Diamond's a young girl who's future is based on her mom's ability to prove her missing Pop's is dead. Bi-racial in a town where she's the only Black person, poor, overweight and friendless, Diamond's story is one that showcases the shades of resilience and self-preservation. In an effort to create a future for herself, Diamond secretly goes against her mom's rules and pursues her drivers licence. That same summer, she makes her first real friend, smashes her way through summer in a way that only teens can and is reunited with an Aunty from her Pop's side of the family, giving voice to her Blackness and ancestral lineage.

What I loved - Diamond's patience and love for her mom nearly did me in. This sweet baby, she just cared for her momma so much. Her ability to love on a mother that had all but dissociated from real life and scrape some semblance of a life, regardless of the humiliation, was hard to read... and yet so relatable.

What didn't land - two things, really. I wasn't a big fan of how much was left unanswered when it came to Pop's. I'm also not sure I'm okay with Mr. Jimmy and Shelly's relationship.

Favourite character - I mean, I'm obsessed with Diamond (I grew up in a small town in the 80s as the only Black person and am a biracial adoptee to a white family, so...). Shelly, however, was everything for me. She just kinda showed up, loved on Diamond in away that allowed her to believe in tomorrow. It was so simple and effortless, uncomplicated. Two broken young souls, helping each other put the pieces back together.

Least favourite character - I really really really want to hate her mom, but I can't. I get it. And I'm just so sad for her, but I also just wanna give her a big shake and tell her to stop making her baby hitchhike through life.

Favourite scene - Diamond and Shelly sneaking in a swim at work after hours. Everything about that moment was written in a way that felt like a long lost memory, and exercise in hopefullnesss. I didn't want that moment to end, for either girl.

Last impression - Diamond sharing her letters from Lena with her mom and what that meant for her future. And the gift her mom had waiting for her... insert ugly cry.

I would recommend this for anyone likes Summer Sisters, Dumplin' and Lullibies for Little Criminal

A really good but rough read,
A dual POV between Diamond and Her aunts letters.
Diamond is living in the 80s after intergration and narrates her life on living with biracial parents.
It also heavily discusses family issues, racism and classism.
Diamonds Aunts letters disscuss family secrets, life living in the north after fleeing slavery in the south.
I will add there is alot of derogatory use of the n-word towards the mc and her family. There is no friendly manner use, even between family members.
This book will make you ponder on life and fill you with apathy and empathy