(Chelsea Update would like to thank Emily Meloche for this book review.)
Once Upon a River tells the story of Margo Crane, a teenager who leaves her home following the death of her father—a death for which she can feel some responsibility.
Margo begins life on her own along the Kalamazoo River, ultimately wanting to find her mother who left the family a few years earlier. Making a variety of alliances and channeling the survival skills of her idol Annie Oakley, Margo does whatever it takes to make it.
Because so much of Once Upon a River takes place in the removed environment of nature, the story has a timeless quality. Only one small mention sets the story in the 1980s.
The book has a mystical feel of magical realism without leaving the real world.
Author Bonnie Jo Campbell creates a full, intriguing protagonist in Margo—even though her actions can occasionally be difficult to understand and empathize with, readers want to keep following her story and want the best for her.
Campbell will be visiting Chelsea on Saturday, April 26 as part of the Midwest Literary Walk.
She will read at 4:20 p.m. at the Chelsea Alehouse. Or join us for the whole day beginning at 11 a.m. at the Purple Rose Theatre.
