kathleen2f835's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
sad
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
hybridpubscout's review
3.0
Ricochet River is a character study from the point of view of golden-boy Wade Cullen, a senior in high school in fictional Calamus, Oregon, from a privileged family. Through Wade's young, rule-following eyes, we see the struggles of two outsiders: his restless girlfriend, Lorna, and their friend, Jesse, an American Indian who has the nerve to be himself in a community who refuses to accept him. Both Jesse and Lorna are more talented than Wade in their own ways, but Wade sees their marginalization as inevitable based on their inability to play by the "rules." Wade's greatest threats and pressures is (very Oregonian) passive-aggressiveness from his family when he refuses to go to an East Coast college.
Robin Cody is a lyrical and thoughtful writer who manages to capture "Oregonness" in this novel (I'm referencing one of the comments Cody received in an early rejection letter for the book, described in the 25th anniversary edition's preface). There's a very specific type of what Lorna calls "viciousness" to not only small towns, but Oregon small towns in particular. Reading this in 2017, it's hard for me to think about much else other than how badly Jesse is failed by his "allies"--Wade and Lorna--and especially by the adults in Calamus who suck up his athletic talents but do nothing to nurture him as a person. It's hard to differentiate between the character's entertainment value for the readers of this book and for the residents of Calamus who view him as little more than a curiosity at best.
I've heard this described as a nostalgic novel, but I would hate to think that anyone could read this and feel warmth. It would be like feeling a warm fuzzy after reading Bridge to Teribithia. Except worse.
Robin Cody is a lyrical and thoughtful writer who manages to capture "Oregonness" in this novel (I'm referencing one of the comments Cody received in an early rejection letter for the book, described in the 25th anniversary edition's preface). There's a very specific type of what Lorna calls "viciousness" to not only small towns, but Oregon small towns in particular. Reading this in 2017, it's hard for me to think about much else other than how badly Jesse is failed by his "allies"--Wade and Lorna--and especially by the adults in Calamus who suck up his athletic talents but do nothing to nurture him as a person. It's hard to differentiate between the character's entertainment value for the readers of this book and for the residents of Calamus who view him as little more than a curiosity at best.
I've heard this described as a nostalgic novel, but I would hate to think that anyone could read this and feel warmth. It would be like feeling a warm fuzzy after reading Bridge to Teribithia. Except worse.
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