Leif Enger

Peace Like a River

Sonia Grgas

Saved the best for last, my best read of 2017.

Meredith Boster

This was a great story. It had well developed characters, cliffhangers, and it had an original plot. Leif Enger is very good at writing, and his similes are magnifique. I would 10/10 read again and also 10/10 recommend.

Cindy Lieberman

The wise-beyond-his-year, 11 year-old narrator of this family western learns quite a lot from his even wiser younger sister as the two of them accompany their father out west in the hope of being reunited with the eldest brother. There’s a small bit of magical realism at work too with a nice payoff at the end. An interesting and satisfying listen.

Barry Hess

A beautiful, lyrical book with jaw-dropping moments. Loved it!

Melody Izard

This is another book (like Edgar Sawtelle) that had such potential because of the lovely writing, but the story line just didn’t live up to what I began to anticipate after reading passages like this:

My sister, Swede, who often sees to the nub, offered this: People fear miracles because they fear being changed—though ignoring them will change you also. Swede said another thing, too, and it rang in me like a bell: No miracle happens without a witness. Someone to declare, Here’s what I saw. Here’s how it went. Make of it what you will.
Set in the time of the cusp of innocence, 1962 and 63, when you might still believe that a 9 year of girl would be enamored with the world of Zane Grey westerns and compose sappy ballads romanticizing outlaws on a manual typewriter, “Peace Like a River” might keep you happy with its poetic prose. But while there were parts that touched whatever it is that good books touch most of it just sort of dangled out there without much footing.

Karen Shimek

Jennifer Rittall

Such a wonderful story with a little bit of everything. One of the best books I've ever read. The characters are rich and well developed and I would recommend highly.

Andrea Badgley

Set in 1962-1963 Minnesota and the badlands of North Dakota, Peace Like a River is a beautifully told tale of a family -- our narrator Reuben, his sister Swede, and their father Jeremiah Land -- who take to the badlands of North Dakota in an Airstream camper in winter to find their outlaw brother and son, Davy. When two schoolmates assault his girlfriend and then kidnap his sister, the teenaged Davy takes matters into his own hands when he sees them go unpunished. Without some action, they remain a threat.

And then he is on the run on horseback, just like the heroes of the Western novels young Swede is constantly devouring.

The title is perfect for this narrative, for despite the harsh conditions of the characters, I felt a peace reading it. There is light in this book, a wholesome goodness, especially through the humble and remarkable father, Jeremiah Land, who has a deep relationship with God, and who sometimes very quietly performs miracles. I also adore Reuben's sister, 8 year-old Swede, who is a young writer who sits her saddle on a sawhorse in the Airstream and types rhyming verse of her hero Sunny Sundown as they hurtle down the highways of North Dakota searching for Davy.

And of course, I loved the scenery. Enger, a native of the Minnesota/North Dakota border area, writes the land, the grain, the sky, the wind, and of course, the snow, beautifully. The setting is another character in the book, and a strong one.

Peace Like a River

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