Three Rivers Rising: A Novel of the Johnstown Flood

This book was written in prose so it is tempting to read it quickly. Slow down, though to get the full effect of the writing. The story takes the point of view of various people who will eventually be affected by the flood. There is forbidden love, class struggle, a look into society of the day, and a fascinating explanation of how life changed during the flood. The cover is underwhelming, but the book is fantastic! Oh please, ignore the cover.

Celestia Whitcomb is a young woman from a wealthy family who spends summers at the hunting and fishing club in the mountains above Johnstown (it was this club that was responsible for the dam that broke, causing the flood). Celestia falls in love with Peter, a boy from town who works at the club for the summer. Of course, their secret romance could have dire consequences if they are discovered by Celestia's family. The author also shifts perspectives occasionally to focus on a few other individuals whose lives are affected by the flood.

It's obvious that the author has done her homework, and there's an author's note at the end, explaining where and how she deviated from the actual history. I have to admit that I am not a big fan of verse show more novels. This is about on par with other verse novels I've read -- a slightly more spare way of telling a story, enjoyable, but I think I would have liked it better fleshed out in prose. That's just me -- I know lots of people are really fond of the format. For those people, I think this would be a very good read. show less

The year is 1889. Celestia, youngest daughter of a businessman, falls in love with Peter, a hired hand from the valley who works at the rich folks’ club up by Lake Conemaugh, a dammed-up lake high in the mountains, despite the impropriety of their relationship. Her family’s disapproval sends Celestia into the valley to pursue a new life with her true love. Meanwhile, elsewhere in the valley, Maura, a teenage mother, cares for her children while waiting for her train conductor husband to come home, while Kate trains obsessively to be a nurse after a devastating loss.

Celestia, Peter, Maura, Kate, and others…they have little in common with one another, until the day heavy rains destroy the dam and send an unimaginably horrifying show more flood rushing through the valley. Houses are swept away, families torn apart, and their lives entwine and change in ways that none of them forsaw.

THREE RIVERS RISING, Jame Richards’ debut novel, is a moving work of historical fiction, its verse format making it all the more accessible to a wider audience. The story and character development feel a little forced, however, but in spite of these problems I still found it a good read, worthy of sharing.

I had never heard of the Johnstown flood before, but it was a great backdrop for a variety of characters’ stories, and it added a deeper layer of complexity and suspense to the historical fiction. Celestia and Peter’s improper romance, in particular, was well developed, and presents to readers a moving portrait of class divisions in the late nineteenth century. The historical aspects of the book are unique, but not all-encompassing: you could probably consider this “historical fiction lite.”

Jame Richards’ verses are easy on the eyes and mind. It is happily devoid of the stiltedness that sometimes occurs in historical fiction; instead, the lines are straightforward, always more for plot and characterization than for building the setting. The sense of mounting tension we get as the moment of the flood draws nearer is spectacular. Richards’ writing and her sense of pace at crucial moments drove me forward in my reading, unwilling to put the book down.

Unfortunately, I felt that the multiple points of view contributed to the lack of thorough character development and connection. Celestia and Peter’s stories were the most developed; Maura’s and Kate’s felt sadly rushed, incomplete, and force, due to the less amount of space they are given in the novel. Switching narrators contributed to the rising suspense at the novel’s climax, but did not help me fully understand and sympathize with any of them. Dedicating the book to exploring the nuances of Celestia and Peter’s relationship would’ve probably made this a more emotionally satisfying story for me.

Additionally, the ending of the book felt unnaturally neat, which jars with our sense of the flood’s destructive power. The “perfection” of the ending brought me uncomfortably close to rolling my eyes and lowering the age range of readers I’d recommend this book to.

Despite these issues, I still overall enjoyed THREE RIVERS RISING for its unique way of approaching historical fiction. The verse was lovely, and the actual section where the flood occurs—which is what’s most important—will tug at your heartstrings. THREE RIVERS RISING is an easy historical read that can be enjoyed by a wide range of readers, from the middle school history buff to the grandparent looking for a light read on a fascinating moment in time. show less

Set in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, in the the late 1880s, Three Rivers Rising follows the stories of several people affected by the Johnstown Flood of 1889, when the South Fork Dam burst, killing more than two thousand people and destroying a number of Pennsylvanian towns. Celestia, the daughter of a wealthy Pittsburgh banker who vacations at the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club, meets and falls in love with Peter, a working-class teen from Johnstown who works at the club. Kate is a nurse still recovering from her young husband's death, and Maura a young wife of a train conductor. Each person narrates his or her story through free-verse poems, and the poetry is an excellent medium through which to convey the rushing disaster of the show more flood and the strong emotions felt by the characters. A number of stories are told, but the primary focus is placed on Peter and Celestia, and their forbidden cross-class romance, which is nicely developed and well told, and excellently contrasted with Celestia's sister's ruinous affair. Suspense builds when they are separated during the flood, neither knowing if the other survived. Though the setting of the novel is the flood, the majority of the book takes place with the events building up to the flooding-- and not quite enough attention is placed on the flood or its aftermath; the book's resolution is too quick and too neat, and the causes of the flood are glossed over. The book does include a brief factual account of the flood, as well as a bibliography for further reading. show less

I was surprised by how fast i managed to read this book! But of course, it would have to be due to the fact that it is written in verse form. In Three Rivers Rising we learn about the events that lead to the famous historical event of the Johnstown Flood of 1889, through the different views of the fictional characters: Celestia, Peter, Maura, Kate and Celestia's father.

We are first introduced to Celestia, a 16 year old is who is vacationing with her family at an elite resort at Lake Conemaugh. Celestia prefers to be left alone with her books then to be socializing with the other guest at the resort. As she is sitting under a tree by the lake, with a book in her hands, she is then first introduced to Peter, a young boy from one of the show more small towns near by who has taken up a job at the resort for the summer. A bond is formed between the two at that moment which then grows throughout the story.

Celestia has an older sister, Estrella who is aware of Celestia's and Peter's secret and we learn that Estrella has a secret of her own which will cause for the summer to end quickly for Peter and Celestia. Not to mention the fact that during this time period, girls of society were not allowed to be with young man who were not a part of their rank in society. Not only does the drastic end for the summer for Peter and Celestia challenge their time together, but the risk that Celestia could be disowned from her family makes matters much trickier.

As the story continues we then learn about Kate, a young woman who is a trained nurse and is helping within the nursing school she attended, teaching and lending a hand to the students. Maura is the other character we are introduced, she is a young girl married to a man who runs a train in one of the towns. She is a mother of 2 children, with another one on the way. A whole year passes and falls back once again into a new summer. But this summer will definetely be one to remember, as the flood will change many lives forever.

I've read verse written books before (Mainly the ones from Ellen Hopkins) and i think that if written right, they can definetely leave a much more personal impact on the reader. In Three Rivers Rising, i believe that the author managed to do that, but not in a strong way. I think that there wasn't a need to have alot of different characters narrating the story, i felt that it took away that magic found in verse stories, even though in this story, the characters become connected near the end.

I did like the romance between Celestia and Peter, especially Celestia! She is not a damsel in distress cliche' found in books written during this specific time period! She's strong and cares about her family! Even though she has feelings for Peter. She is aware of her choices and she can think and make her own decisions! Not to mention i really like her name, the author picked some pretty cool names for the characters: Celestia and Estrella.

For anyone who is a fan of Verse written stories or Historical fiction, or perhaps a quick read! Pick up this book! show less

This book debuted in April 2010 to well-earned, rave reviews. In sparse verse, author Jame Richards, tells a story of devoted high society sisters, Celestia and Estrella, Whitcomb, their coldly calculating, businessman father, a miner's son, Peter, Maura, the wife of a Pennsylvania railroad engineer, and Kate, an obsessive-compulsive young widow struggling to find a purpose in life. Their lives become intertwined due to the tragically preventable Johnstown, Pennsylvania flood of 1889. Chapters of free-form verse alternate between the voices of the six characters. An author's note separates the facts of the actual flood from the story. More than 2200 people died in the flood, including entire families.

The Johnstown Flood is the show more backdrop, but Three Rivers Rising is foremost a story of society, class, and first (or forbidden) love.
Highly recommended for grades 8 and up.
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Reviewed by McKenzie Tritt for TeensReadToo.com

Johnstown is a quiet, unassuming home for many. During the summer, the residents travel a short distance to the country club to work and earn money. The rich folk spend their summers at the club swimming and relaxing. All seems well for this small area.

In the back of everyone's mind, however, is the dam. Rich men created the dam in order to build a man-made lake. After a heavy rain, news spreads that the dam is breaking, which threatens to wash out Johnstown and all of the outlying cities. Will new and old loves alike be torn apart? Can the residents survive this terrible flood?

If history makes you cringe, have no worries. THREE RIVERS RISING is light on the facts, instead focusing on the show more storytelling and prose. The main characters are Peter, a poor worker, and Celestia, a rich girl staying at the club. Their romance is forbidden, but they can't stay away from each other. After a dramatic turn of events involving Celestia's sister, their love becomes even more risky. The two struggle to be together, but obstacles abound.

Though written in prose, I found the characters easy to connect with. You couldn't help but hope that each and every character ended up being okay. While the flood is a major part of this book, there is more to it than that. The first half or so is composed of love stories and the struggles that each couple faces. I enjoyed the novel for both of its parts. The combination of prose and historical fiction was very interesting, and I look forward to seeing more from Richards.

I recommend this book to lovers of poetry, romance, or historical fiction. The novel is touching and sincere. Told in alternating perspectives, THREE RIVERS RISING is about so much more than a flood. It's about love, loss, and forgiveness. show less