The River is Waiting - Wally Lamb ---------------------- 3 Stars

Waited a bit and got lucky with my Libby account and recently checked out three popular new releases. The first is Wally Lamb's The River is Waiting, released in May of this year. I kind of had a sense going in the book would be a bit of a downer but I didn't realize quite how true that would be. I also didn't realize the wide variety of viewpoints people have about this book until I checked a few things out when finished. Having just completed, I can certainly understand why.

I don't want to spoil anything but feel I have to at least share about my earlier comment - this book is a tough read! A family tragedy takes the protagonist away from his family and into prison which is the setting of the vast majority of the book. The author doesn't hold back from sharing and describing the typical challenges inmates face in prison that you've seen in movies and TV shows. 

The strengths: very character driven novel that, for the most part, keeps you engaged and want to continue reading. It also has a dynamite start, as the first few chapters keep me turning pages much longer than I expected to. I also appreciate the author trying to highlight and perhaps advocate for many of the necessary changes that should occur within our prison systems.

Unfortunately, I had more negatives than positives. As I already mentioned, being such a downer of a book, I found it hard to get through. Yes, it was page turning but I felt myself picking it up mostly to get it completed than I enjoyed reading it. While some of the scenes in prison were heartwarming and descriptive, I found much of it repetitive and guilty of so many typical tropes. Which relates to the author's attempt to show his "wokeness". I personally found it pandering and almost like it had no place in the novel; rather, he was doing it just to show certain things (e.g. American land was taken from Native Americans, the justice system unfairly treats minorities, etc.). And, of course, I really didn't appreciate the ending. 

So, as you can see, I really didn't love this book. I did give it 3 stars because I found much of it engaging and interesting to read. I just didn't like much of the content, storytelling and ending. Interestingly, it holds a 4.4 rating on Goodreads, which is quite high. When I looked at some reviews there and others on Reddit, it's clear this book really is divisive. It feels like people either loved it and couldn't stop crying reading it, or were frustrated and annoyed by it and had a negative viewpoint. I fall more in the latter group but am happy I read it because I could have just as easily loved it. Perhaps you should find out what group you'd be in?