An emotionally charged, poignant and well plotted coming of age story and familiar saga.
Moving and compelling
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

A debut novel by Essie Chambers, our protagonist Diamond, a mixed race child is unsettled at the death of her father, resulting weight gain and bullying by her peers. Seven years on, her mother is behaving erratically trying to prove her husbands death in order to collect the insurance money. However Diamond receives correspondence from an unlikely source and her family history and that of the local black community is revealed to her little by little and she begins to make sense of the world around her and her place in its history.

Thanks to Netgalley the author and publishers for an ARC in return for an honest review.

A sad story, really, as we follow the coming of age of a young girl thrown into the middle of racism, disharmony and a family struggling to find its place. The reader so wants this girl to succeed and each obstacle she comes up against is painful to read. Sensitively written with a strong evocation of time and place.

It is 1987 in Swift River, New England, a once-thriving mill town that’s now on the decline, and 16-year old Diamond receives a package from her previously-unknown aunt Lena – which will turn her world upside down. When Diamond was eight her father disappeared overnight, leaving his wife to care for their daughter alone: Diamond was left as the only Black person in the entire town, forcing the mother-and-daughter-duo to grow up together, tackling the twin challenges of racist prejudice and extreme poverty. We drift between past vignettes and the present day, where Diamond, utterly fed up with hitchhiking, is trying to learn to drive for herself, while her mother wrestles with the inexplicably complex legal system to have her husband finally declared dead, so she can claim on an insurance policy and release much-needed funds. Trapped without a means of transport or the money to enable them to escape, Diamond looks for solace in Lena’s letters, which begin to explain the layers of history causing issues for the family in the present day. Lena also shares a further set of letters from ‘Aunt Clara’ in 1915, who writes about life when racial prejudice was not so hidden from view: Swift River reveals itself a “sundown town”, where Black people were forced to hide or leave when night fell. Can Diamond’s new knowledge of the past and the generational trauma inflicted upon her family enable her to break free and drive towards her sparkling future? A richly-textured coming-of-age saga that’s packed with darkly funny writing, stunningly visual prose and complicated family dynamics: this is not an easy summer read, but is a hugely rewarding one that is well worth your time.

Beautiful, heartwrenching and poignant. This is a book that will stay with you long after you turn the last page. Couldn't recommend more and I'm excited to read more from Essie Chambers!

This is a powerful and beautifully-written story about family, loss, and ultimately, hope. It pulled all my heartstrings and opened my eyes to not only the hurt we as humans endure, but also the hurt our actions cause others
An extraordinary debut novel.

Swift River by Essie Chambers is a chronology of a family throughout the 20th century, from 1905 to the 1970's, following a family who long suffered prejudice in their community and country. The story focuses on Diamond, whose father disappeared along with all people of colour from the town of Swift River

Diamonds mother is white, and decided to stay in Swift River with Diamond, but in a tumultuous time in America, life was very difficult for them both. However, despite the prejudice and the abandonment, there are still glimmers of hope and devotion. As letters begin to arrive from her paternal aunt and Grandmother, Diamond begins to learn more about her heritage and as the country changes, so does her life and who she wants to become

A stunning novel of family and change, love and loss that is compelling as it is heart-breaking. Well written and I look forward to seeing more from Essie Chambers

Thank you to NetGalley, Dialogue Books and Essie Chambers for this beautiful ARC. My review is left voluntarily and all opinions are my own

This poignant coming-of-age story follows Diamond Newberry, a young Black girl struggling with identity and belonging in a town marked by historical injustices and her father's unresolved disappearance. Raised by her white mother in poverty, Diamond feels trapped by her circumstances, facing systemic racism and economic hardship. When letters from her estranged aunt arrive, Diamond embarks on a journey of self-discovery, uncovering her family's complex history and finding a sense of purpose. This powerful narrative explores themes of identity, community, and resilience, emphasising the impact of the past on shaping the future.

A story about racism and prejudice, love and loss, and comfort eating and dysfunctional families. With a small amount of humour added and I did find it hilarious when Diamond cleaned her bike and to make sure it was stolen. A good read total rating 3 1/2 stars

This book held a mirror up the prejudice encountered and that is still felt for many. It showed how things haven't really changed and the tolerance of a country is not much different to what it was years ago.
A beautiful story of family and secrets.

This novel has a really intriguing premise and overall I really enjoyed it. It's very much character-driven, and on the face of it seems a sweet coming-of-age story but in fact deals with some really chunky issues around race and class, as well as the fatphobia that Diamond experiences. However, there are a few different plot lines to follow which I found confusing at times, and I felt a little underwhelmed at the ending (I would have loved to have had more definitive answers - but I wander if this was an intentional plot device by the author to reflect the uncertainty of life).

The writing is really impressive, especially given it's a debut, and I look forward to reading more of Essie Chambers' work!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free copy of this book in exchange for my fair and honest opinion.

Took me a very long time to get into this book as it was very slow. A sad story which actually played on my mind for a very long time. My thanks to netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

Thank you for allowing me to review this book. I found the story of Diamond and her family very moving. It is not an easy read as it is told through time from 1905 to the 1970's and reflects of the prejudices of the times against black people. Diamond is the daughter of a black father and white mother. She has never met her fathers family as all the black people left the town of Swift River before she was born. After her father's disappearance her mother stays in Swift River with Diamond, but life is difficult for them. The story is told through Diamond's viewpoint and letters from her paternal aunt, and paternal grandmother. This is at times very confusing to keep track of. I was also very surprised when I found myself at the end of the book, I was left expecting more.

Heartwarming though this tale is, ultimately, at times I felt it could be better laced together. Insightful happenings and observations notwithstanding, I did have to discipline myself to read to the end and not skip tracts. The challenges of a child from a mixed-race family, whose father disappears, are not to be underestimated – especially when her mother is entirely ragged around the edges. Sanctuary in the form of driving lessons and ‘lost’ relatives offer Diamond Newberry an unexpected escape route. The letters from the father’s family are a treat which restored my attention. I think 3.5 stars is appropriate – I enjoyed much of the novel but feel more might have been done to avoid a certain meandering.

I enjoyed this read, a sad story pulling at heartstrings. Looks at the life of a mixed colour child of white mother and black father. Give this a go... It will open your eyes to being a mixed child in the 80s and the life that follows.

Took a bit of getting into and very slow.
Diamond is the only black person in Swift River and very poor since her dad disappeared seven years ago and her mother can now legally declare him dead and hopefully collect his life insurance.
The story is told from the past when she received letters from an old relative.
I think the story does not flow easily and doesn't seem to have purpose, the story is so slow and the end covers over ten years in one page, I give this 2-3 stars.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC and I give my honest review.

A really good read. The advance marketing I had seen described this as a mix of Crawdads and the Vanishing half - and I concur!
Diamond is a mixed race girl - the only one in the small town she lives in - and her black father went missing many years earlier in mysterious circumstances. We meet Diamond and her mother as they approach the 7 year anniversary of his disappearance, where they are battling to have him declared dead officially so that his assets can be released. Diamond knows little of her father, and her memories are scarce, and with a white mother and no links to her fathers family she feels lost and adrift. But that is about to change - her aunt makes contact and opens up to Diamond the history of their family and the struggles they have endured, and finally she can start to piece together who she really is.
really glorious, a very satisfying and heart warming read.

I have to admit that this book wasn’t for me, I found it really difficult to get into and it just didn’t pull me from reality and provide the escapism I normally get from a good book. I DNF it at about 25%

Diamond Newbury is one of the few people of colour in the neglected settlement of Swift River. She’s young, confused and overweight. She doesn’t understand herself, and she is regularly abused at school and in the town. Prejudice is rife.

Very slowly things get better. She finds out something of her own back story and she begins to work out who she is. She starts to know her family origins and to understand what happened to her father.

It’s a powerful novel in many ways, dealing as it does with depressed societies and dying towns as well as casual – and deliberate – racial prejudice, and its effects on a young girl who is simply trying to grow up.

There’s a good story in here somewhere but the regular shifting in dates, used to tell her story, and the different voices of her relatives confuse the real narrative which is about Diamond making it through to maturity.

A raw coming of age tale.

This story follows sixteen year old Diamond as she goes through a journey of self discovery and finding her own identity. She has grown up in a small town where she was one of two black people, until her father mysteriously disappeared causing her to feel even more isolated but when she starts receiving letters from an aunt she has never met she will start to learn about her ancestry and question where she wants to go in life.

This book covers a lot of heavy topics including systemic racism, poverty, drug misuse, body image, alcoholism and discrimination and while these subjects where handled really well and were important to history and the story I felt that the pacing was off and the story didn't come full circle in the way that it was trying to.
I did really enjoy diamonds story and the progression of her finding a real friend and learning about her history but I felt like by the end of the story I had more questions than answers and the last chapter of a brief overview of the rest of her life felt rushed and unsatisfying, and never truly finding out what happened to her father was frustrating.

Stories like these are important and I can see what the author was trying to achieve but it just didn't fully hit the mark.