Crooked River
Valerie Geary, 2014
HarperCollins
352 pp.
ISBN-13: 9780062326607
Summary
Still grieving the sudden death of their mother, Sam McAlister and her younger sister, Ollie, move from the comforts of Eugene to rural Oregon to live in a meadow in a teepee under the stars with Bear, their beekeeper father.
But soon after they arrive, a young woman is found dead floating in Crooked River, and the police arrest their eccentric father for the murder.
Fifteen-year-old Sam knows that Bear is not a killer, even though the evidence points to his guilt. Sam embarks on a desperate hunt to save him and keep her damaged family together.
Ollie, too, knows that Bear is innocent. The Shimmering have told her so. One followed her home from her mom's funeral and refuses to leave. Now, another is following Sam. Both spirits warn Ollie: the real killer is out there, closer and more dangerous than either girl can imagine. (From the publisher.)
Author Bio
• Birth—ca. 1983 (?)
• Raised—Albany, Oregon, USA
• Education—B.A., Vanguard University of Southern California
• Currently—lives in Portland, Oregon
Valerie Geary is a full-time writer who lives in Portland, Oregon. Her first novel, Crooked River, was released in 2014 and selected for the November 2014 Indie Next List. Crooked River has been internationally published in France, Germany and Belgium. Her short stories have appeared in Weekly Rumpus, Day One, Menda City Review, Boston Literary Magazine, Foundling Review, the UK publication Litro, and others. (From the publisher.)
Visit the author's website.
Book Reviews
[Valerie Geary] captures her readers at once and doesn’t let them go.
Oklahoma City Oklahoman
[A] swift and beguiling read… [Sam] is finely drawn, an update on Harper Lee’s Scout
BookPage
The narrative skill displayed is impressive… readers will have a hard time putting this one down.
Booklist
Crooked River is as much a coming-of-age novel as it is a well-paced mystery…Geary takes teenage Sam through a looking-glass and then pulls her back with an adult’s sense of loyalty and compassion--a journey equally worthwhile for all of us.
Shelf Awareness
Unfortunately, much of the paranormal subplot is tepid; Geary is a solid writer, though...[the] book's core mystery is also disappointing—the identification of the dead woman's killer doesn't feel revelatory or surprising. A slightly jumbled debut that, while well-written, could have gone places it didn't quite manage to reach.
Kirkus Reviews
Discussion Questions
1. From the beginning of the novel, we are presented with two different narrators: Sam and Ollie. What were your first impressions of these sisters based on the initial chapters of the book? How would you describe their personalities? What impact do you think the use of dual, first-person narration had on the story?
2. Talk about the character of Frank “Bear” McAlister. How does your impression of him change from the beginning to the end of the book, if it does at all?
3. Sam makes numerous references to Bear’s bee farm and bee-keeping practices in Crooked River. Why do you think bees feature so prominently in the novel? What is significant about their behaviors? Can you draw any parallels between the actions of the characters in the book and how bee colonies operate?
4. Consider the examples of parent-child relationships in the novel. How do you think Sam and Ollie’s relationship with their mother and Bear is similar to their relationship with Franny and Zeb? How is it different? What do you think the author could be suggesting about what makes a good parent? Furthermore, do you think Bear can be considered a good parent? Explain why or why not.
5. Think about Travis’ relationship with his parents. Compare and contrast it to Sam and Ollie’s relationship with the adults in their lives. How would you describe the Roths’ love for their children? Do you feel empathy for the Roth family? Or to any member of the Roth family in particular? Why or why not?
6. What do you think is significant about Ollie’s attachment to Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland? Why do you think she allows this specific book to speak for her?
7. Ollie refuses to use her voice after her mother dies, Taylor Bellweather is denied the opportunity to speak once she is murdered, and at the end of the novel Sam and Ollie’s mother stresses the importance of telling people you love them—the role of “voice” is very important. Why do you think the novel places an emphasis on a person’s capability to use his or her voice?
8. Describe your feelings toward Deputy Santos throughout the investigation of Taylor Bellweather’s death. Could you understand her reasoning behind wanting Sam to accept that Bear was guilty? Why or why not?
9. What effect does the landscape and setting of rural Oregon have on the overall mood of the story?
10. Although the novel centers around a mystery, how does it exhibit the elements of a ghost story and a coming-of-age story as well? Are there elements of other literary genres present in the novel? If so, what are they?
(We'll add specific questions if and when they're made available by the publisher.)