River, Cross My Heart

This is the story of Johnnie Mae Bynum and her family, who live in Washington, D.C. in the mid-twenties. Ms. Clarke has drawn a rich portrait of life for coloured residents at that time and the story of how Johnnie Mae and others deal with the accidental death of her young sister is interesting, but like others have said, not excellent.

I read this book, which is an Oprah's Book Club selection, shortly after reading an analysis of "The Oprah Phenomenon". As was pointed out in that analysis, Oprah's message is one of individual responsibility, largely regardless of broader societal or systemic barriers to equality or success. While Ms. Clarke's shows a community with a whites-only swimming pool, segregated schools, and Blacks in service show more jobs, none of her characters complain or work to change the situation. Rather, they do the best they can in the situation in which they find themselves.....but with an eye on a better life for their children. show less

Engagingly written winding narrative filled with colorful characters. It provides a vivid picture of Black Georgetown in the 1920s. And the child protagonist is just as charming and infuriating as child characters (and real life children) often are.

OBC, wishlist rabck from judygreeneyes; A coming of age story set in Georgetown during segregation. Johnnie is a black teen, who's sister drowns in the Potomac accidentally. The death affects Johnnie and her family. For a time Johnnie believes that Clara is present in the new girl in school as a "haint", but she eventually realizes that Pearl is just a girl, albeit different than the other girls. Good supporting characters, give you a flavor of what Georgetown was like back in the early 1900s.

I had a hard time identifying with Johnnie Mae, but felt this novel was a good way to learn some black history. At times it felt like a collection of separate stories rather than a cohesively developed plot of the family's response to the drowning of one child.
2011 review

Although it would probably seem an insult to say that this book is "Good, for a first novel," it is nonetheless appropriate. Clarke's omniscient narration is intriguing, but unbalanced. The reader is much absorbed by Johnnie Mae's growing pains and attachment to her dead sister, but the other characters are only pseudo-developed. There are interesting splashes of color with Ina and Ella Bromsen, but the reader is left unfulfilled with the "haint" of Pearl.

The novel is elegant in its portrayal of the hardships and struggles of African-Americans in Georgetown, balanced with characters who connect through plights other than just race.

The end of the novel was too abrupt, but this is symptomatic of many a first novel. This is an enjoyable show more read, well-balanced in smiles and tears. Along the lines of James Agee's classic "A Death in the Family." show less

Johnnie Mae Bynum was the older sister to Clara, and therefore was charged with her care when her mother was not available. A natural swimmer herself, Johnnie Mae can't keep away from water, and therefore enters the Potomac River one hot day. Clara watches at first, but then drops into the water. Unfortunately, she drowns.

Johnnie Mae expects hard questions. Why was she at the river when she had been told not to go there? What happened? But the story her mother hears, from those who were there, is that Johnnie Mae dove repeatedly, trying to save her little sister. Nobody holds her responsible for Clara's death, except herself.

Then Johnnie Mae befriends Pearl, a new girl in class. She takes her to be some kind of physical manifestation show more of her sister's ghost. The two become close, but Johnnie Mae does not tell Pearl how she sees her.

Just through living and watching and listening, Johnnie Mae confronts her fears about the death of Clara. show less

A good depiction of the black community of Georgetown during the 1920's although the plot line gets a little lost in the descriptions.