Three Rivers Rising: A Novel of the Johnstown Flood [Hardcover]

Jame Richards (Author)

Book Description

Release date: April 13, 2010

Sixteen-Year-Old Celstia spends every summer with her family at the elite resort at Lake Conemaugh, a shimmering Allegheny Mountain reservoir held in place by an earthen dam. Tired of the society crowd, Celestia prefers to swim and fish with Peter, the hotel’s hired boy. It’s a friendship she must keep secret, and when companionship turns to romance, it’s a love that could get Celestia disowned. These affairs of the heart become all the more wrenching on a single, tragic day in May, 1889. After days of heavy rain, the dam fails, unleashing 20 million tons of water onto Johnstown, Pennsylvania, in the valley below. The town where Peter lives with his father. The town where Celestia has just arrived to join him. This searing novel in poems explores a cross-class romance—and a tragic event in U. S. history.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Starred Review. Grade 8 Up—Historical fiction can be a hard sell, but this gem of a novel-in-verse is indeed worth selling. It is set against the backdrop of a Gilded Age playground for society's upper crust, the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club of Pennsylvania's Lake Conemaugh. The cross-class romance between Celestia, daughter of a wealthy businessman and his obedient society wife, and Peter, summer help and son of a miner from the valley below, is absorbing. It is, however, not the entirety of this rich tale of a real-life natural disaster, the Johnstown Flood of 1889. The flood lies in wait throughout the narrative as allusions are made to the weakness of the dam miles above the working-class shantytowns below. After an unfortunate family situation separates Celestia and Peter the summer of their meeting, she returns to the lake for the summer of 1889 ready to disavow her family and find her beloved. Readers will cheer for this young couple to beat the odds together, and they'll tear through the pages as the tension and drama of the approaching flood rise, oblivious to the exhaustive research and attention to historical detail beneath. This book's ability to wear so many hats—heart-tugging romance, nail-biting suspense novel, and social commentary (it is ripe for discussion about wealth and class in America or society's response to natural disaster) more than earns it a place on the shelves of all libraries serving teens.—Jill Heritage Maza, Greenwich High School, CT
(c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

From Booklist

This debut novel in verse uses the 1889 Johnstown flood to explore class divisions and social mores in a moving portrait of four fictional families. Celestia's nouveau riche family would like her to marry well and advance the family's reputation with a pedigreed husband, but she has fallen in love with Peter, a hired hand at the resort hotel. In Johnstown proper lives Maura, a young woman with four small children and a loving husband. On a train to Johnston on the day of the flood is Kate, a widowed nurse who lost her beloved husband and stifles her own emotions by caring for others. The stories intersect in small but beautifully crafted ways. As in Karen Hesse's Out of the Dust (1997), Richards uses spare, clear language to both advance the story and create memorable characters. Even before the kiss / my heart is beating so hard / that it scarcely leaves room for air. Richards provides a time line and bibliography for readers intrigued by the flood. Those who loved the movie Titanic will be drawn to this intensely romantic and polished story. Grades 7-11. --Debbie Carton

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Age Range: 12 and up
  
• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers (April 13, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0375858857
• ISBN-13: 978-0375858857
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.8 x 8.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,158,032 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Jame's interest in history began with reluctance in childhood, when every school vacation involved a family trip in the paneled station wagon to museums, presidential tombs and historical monuments. She bided her time until reaching the gift shop, wondering why she couldn't go to an amusement park or the beach like everyone else. During those long car trips, she learned to write and revise in her head. Twenty years of creative writing (sometimes even on paper) and her knowledge of history come together in Three Rivers Rising, her first novel.

Three Rivers Rising is on the YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults (BFYA) 2011 list and the School Library Journal Best Books of 2010 list. It is also the 2011 IRA Children's and Young Adult Book Award, Honorable Mention in the Young Adult category.

Starred reviews: Kirkus and School Library Journal.

Prior to publication, Three Rivers Rising won the PEN New England Children's Book Caucus 2008 Susan P. Bloom Discovery Award.

Please visit www.jamerichards.com for more information, including a Reader Guide.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars This One Will Be On My Bookshelf Forever May 3, 2010

By A Very Merry Shakespeare

Format:Hardcover

There are times when all you want is to be able to do justice to a truly extraordinary book with your review. This is one of those times.

This debut novel focuses on the Johnstown Flood of 1889 - when three rivers met and shattered a dam - releasing a deluge of water on unsuspecting townspeople. Told in verse, we are, for the most part, taken through the story with Celestia as our guide. Celestia is a young, aristocratic girl who comes from a "good" family. Her father is heavy into the banking business (think, Carnegie; J.P. Morgan, etc.), and he has taken his family up to Lake Conemaugh (The South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club) for the summer, which is the "in" place for all members of high society. Celestia is a reader. She wants nothing more than to excuse herself from the rules and regulations, flee from the captains of industry who simply want to sit around and pat themselves on the back for how brilliant they are, and find a small corner of the forest where she can sit quietly and read.

One day, as she's sitting beside the lake reading peacefully, a young boy who works as a hired hand for the Club walks by her with his fishing pole in hand. Soon, Celestia finds herself talking to Peter and spending all her time with the hardworking boy who has an ailing father in his home "down the mountain." His father is a coal miner, and the black lung is slowly taking his life. Peter is a hopeless romantic; knowing that there's no way possible that he and Celestia can remain together because of their different classes, he still has beautiful words and notions inside his head and heart - hoping that somehow the world will let them find a way.

Estrella is Celestia's older sister. Estrella is everyone's favorite. She is a good who is already betrothed to Charles, a young man who works for her father. What no one seems to know, but Celestia, is that Estrella has eyes for a young tycoon who is staying at the Club for the summer...and her heart is all but given over to this man who hides his evil intentions behind his "high-society" smile.

We have other fantastic characters who offer us a look at the days before the flood that took thousands of lives from Pennsylvania so long ago. We have Maura - a woman with three children who is barely seventeen. Maura has made a happy home for her and her beloved husband, Joseph. Joseph is a railroad engineer, and every time his train comes down the tracks - home to his wife - he offers a long whistle to let Maura know that everything is fine and he'll be home soon. Unfortunately, one day that whistle becomes a heart-slicing, death-defying screech that sends Maura and her children fleeing from their home and up the hillside - praying for the flood to spare her beloved Joseph.

We also have Kate. Kate is a young woman who seems to be just going through the motions of life once her love leaves...Early. Taking to the road, Kate decides to become a nurse - using the time she has left on earth to help other people and try not to think of the loss that encompasses her days. Little does she know that she will become a hero and meet an icon who is remembered, to this very day, as the woman who helped the world.

The interwoven stories are absolutely fantastic. The emotions of love, pain, fear, betrayal...everything is touched on in the pages of this book. Not only will this appeal to teenagers - I believe all adults would enjoy this epic historical story. I want to add that the sheer brilliance and hard work it took to write this entire book in verse made it especially humbling to read. As everyone knows who reads my reviews, I have that shelf; and there is most assuredly a place for this book on "that" shelf of mine - for as far as I'm concerned, this debut novel is one of the ten best YA books of 2010.

Until Next Time,
Amy Lignor, [...] Reviewer

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A novel in verse about the Johnstown Flood. April 13, 2010

By Rebecca Herman HALL OF FAMEVINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

It is the summer of 1888 when Celestia Whitcomb first meets Peter, who works at the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club in Pennsylvania. Celestia, her older sister Estrella, and their parents are spending their summer on vacation at the club along with many other wealthy members of society. Celestia and Peter become close friends, and their friendship turns to love. It is a romance that if discovered could lead to Celestia becoming an outcast from proper society. Events abruptly separate them, but they secretly keep their love alive and hope to reunited.

At the start of the following summer, Celestia and her father return to the club. Celestia's father wants her to marry a man she can never love, and she is desperate to escape. She decides to go to Johnstown, where Peter lives. At the same time, Kate, a young nursing school graduate, is traveling to her new job, while Maura, a young wife and mother whose husband is a railroad engineer, cares for her young children in their home nearby. None are aware of the disaster and tragedy they will soon witness when the poorly maintained dam at the club breaks, unleashing a flood upon Johnstown.

Three Rivers Rising is a very quick and enjoyable read that I could not put down. It is written in verse, and I haven't read many novels written in this format, but it worked well for the story. I liked how the multiple narrators were included to show different perspectives on the events, although my favorite story was that of Celestia and Peter. Their love for each other was very sweet. And as a fan of historical fiction I loved the interesting historical setting of the story. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys young adult novels with a mix of romance, history, and adventure.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing Historical Debut April 15, 2010

By The Book Scout

Format:Hardcover

I was drawn in by Richards beautiful verse. Her writing style was fabulous and the plot was one I'd never read. Historical fiction is one of my favorite genres, but I've never read about the Johnstown Flood. Richards did a great job of tying historical facts in with a variety of sub plots. There were five different narrators which may seem like a lot, but it worked out well. The reader got to see different peoples perspectives of the flood and how their stories tied together. The romance was sweet and honest. Celestia and Peter's relationship was believable and tugged on the readers heartstrings. When things got tough, I was anxious to find out what would happened next and Three Rivers Rising drew out a variety of emotions from me while reading. The first half of the novel let Celestia and Peter's relationship develop as well as let the reader better understand all the characters. By the time the flood came I was on the edge of my seat, hoping my favorite characters would come out unscathed. It was a harrowing experience for the reader and I could picture everything that was happening. In the writing style of Ellen Hopkins and Lisa Schroeder, Jame Richards wrote an emotional and powerful debut that combines class tensions, family strife, love, friendship, disease, disaster, hope, death, love, and more. The ending was satisfying but I would love to read more about Celestia and Peter, as well as the other characters, in a future novel, but I think their stories are complete.

To elaborate, the multiple narrations were by Maura, Kate, Celestia, Peter, and Whitcomb. Maura was a young mother struggling to raise four children while her husband worked on the railroad. Her struggles to escape the flood with her family is empowering and awe-inspiring. Kate, a tough nurse, who has already faced death, is a character that meets up with all the other narrators at some point and even saves their lives. Celestia, a "rich" girl struggling to make her family understand her love for the "hired" boy is a great character. She doesn't care about social class and wants her family to be together more than anything else. Peter, the love interest, is another great character- I loved him myself by the end. He was perfect for Celestia and their romance was well developed and real. Whitcomb, the final narrator, is Celestia's father. He doesn't have a huge role until the end, but his heartbreaking narration changes readers opinions of him from the beginning drastically. All in all, Richards did a terrific job of keeping the narrations easy to follow and developed each character perfectly. The reader gets very attached to the characters and they'll definitely remain in my head for a long time.

The plot was extremely unique. I have never heard of the Johnstown Flood, much less read about it. Richards introduces readers to a time in our countries history rarely mentioned. Although the cast of characters are mainly fictional, she does portray this time in history quite accurately. Three Rivers Rising will attract both reluctant and veteran readers and I am definitely on the Jame Richards bandwagon now, I can't wait to read more of her novels.

Keep in mind this was written in verse, one of my favorite writing styles and it perfectly fit this novel. The verse style helped capture emotions of the characters even more and made it a fast read. It wasn't only a quick read because of the verse style, but also because it was hard to put down. By the time the story was going hour by hour on the day of the flood I couldn't stop reading. I've already passed this book onto my mom, and will be sure to recommend it to my friends when it's released. This is definitely one I'll be picking up a finished copy of to add to my collection. A debut novel I wasn't sure about at first, Three Rivers Rising surpassed all my expectations and more.

Overall: 5 out of 5 stars