Peeking Between the Pages

...escape into the pages of a good book

Friday Finds (April 9)

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Friday Finds hosted by Should Be Reading asks us to share what great books we heard about or discovered in the past week.


My pick this week is a book called The Last River Child by Lori Ann Bloomfield. This book is already in circulation having been released by Second Story Press in 2009. Here’s a bit about the book from Second Story Press…

A young woman struggles against a small town’s superstitious fears at the turn of the last century


In the summer of 1900 a meteorite lands on the day of Peg Staynor’s baptismal, barely missing the small church in rural Ontario. This, along with Peg’s almost colourless eyes, is enough to resurrect a local superstition that will haunt Peg and her family for years. Many believe Peg to be a “river child,” taken over by an evil spirit from the Magurvey river that winds its way through the town.

Feared and shunned throughout her childhood, Peg is blamed for every misfortune, from drought to ailing livestock. When her mother, her fiercest protector, dies suddenly on the same day WWI is declared, fourteen-year-old Peg must face not only the mistrust of the villagers, but of her father. His grief has driven him to take solace in drink and old superstition, leaving Peg with only her head-strong older sister for support.

It will take the terrible reality of the first World War to shake off the grip of old world beliefs. As the town’s young men begin to return mentally and physically damaged, or not return at all, the sheltered atmosphere of the town is broken. A bright flame of change will sweep through everyone’s lives, leading Peg into the future.

About the Author

Lori Ann Bloomfield lives in Toronto, Canada. Her short stories have appeared in several magazines in Canada and the US. She hosts the First Line blog (http://firstlinefiction.blogspot.com), a source of inspiration for fiction writers. The Last River Child is her first novel.

I was lucky enough to be contacted by the author in regards to this novel and I can tell you that I am eagerly waiting to read it. Stay tuned sometime in middle May for my review. How about you? What did you find this week?

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  3. Either you are giving away very good books or reviewing and highlighting very good books! Thank you for both.

  6. I've read a review of that one and agree that it's a find! I'll be watching for your review.

  10. I've already got The Last River Child on my TBR list, after seeing it on a few blogs over the past couple weeks!

    My post is here.

  11. another one for my TBR list. I love the sound of this, especially with Peg being feared by the town like that.

  15. I'm looking forward to the review in this book!

    This week I decided that I should start exploring Adriana Trigiani's books. I read one for my blog last year and really liked it, and I've heard great things about her books, so I've decided to read them all.