by Ron Rash
First published 2004
A twelve year old girl drowns in the Tamassee River in South Carolina, her body trapped in deep water that won't give her up. The tragedy splits the small town that shares the river's name. The girl's parents demand a rescue operation to recover their daughter. Environmentalists argue that any attempt will permanently scar the river and create a precedent for future damage. Maggie Glenn, a twenty eight year old newspaper photographer, arrives to document the growing conflict. She grew up in this town but fled nearly ten years ago, determined to escape her father and her past. Now the community's division over the drowning forces her to confront what she left behind. The reporter assigned to work with her carries his own painful history, complicating their developing relationship. As the standoff intensifies, Maggie must navigate between the grieving family's desperate need for closure and the activists' commitment to protecting the land. The crisis becomes a lens through which she examines her own relationship with home, family, and the natural world that shaped her.
Genres: literary-fiction, mystery, contemporary, family-drama
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: coming-of-age, fish-out-of-water, return-to-hometown
Setting: South Carolina, Tamassee River
Period: 21st-century
288 pages · Hardcover · Henry Holt and Co.
Content warnings: death