Once Upon a River

By: Bonnie Jo Campbell

Narrated by: Susan Bennett

A finalist for the National Book Award and the National Book Critics Circle Award, Bonnie Jo Campbell is a rising star in contemporary fiction. Hailed by Booklist as a female Huckleberry Finn, Campbell’s heroine is 16-year-old Margo Crane. Complicit in her father’s death, Margo flees home for the Stark River. And as she follows the current, she learns the ways of the world from the eccentric characters she meets.

©2011 Bonnie Jo Campbell (P)2011 Recorded Books, LLC

Great novel-- a girl and her river(s)

What a beautiful novel. Bonnie Jo Campbell is clearly one of the important fiction writers of our time, and this is a beautiful book.

Great story, need a non southern narrator!

The book was well written, however the story takes place in Michigan yet all the characters and narrator had heavy southern accents, made it really hard to listen and believe it could actually occur in the Midwest.

Will There Be More?

What did you like best about this story?

It has been a rare book that has presented such a collection of characters so real, so alive and a story line to go with that leaves one wanting for more.
Bonnie Jo is the perfect surprise in a market filled with okay writers. Do hope she has another book coming out soon.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Go with the flow.

The natural strength and fortitude of Women

This was an amazing story about the innate ability, determination and brilliance of a young woman to survive when all was stacked against her. Well written and the narrator was incredible! Brava!

So much to think about here...

What made the experience of listening to Once Upon a River the most enjoyable?

Bonnie Jo Campbell's writing is gorgeous. All of the characters, even the creepy ones, were interesting. As Margo encountered them, I wanted to see what would unfold. I wanted to protect her!

What about Susan Bennett’s performance did you like?

She gave everyone a unique voice. Her voice and accent are very soothing.

Who was the most memorable character of Once Upon a River and why?

Margo, of course. For all her weaknesses, she's tough. She idolizes Annie Oakley, which I found to be a very sweet construct. Her morality develops through her own experience making it truly genuine.

Any additional comments?

For me this was a very believable and creative tale of a teenage girl left to fend for herself. I was fascinated by her challenge to figure out where she fit in with the struggles between family, society, and her personal urges.A great character has profound weaknesses. Her strengths are revealed to her as she grows. She steadily walks the fence between victim and plotter. And anyone who had difficulties socializing at fifteen can relate to at least some of her behavior. Such stupid things we did as teenagers!Like it or not, the type of people she encounters are really out there, all too ready to prey upon our many homeless and abused children.I found this beautifully written and narrated book suspenseful, memorable, and insightful.Highly recommended!

Not sure I could get through it

It was quite grim with all of the deer killing and random sex the young girl participated in. It made her an unlikable character.
Even at the end I was not fond of her and had no attachment to whether she could truly exist or not.
Several times throughout the book I thought to exchange it and then thought it would get better so I kept persevering and unfortunately it did not.

Didn’t care for the excessive killing of animals in the story.

The abrupt ending. Felt like an unfinished story. Too many unanswered questions and dropped characters.

Growing Up in Impossible Circumstances

Many reviewers mentioned and were turned off by the rape and deer killing. This young girl was abandoned by her mother,(spoiler alert:) then saw her father killed. Maybe these reviewers know nothing about grief. With great loss comes a natural desire to procreate. It's normal human behavior, probably meant as a means of survival of the species. She does what she has to in order to survive living alone off the grid. The rape scenes were not overly descriptive, nor was the fact that she found solace in shooting deer. She found comfort where she could.

Rawness of her journey

I loved the narrator, she did incredible! The story line reflected the ever changing river itself, its twist and turns. My first book by Bonnie and I’m definitely hooked!

A real world Katnis

This is a good survival story of a young girl as she grows into a woman under very difficult circumstances. The mistakes she makes are understandable considering her lack of adult guidance. She's what Katnis Everdeen (Hunger Games) would be in the real world. The narrator was excellent, was never apparent as I listened, as a narrator should be.