Swift Rivers

Fun historical fiction that all 6 of our kids loved (ages 5-14). Is the coming of age story of 2 very different young men and the challenges in their own personalities that each one needs to overcome to mature into manhood (one needs to learn to stick to hard work and not give up, and the other needs to learn to come out of his shell and be a leader when he'd rather be invisible--and a whole lot more). There are some SUPER POSITIVE older male role models too. Reminds me of the importance of older, wiser adults in our kids' lives. Overall a delightful story with adventure and humor!

This is an excellent coming of age book.Chris has always depended on his uncle for a home to live in and food to eat but when a hard -hearted Uncle Nels locks the door on him he has no other choice but to stay with his grandfather.A great adventure ensues with Chris and a new friend Stuart moving logs down the Mississippi meeting criminals,rough raftsmen and making life time friends along the way.Great book for anyone who loves an adventure.

Very easy read. A couple of interesting characters. Good description of living in a sparsely populated forest environment.

This book was excellent and gave a good historical account of a little thought-of industry: logging down the Mississippi. The characters are believable, the story line excellent, and the ending a good one.

A gripping story that could even be considered Historical Fiction. A great read for any young adult, particularly boys. The author is a wonderful writer.

Good book. Somewhat hard to read due to language author writes with.

“Swift Rivers” is a historical novel written 92 years ago about a boy who lived 96 years before that. Chris Weathers is 18 years old in 1831. His parents died when he was a boy and since then he has lived with his uncle in northern Minnesota. His uncle is a mean individual and treats Chris terribly. Now that Chris is older, he starts to stand up to his uncle and the one thing he wants to do is visit his grandfather in the valley. This upsets the uncle and he bars Chris from his house. Eventually Chris goes to live with his grandfather. They plan on how to make money off the land owned by the grandfather. This is the start of the logging industry in Minnesota. The work was hard and strenuous but with the help of a neighbor Chris can get the logs cut. Next, he has to ready the logs to send them down the river with the spring snow thaw. As Chris and the logs hit the mighty Mississippi he hooks up a river Captain and they set off for St Louis. This is where the logs will be sold. There are all kinds of adventures and hardships along the way. Chris grows as an individual during the journey and the reader cheers him on every step of the way. “Swift Rivers” is a great book about determination, self-preservation, and friendship. The harrowing experiences that Chris encounters getting the logs to St Louis make a great read. I did have one complaint about the book, in some instances it got very technical about how the logs had to be floated and I found it hard to follow the process. Some reviews had the target audience at 10-12 years. I disagree and the more appropriate age is 12-16. I will recommend this book for my grandchildren but it’s not a must read.

Beautifully crafted with deep themes of the creation of America and the indomitable spirit of the people who built it. Filled with adventure, without lacking in beautiful prose. Superb character development. Important and thoroughly engaging symbolism that isn't heavy handed.