Raft of Stars

Your in a race against time to save a life in the woods. Do you take the unruly river filled with rapids or the overgrown forest roads?

(#gifted@jonathanballpublishers )

An emotional river raft with a surprising plot twist.

This novel was a relatively quick read, with an easy to follow storyline. Multiple point of views bring interesting colour to a tear jerking story of domestic abuse and grief. Graff manages to add a lot of depth to a full cast of characters with layers of ptsd, grief and backstories that will have you taking a deeper look at the people around you.

Well paced, descriptive with a fantastic small town setting – this novel is a must for the not too intense thriller fans out there.

🌟🌟🌟🌟

About this Book:

When two hardscrabble young boys think they’ve committed a crime, they flee into the Northwoods of Wisconsin. Will the adults trying to find and protect them reach them before it’s too late?

It’s the summer of 1994 in Claypot, Wisconsin, and the lives of ten-year-old Fischer “Fish” Branson and Dale “Bread” Breadwin are shaped by the two fathers they don’t talk about.

One night, tired of seeing his best friend bruised and terrorized by his no-good dad, Fish takes action. A gunshot rings out and the two boys flee the scene, believing themselves murderers. They head for the woods, where they find their way onto a raft, but the natural terrors of Ironsforge gorge threaten to overwhelm them.

Four adults track them into the forest, each one on a journey of his or her own. Fish’s mother Miranda, a wise woman full of fierce faith; his granddad, Teddy, who knows the woods like the back of his hand; Tiffany, a purple-haired gas station attendant and poet looking for connection; and Sheriff Cal, who’s having doubts about a life in law enforcement.

The adults track the boys toward the novel’s heart-pounding climax on the edge of the gorge and a conclusion that beautifully makes manifest the grace these characters find in the wilderness and one another. This timeless story of loss, hope, and adventure runs like the river itself amid the vividly rendered landscape of the Upper Midwest.