A Visceral, Big-Hearted Coming-of-Age Story With Deep Roots Leave a comment
Swift River by Essie Chambers
Diamond and her dad were the only Black people in Swift River until her dad vanished, and then she was it. Now it’s just Diamond and her mom, a white woman determined to hold onto the only home she knows and broken by her husband’s disappearance. Diamond’s mom is certain the life insurance they’re owed will change their lives for the better, but Diamond isn’t so sure. She’s barely scraping by on a deeper level than money can fix when, by happenstance, she connects for the first time with a member of her dad’s family. So begins an enduring exchange of letters that unfolds generational turmoil between her paternal family and the town of Swift River, and shows Diamond a side of herself and her family she never knew.
Chambers has a real gift for description. I could taste the Doritos and feel the grime left by hitchhiking under the hot summer sun. There’s real tension in this story—between Diamond’s dad, who never finds his footing in Swift River, and her mom, who clings to the place; between Diamond and her mom, who acts more like a roommate than a parent; between Diamond’s family and Swift River. And yet one of my favorite storylines in the book centers around connection—a friendship Diamond strikes up with a fellow outcast. It brought me back to aimless days with my high school friends and how we tried to carve out a place for ourselves in a world where we felt we didn’t belong.
