Items related to The River King
Synopsis
A town divided by class lines is thrown into turmoil by a mysterious death, which begins to unravel the lives of a fifteen-year-old girl, a young boy, and a women running from her own destiny. By the author of Local Girls. 90,000 first printing.
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About the Author
Alice Hoffman is the author of fifteen novels: Blue Diary (2001), The River King (2000), Local Girls (1999), Here On Earth (1997), Practical Magic (1995), Second Nature (1994), Turtle Moon (1992), Seventh Heaven (1990), At Risk (1988), Illumination Night (1987), Fortune’s Daughter (1985), White Horses (1982), Angel Landing (1980), The Drowning Season (1979), and Property Of (1977). She is also the author of three children’s books: Aquamarine (2001), Horsefly (2000), and Fireflies (1997).
Born in New York City, and raised on Long Island, Hoffman graduated from Adelphi University and received an M.A. from Stanford University, where she was Mirrielees Fellow. She currently lives near Boston with her family and her dogs.
Reviews
YA-Haddan School is an elite prep school located in a small town in Massachusetts. One of its dorms is haunted by the ghost of Annie Howe, who killed herself after discovering that her husband, a past headmaster, was an adulterer. Many years pass before two new students, Carlin Leander and August Pierce, both socially and intellectually independent from the school's cliques, meet and fall in love. The other students plot revenge: August is too much the individual and Carlin too good for him. Pierce is murdered and it takes all of police officer Abel Gray's talent and persistence to bring justice. He is helped by the photography teacher, Betsy Chase, and he falls in love with her. Their courtship becomes another part of this complicated plot. Hoffman's characters have strongly defined personali-ties, and their relationships are complex, built upon multiple events from each individual's past and present. August is a gangly, thin young man attempting to find his true self and endure the taunts of others. His spirit becomes so strong that even as a ghost he shows up in Betsy's photographs. Hoffman's writing evokes gloriously poetic images and stirs emotional responses as she wields her style of magical realism, and the story captures the magic in living and the power of love. Young adults familiar with Hoffman's other books will enjoy this as will fans of Gabriel Garc'a M rquez and Laura Esquivel's work.
Pam Johnson, Fairfax County Public Library, VA
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Set in and around an exclusive private school in fictional Haddan, Mass., bestselling author Hoffman's (Practical Magic; Here on Earth) latest novel flows as swiftly and limpidly as the Haddan River, the town's mystical waterway. As one expects in a Hoffman novel, strange things have always happened in HaddanDa combination of Mother Nature gone awry and human nature following suit. In 1858, the year the school was completed, a devastating flood almost destroyed it and the town. The esteemed headmaster, Dr. Howe, married a pretty local girl who hung herself from the rafters "one mild evening in March." Local superstitions prove true more often than not, and twice in recent history a black, algae-laden rain has covered people and buildings with a dark sludge. An uneasy peace has always existed between the locals and the Haddan School, based on the latter's financial benefit to the community and the local authorities' willingness to look the other way when necessary to maintain the school's reputation. But when student August Pierce is found drowned in the Haddan River, detective Abel Grey is flooded with memories of his own teenage brother's suicide, and refuses to look away. Supporting characters are richly textured: new photography instructor Betsy Chase feels unsafe in Haddan, yet somehow finds herself engaged to a mysterious young history professor Eric Herman; Carlin Leander, a poor, strikingly beautiful young girl, comes to Haddan to recreate herself and escape her neglectful mother, and becomes misfit August's only friend while dating the most popular boy on campus; Helen Davis, chair of the history department, is haunted by a long-ago affair she had with Dr. Howe, which she believes had something to do with his young wife's suicide. As ever, Hoffman mixes myth, magic and reality, addressing issues of town and gown, enchanting her readers with a many-layered morality tale and proving herself once again an inventive author with a distinctive touch. Literary Guild main selection, Doubleday Book Club featured alternate; foreign rights sold in the U.K., Germany, Norway, Denmark; major ad/promo; 14-city author tour.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Hoffman combines the dark and the pastel in this Gothic-lite murder mystery, laden with lush descriptions of flowers, greenery, and a quaint New England town. Haddan, MA, has an uneasy relationship with the local snooty coed boarding school. Its first headmaster married and betrayed a local girl, who committed suicide, bequeathing the school its haunted air. The novel focuses on Carlin, an impoverished girl on a swimming scholarship, who befriends fellow new student Gus, a charming misfit targeted for cruel hazing by the unofficial fraternity in his dorm. Meanwhile, Betsy, the beautiful photography instructor engaged to a coldly remote history teacher, falls for Abel, a gorgeous policeman. When Gus is found drowned on Halloween, Abel is convinced that Gus's death is not an accident, and Carlin becomes haunted by the watery presence of Gus's ghost. The novel, with its young protagonists and pining romance between Betsy and Abel, straddles the line between young adult and women's fiction. One wishes Hoffman had pared down the precious local descriptions and allowed the plot, which has some unexpected twists, to shine through. For libraries that cater to Hoffman fans.
-DReba Leiding, James Madison Univ. Lib., Harrisonburg, VA
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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The River King
Seller: World of Books (was SecondSale), Montgomery, IL, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Hardback. Condition: Very Good. A story about a small town's surface appearance and the truths submerged below from the New York Times bestselling author of The Rules of Magic. People tend to stay in their place in the town of Haddan. The students at the prestigious prep school don't mix with locals; even within the school, hierarchy rules as freshman and faculty members find out where they fit in and what is expected from them. But there are minor collisions happening everywhere: An awkward boy, the son of a teacher, is flirting with a pretty classmate, the daughter of a convenience-store cashier. A photographer in plastic flip-flops and an overflowing backpack is about to marry a staid, ambitious historian. And when a body is found in the river behind the school, a local policeman named Abey Grey will walk into this enclosed world and upset it entirely. Seller Inventory # CIN0399145990VG
Stock Image
The River King
Seller: World of Books (was SecondSale), Montgomery, IL, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Hardback. Condition: Fair. A story about a small town's surface appearance and the truths submerged below from the New York Times bestselling author of The Rules of Magic. People tend to stay in their place in the town of Haddan. The students at the prestigious prep school don't mix with locals; even within the school, hierarchy rules as freshman and faculty members find out where they fit in and what is expected from them. But there are minor collisions happening everywhere: An awkward boy, the son of a teacher, is flirting with a pretty classmate, the daughter of a convenience-store cashier. A photographer in plastic flip-flops and an overflowing backpack is about to marry a staid, ambitious historian. And when a body is found in the river behind the school, a local policeman named Abey Grey will walk into this enclosed world and upset it entirely. Seller Inventory # 00084713988
Stock Image
The River King
Seller: World of Books (was SecondSale), Montgomery, IL, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Hardback. Condition: Good. A story about a small town's surface appearance and the truths submerged below from the New York Times bestselling author of The Rules of Magic. People tend to stay in their place in the town of Haddan. The students at the prestigious prep school don't mix with locals; even within the school, hierarchy rules as freshman and faculty members find out where they fit in and what is expected from them. But there are minor collisions happening everywhere: An awkward boy, the son of a teacher, is flirting with a pretty classmate, the daughter of a convenience-store cashier. A photographer in plastic flip-flops and an overflowing backpack is about to marry a staid, ambitious historian. And when a body is found in the river behind the school, a local policeman named Abey Grey will walk into this enclosed world and upset it entirely. Seller Inventory # 00084287003
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The River King
Seller: 3Brothers Bookstore, Egg harbor township, NJ, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Condition: good. Books may contain some notes and highlighting. Supplements such as Access Codes, Cd's Dust Jackets, etc. are not guaranteed with used book purchases. Seller Inventory # EVV.0399145990.G
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The River King
Seller: 3Brothers Bookstore, Egg harbor township, NJ, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Condition: very_good. Cover may have light wear, pages in very good condition and binding is sturdy; may have other light shelf wear or creases. May have notes or highlighting. Seller Inventory # EVV.0399145990.VG
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The River King
Seller: More Than Words, Waltham, MA, U.S.A.
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Condition: Good. A sound copy with only light wear. Overall a solid copy at a great price! Seller Inventory # BOS-H-12f-02008
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The River King
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hardcover. Condition: Fair. Seller Inventory # 0399145990-4-37874244
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The River King
Seller: World of Books Inc, Montgomery, IL, U.S.A.
Seller rating 4 out of 5 stars
Hardback. Condition: Fair. A story about a small town's surface appearance and the truths submerged below from the New York Times bestselling author of The Rules of Magic. People tend to stay in their place in the town of Haddan. The students at the prestigious prep school don't mix with locals; even within the school, hierarchy rules as freshman and faculty members find out where they fit in and what is expected from them. But there are minor collisions happening everywhere: An awkward boy, the son of a teacher, is flirting with a pretty classmate, the daughter of a convenience-store cashier. A photographer in plastic flip-flops and an overflowing backpack is about to marry a staid, ambitious historian. And when a body is found in the river behind the school, a local policeman named Abey Grey will walk into this enclosed world and upset it entirely. Seller Inventory # CIN0399145990A
Stock Image
The River King
Seller: World of Books Inc, Montgomery, IL, U.S.A.
Seller rating 4 out of 5 stars
Hardback. Condition: Very Good. A story about a small town's surface appearance and the truths submerged below from the New York Times bestselling author of The Rules of Magic. People tend to stay in their place in the town of Haddan. The students at the prestigious prep school don't mix with locals; even within the school, hierarchy rules as freshman and faculty members find out where they fit in and what is expected from them. But there are minor collisions happening everywhere: An awkward boy, the son of a teacher, is flirting with a pretty classmate, the daughter of a convenience-store cashier. A photographer in plastic flip-flops and an overflowing backpack is about to marry a staid, ambitious historian. And when a body is found in the river behind the school, a local policeman named Abey Grey will walk into this enclosed world and upset it entirely. Seller Inventory # CIN0399145990VG
Stock Image
The River King
Seller: World of Books Inc, Montgomery, IL, U.S.A.
Seller rating 4 out of 5 stars
Hardback. Condition: Good. A story about a small town's surface appearance and the truths submerged below from the New York Times bestselling author of The Rules of Magic. People tend to stay in their place in the town of Haddan. The students at the prestigious prep school don't mix with locals; even within the school, hierarchy rules as freshman and faculty members find out where they fit in and what is expected from them. But there are minor collisions happening everywhere: An awkward boy, the son of a teacher, is flirting with a pretty classmate, the daughter of a convenience-store cashier. A photographer in plastic flip-flops and an overflowing backpack is about to marry a staid, ambitious historian. And when a body is found in the river behind the school, a local policeman named Abey Grey will walk into this enclosed world and upset it entirely. Seller Inventory # CIN0399145990G