Starmer, Aaron.
The Riverman. Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2014. 320 p. $15.99.
978-0374363093
"To
sell a book, you need a description on the back. So here's mine: My
name is Fiona Loomis. I was born on August 11, 1977. I am recording this
message on the morning of October 13, 1989. Today I am thirteen years
old. Not a day older. Not a day younger."
My coworkers have been raving about this book for the last several weeks. In the spirit of Halloween, and in the hopes of going a little bit beyond my reading comfort zone, I decided to give it a try. Normally, I'm not into creepy stuff.
When Fiona approaches Alistair to "pen" her autobiography, he is a little confused. What would a 12-year-old girl want with an autobiography? And why him? As it turns out, Fiona's life story is more than a little unusual. She claims to have been visiting the world of Aquavania, a world of creativity and imagination, since she was four years old and discovered the portal in her basement boiler room. In Aquavania, she is like a God, with her imagination coming to life--she is the creator of her own perfect world. She finds other kids in Aquavania, kids that have created fantastic lives of their own. The possibilities seem unlimited, and it is all almost too good to be true, until the other kids start disappearing... Because, you see, they don't just disappear in Aquavania--they disappear from the real world as well, and Fiona fears that she may be next. Her fear of the Riverman is a strong one--but Alistair doesn't know what to believe. Is Fiona delusional, or is she really visiting this other world? He must decide what he believes, before it's too late to help her.
Starmer's newest YA series,
The Riverman Trilogy, takes place in a relatively sleepy upstate New York town in the late 1980s. Having access only to Alistair's mind, save for little vignettes of Fiona's adventures in Aquavania (as dictated for him to record for later), one must decide whether or not to believe Fiona, or Alistair. Is there such a thing as Aquavania? Or the Riverman, stealing children's souls? Or is Fiona just making it all up, to cover up something even more sinister happening in her life? While she claims to be spending more and more time in Aquavania, Alistair is growing more and more concerned for her. As a reader, you can't help but share that concern... but whether it is for her safety in Aquavania or the real world--that is for you to decide.
With an easy and enticing, fluid writing style, Starmer hooks you to the page until the very end. As my coworker kept saying, the whole thing is just so
real. If you're anything like me, you'll be on the edge of your seat while Alistair dares to play a dangerous game in the middle of the road with his strange best friend and his unhinged (and very drunk) older brother. Your heart might beat just a little bit faster while reading Fiona's descriptions of her time in Aquavania when things stop being fun, and start getting scary. This book has it all: fantasy, mystery, explosions, and adventure. Even after you finish
The Riverman, you'll be thinking about it for days and days after--I know that I haven't stopped. This is a book that stays with you. If you want to decide for yourself if Fiona is telling the truth or not about her days in Aquavania, or learn more about who the Riverman really is, then be sure to pick up a copy at your local library. You won't be able to put it down.
