Like Esperanza Rising and Rules of Attraction, this coming-of-age novel, Some Rivers End on The Day of the Dead follows a Hispanic teen, Marisol. She and her mother are on the run from their home in Tijuana, Mexico. Her father, investigating the drug wars as a journalist, has been murdered. But Marisol's new home is a riverbed camp in a rich California suburb. A wildfire separates Marisol from her mother and her school. Cut off and alone, she challenges herself to find a way to reunite with her family and to celebrate the Day of the Dead in Mexico to honor her father with the proper traditions.
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Some Rivers Endis "a terrific book, sweet, hopeful, and funny" with the last chapter "a joyful surprise" in the words of Eve Caram, novelist (Trio, 2010). --Eve Caram, UCLA Writers' Program
"Marisol's dialogue, thoughts, and actions convey [her] cultural traits . . .with characteristics that also transcend ethnic differences. She acts and sounds like a 14-year-old dealing with stress. '--R.J.McDonnell, author, Rock and Roll Rip-off
Some Rivers End on the Day of the Dead is a coming-of-age book for all ages, and you can't say that very often. I found myself attached to Marisol, the strong Latina heroine.
--Dick King, The Price of Freedom, Hints Book Series,The Pursuit of Life
From the Author
I wanted to write a book that would appeal to mothers and daughters, book clubs, and probably to their surprise, men. I found the inspiration for Marisol quite by chance, and then fell in love with her character and her fortitude. Although some editors have told me she is "too innocent," I believe there is a place for sweet, kind, innocent girls even in (and because of) our highly sexualized society.
Some Rivers End on the Day of the Dead follows Marisol's journey to understand her place in the world and to celebrate her Hispanic heritage. El Dia de los Muertos is not a "cult of death," but joyous days to rejoice in the lives of those we have lost. Marisol needs closure after losing her father, an American citizen and journalist, who is murdered while investigating the drug wars in Mexico.
The characters, from the English teacher to the Sneeds, are entirely fictional. Reviews mention Marisol's optimistic and humorous look at her struggles, something I worked to hone in this novel.
I taught "A Tale of Two Cities" for years (probably 20 years to 40-60 kids per day) for juniors in high school. Some of them reacted in the classic "oh so boring" way. I kept telling them, hang on for Chapter 5!
When we finished the book, class discussions were fast and furious, with some thinking Sydney Carton a fool and some finding him heroic. I told them I would write his story, and now I have! I personally found him quite endearing despite his alcoholic troubles.
My classes made a musical of the story as a class project. I wish I had all of those on tape, including our most famous hit, "Shoes, I Hate Shoes," as sung by Kris Erickson and Brady Wiggins.
After all this time, Sydney's Story is now live on Amazon. Twenty years of teaching, ten years of research, five years of playing with the writing, and a final year to finalize the writing. Time flies when you're having fun. Find Sydney here on Amazon. Sydney's Story is a prequel to A Tale of Two Cities.
The novel I wanted to write first has finally been finished after several tries over a period of five years. "Stairs of Sand," the tug-of-war between a perfectionistic mother and a free-spirited adult daughter, is now out on Kindle and in paperback here on Amazon. Here's the link to the preview trailer on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3SnDv4THmmo
My first novel, "Some Rivers End on the Day of the Dead" is an upbeat, multicultural, coming-of-age story. The trailer for it is right here on this page. I also have a book of poetry out, "And More White Sheets." Check that trailer too! The sequel to "Some Rivers End" is planned to release next fall.
Books, those I've read and the words I've written, have been my most important bridge to the world, articulating what I have felt but have not spoken and helping me to understand the lives of others.
My father served in WWII on the carrier Enterprise, and joined the army after the war. I was an army brat. Before I was a one year old, we left for Germany, where my father was the commander of a brigade escorting the trains between Germany and the American sector of Berlin. We lived in Kassel and Frankfurt. Returning to the U.S., we moved to my mom's home town, the most southwesterly city in the U.S, Imperial Beach, California. My mom loved the outdoors and most of all, the ocean. She could body surf with the best of them, clear into her seventies!
It is at the center of my writing, this little town of Imperial Beach (fondly known as IB).
Many of my memoir stories and the novel-in-progress are set in Imperial Beach and the San Diego area, which will always be home to me. I left San Diego for UCLA and never lived "down south" full-time again.
Majoring in English at UCLA was a dream come true for me. . . I was going to get college credit for READING as much of the great literature of the world as the curriculum could require and then some, as I read in my free time too. And as I taught, I learned of more authors and more books, poems, essays. . .things I continue to think of and quote to myself even now.
When I remarried, I think I married Daniel Boone. He worked in Alaska and Dinky Creek, CA, and is bristling that we have neighbors near our retirement home in Galena, MO. (We didn't know they were THAT close until we saw a plane's view photo of the house). Our home always includes dogs from rescue groups--we have down-sized from labradors (after Pete and Clayton died) to smaller, crazier breeds, a cockerpoo and a terrier mix.
I taught high school senior English until I realized that I had more homework (grading papers) than my students did and finally said, "Hey--it's time to LIVE!
I am involved in the UCLA Writers' Program, which I love. I have used writing as my voice in the wilderness since I was about seven. As Annie Lamott said in "Bird by Bird," a writer is often the good, quiet child, watching from the sidelines, observing and remembering. So it was with me.
My husband and I plan to move to the Ozarks as soon as we can. I often visit our Missouri home for the solitude it provides for thinking and writing. We can't wait to move out of LA madness. And we will have the advantage of being nearer to our daughter and her partner in Raleigh, NC, and not too far from son and family in Arizona.
For the latest in what I'm reading and reviewing, check my blog www.eileengranfors.blogspot.com
This novel is a beautiful exploration of an adolescent girl's coming-of-age in the midst of confusing physical and emotional changes, cultural (and literal) displacement, and the annual deadly Southern California wildfires. Several strong metaphors carry this odyssey forward; Marisol's struggle with American linguistic idioms that parallel her culture shock, Charles Dickens' novel, Great Expectations, which helps her raise the bar for her own engagement with life, and the titular river which runs through all the characters, displayed through a multiplicity of personalities. The author keeps the action moving as Marisol faces an escalating series of crises, yet never loses sight of her heroine's rich inner life. As Marisol makes her way back to Tijuana and family to honor her father's memory on El Dia de los Muertos, she is a female Ulysses; tested, and tempted, but ever mindful of her ultimate mission -- to get back home and hold onto her self. This debut novel is a delightful reminder to never give up hope and to stay true to yourself, and it accomplishes all this with gentle humor and tender insight
What I liked best about this coming of age novel was the balance between page-turning action and wonderful characters, some of whom are downright funny. The central action of the book follows Marisol -- an immigrant from Mexico -- through a second displacement when a fire ravages the ravine in which she is camped out with her mother and uncle. But Granfors never neglects Marisol's inner life and teenage concerns. Supporting characters -- from the woman whose baby Marisol's mother takes care of, through her best friend from her new school in America -- are finely drawn. So, while we are worried about Marisol finding her family again, we get to spend time with very amusing people, especially the Coach's family, who, frankly, I would have enjoyed living with myself! Marisol comes to realizations about herself and those around her through her ordeal, but they aren't all pat or expected. I especially loved the way she manages to be proud of her cultural heritage without expecting others to understand.
Marisol is a Mexican-American citizen but circumstances has forced her to live in poverty. Her peers think she is an illegal immigrant. She strives to get a good education to honor her father and other family members. She takes this opportunity very seriously. She strives to learn the American words and ways. After trying circumstances, she is given the opportunity to return to her home in Mexico to celebrate 'The Day of the Dead.' While there she is faced with new conflicts. I won this book i a giveaway. Normally I would not add it to my library because of a couple of words of profanity but this is a literary jewel. The profanity is scant and suggestive sexual situations also very limited. By voiding out the profanity, this is a great book for adult and Young Adult also. It is a great discussion book for Book Clubs. Thank you to the author and publishers who offer this opportunity to us avid readers.
Author, Eileen Clemens Granfors, devotes herself full time to writing after a rewarding career as a high school teacher of English. Some Rivers End on the Day of the Dead is the first book in a trilogy. A prequel, The Pinata-Maker's Daughter and a sequel, So You, Solimar, are in the works.
Marisol and her mother flee Tijuana, Mexico, in fear of their lives after her father is murdered in front of their home. They leave her two younger brothers behind with her Abuela, grandmother. Meeting her father's younger brother, Tomaso, in Santa Dorena, north of Los Angeles, California, she is dismayed to find that her new home is beneath an oak tree in a river bed. Both she and her mother have passports. Marisol's father was an American. But these facts must be kept secret to protect them. The musings and heartache that Marisol feels about her plight are revealed in simple, spare, elegant words.
"We have changed our names in America. I am Marisol DeLira at school. No Lima for Papa, and when I dropped even his name, I dropped a chunk of my heart to leave back on the street with his blood and broken skull."
Her mother finds employment as a nanny and housekeeper for a nearby wealthy family stashing money in a can beneath the tree roots saving for a small place of their own. Marisol attends high school finding solace in the classroom of Mrs. Kovacs, her English teacher. Adapting to the students and life in this school, so different from her Catholic school in Mexico, is not easy. Mrs. K helps her with the equally challenging use of the English language. Marisol begins to keep a list of idioms as well as expanding her love of reading. It is during a group project that Mrs. K pairs her with Sylvan, who will become her best friend.
"Mrs.... Kovacs put us together to draw a map of the hurdles George and Lennie faced to try to reach their dream. The homework was to draw a map of our own hurdles, which I faked because who would believe a hurdle is making sure I have a shower each morning and that another hurdle is hiding so a drug gang can't find me, making me live under an oak tree? Who would believe that my father was murdered for telling the truth?"
Her most difficult challenge comes in the form of a fire which sweeps through the valley destroying homes and their school separating her from her Mother, Uncle, and her friend Sylvan and her hippy grandmother. It is when she is thrust into staying with Coach Sneed, his family and an ornery male classmate that her views shift as does her need to get home for the Day of the Dead celebration.
Granfors has spun a story of sincere longing for life to be the way it was and the normal anguish felt by teens finding their way. The thoughts of Marisol as she weighs decisions rings true. Life in her town of Tijuana, Mexico as the celebration of the Day of the Dead approaches is woven into the plot as cleverly as is a twist of the facts believed to be true. Flawed and strong characters shape Marisol's world through dialogue and events that reveal their genuine nature. As her father's words of a river running through all of us guide Marisol so too does Eileen Clemens Granfors' tale steer us toward universal truths that should not be forgotten.
Some Rivers End on the Day of the Dead gives excellent insight into Mexican culture, of a teen seeking to fit into an unfamiliar life and how people, known and new, in our lives can influence us in ways unexpected but necessary to realize our full potential. Granfors has included a Reading Guide at the book's end making this perfect for a group read.Read more ›
I can't believe I never realized that Marisol is Mar (sea) i (old Latin/modern "y" = and) sol (sun) until Marisol told me. Marisol is a wonderful narrator, who views American and Mexican societies through an interesting lens, constantly making observations that are sometimes humorous, sometimes poignant, much as Pip does in the novel Marisol frequently references. This would be an excellent companion to Great Expectations, or as summer reading for teachers and students alike (i.e., a book students would actually enjoy). Some Rivers is one of those books that makes you see things that have always been there but that you never really paid much attention to, and one of those books that stays with you after you've finished. I am looking forward to Marisol's next adventure!
