A review by kdowli01
Damnation Spring by Ash Davidson

emotional 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

4.0

 This is slow, and took awhile to get into, but had really great writing and ended up being a really emotional story by the end. 
*
Synopsis: Rich and Colleen Gunderson live in a redwood logging town in 1977 California with their toddler son Chub. Colleen's high-school boyfriend returns, now involved in studying the impact of pesticides, and causes a huge rift in the town between those who are worried about the environmental impact of the chemicals and the timber industry, and those who rely on that industry to survive. 
*
This was just heartbreaking. It's easy to connect to the environmental side of the story, especially from a historical fiction perspective, because we know where this is going, but you can't help falling in love with Rich and wanting his work to succeed as well, and feel for him with the very real threats he faced. It's also impossible not to compare the red flags they saw at the time--the impact of pesticides in water--with the climate change evidence we're seeing now, which is just terrifying. 
*
Rich and Colleen are really well-developed, and I loved how unique their voices were. I didn't love the chapters told from Chub's perspective as much. They were cute, and at least were short, but didn't add a whole lot. 
*
If you liked Migrations or Once There Were Wolves, you definitely have to check this out! 

CW: miscarriage, infant death, pet death 
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