Life in rural America can be very hard indeed as Ansay chronicles yet again in this novel. Ansay offers a hope of sorts through the death of a young child and the perhaps miraculous events surrounding this death. ( )

Once again, A Manette Ansay has written about small town life in Wisconsin in her lovely, lyrical style. She brings her characters to life with grace, allowing you to see them with all their shortcomings, the hopes and dreams that sustain them, all the details that make them unique, yet as familiar as people you might know. A tragedy, a drowning, polarizes the townspeople, those who believe in miracles and those who only accept hard facts. Yet the circumstances surrounding the event cannot logically be explained. How is it then, that redemption is possible? What forces are in charge here? A small town story that is simple, yet simply mesmerizing! ( )

This was one of the those books I picked up reluctantly, but once I got into it, I just loved it. Maybe being a Midwesterner and a small-town girl gave me a greater appreciation for this book, but I thought it was wonderful and the characters reminded me of people I know. The story centers around Gabriel, an unlovable boy who is abandoned by his father at this aunt and uncle's house in rural Wisconsin on Christmas. He believes his father's tale about the "river angel" and spends all of his time trying to find the angel. One night, he is harrassed by some high school kids at the river bridge and Gabriel vanishes, only to turn up the next morning in a local barn under unusual circumstances. ( )

Slow and a little pointless. Not much of a plot. ( )