Reviews with content warning for Death of parent - Damnation Spring

Let me start by saying I found this book in the Brightside bookstore in Flagstaff, Arizona. I was on vacation, and instead of buying a book I would normally get, I decided I would pick something from a Local Author. This book caught my eye by not only its beautiful cover, but because the description was something I normally wouldn't read, and seeing Ash Davidson is from Flagstaff, Arizona I bought it.

With that, Damnation Spring is about a family in a small logging community in Northern California, based in the 1970’s. This book is about 3 key characters: Rich, the Logging Husband, Colleen, the wife who helps the locals with their pregnancies, and Chub, their son! The community is fed off the logging community, and the money it brings in, but it gets flipped on its head when some of the locals have more miscarriages, the Salmon in the rivers are dying, and some of the deer have strange growths. It's led to believe its from the poison the logging company is using to kill the weeds. This is the foundation of the story and how it affects Rich, Colleen, Chub, and the people of the community.

Ash Davidsons writing is beautiful. As I said above I felt it was a hit TV series that swept the nation because of the visuals she built and how it created both Mystery and Tension as I read. I will admit, even with my rating, I did find a few sections of the book feel over descriptive as well, but it only lasted briefly as the story continued to unfold.

I highly recommend this book to someone who enjoys dramatized TV shows, like Bridgerton or Yellowstone. I haven't read very many books like this before so I can't compare it to others, but I will say what this family goes through, just be prepared to feels all the emotions, i laughed, I cried, I was filled with rage, and I was happy through the course of this story. My heart was constantly being pulled in different directions throughout the entirety of the book.

I give Damnation Spring by Ash Davidson 5 out of 5 Redwood Trees.

Content Warnings

onewoman_bookclub's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Content Warnings

rivbug27's review against another edition

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dark informative sad tense slow-paced

Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

Content Warnings

jenguerrero's review against another edition

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emotional informative sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Content Warnings

rishel's review against another edition

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challenging emotional slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Diverse cast of characters? No

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cthrnmrtn's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Content Warnings

emily_madcharo's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Content Warnings

davidrb's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

Man, I'm leaving this unrated for the moment because I just don't know.

Richly written, with excellent character building, but didn't stick the landing. I really need to highlight the work Davidson puts into writing realistic characters: it's easy to slip into stereotypes and caricature with rural people and their lives, but they feel so human. I don't like most of them, but that's fine. Colleen, Enid, and Daniel stand out as my favorites.

But man, that ending. For a book that's all buildup, that's where it goes? Maybe I'll get it better on a reread.

The main reason I'm withholding a rating is the portrayal of the Yurok characters. I'm non Native myself, so I can't speak to it, but I'll be looking for Native reviewers' thoughts on the story. I liked Daniel personally, but something about the way he was written struck me as off, especially with the modern day climate where water protectors are still fighting his same battle.

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