500+ Dating Service Reviews
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500+ Dating Service Reviews
Join Us! Dating Advice Your Parents Don't Know |
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"River, Cross My Heart" is set in the African American community of Georgetown, Washington, D.C., circa 1925. Breena Clarke's debut is a superb piece of storytelling--and a powerful meditation on tragedy and redemption.
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Breena Clarke's first novel takes place in Georgetown in 1925, where a large and close-knit African American community took shape beneath the shadow of segregation. At the center of the story is baby Clara, who is swallowed by the Potomac as her sister, Johnnie Mae, cools off in the brackish water. It's the only place the girls can find relief--they're banned from the new, clean swimming pool the white kids use. |
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After Clara drowns, the river is never the same, and Johnnie Mae hovers on the edge of womanhood wondering if she'll be able to get past her guilt and emptiness. In an eloquent passage, Clarke writes, "Losing a loved one, a family member, is like losing a tooth. After a while, those teeth remaining shift and lean and spread out to split the distance between themselves and the other teeth still left, trying to close up spaces." |
