Kalamazoo author Bonnie Jo Campbell comes highly recommended

National news organizations like CNN, NPR, Newsweek and Entertainment Weekly all have put Bonnie Jo Campbell’s new novel “Once Upon a River” on their must read summer lists.

And the Detroit Free Press says critics are gushing over the new release by the Kalamazoo area author.

Excerpt:

Set in rural Michigan in the late ’70s, “Once Upon a River” tells the story of 16-year-old Margo Crane. Her father has died violently and she’s been abandoned by her mother and raped by her uncle. To track down her mom, Margo sets out in a wooden boat along the Stark River, armed only with a rifle, a biography of Annie Oakley and impressive survival skills.

“Most adventure stories are about men,” says Campbell, 48, citing “The Odyssey” and “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” as influences. “But I wanted to explore how it would be for a young woman.”

For more reactions to Campbell’s new book, read the rest of the story.

Source: Detroit Free Press