From Goodreads: Amanda is fourteen when her mother deserts her to be with a new man.  Hurt and betrayed, Amanda loses faith in the world.  To soothe her pain, she retreats into fly-fishing, until she learns that her loving grandmother has terminal cancer.  Amanda struggles to find answers.  Then one day she discovers that her grandmother, against the doctor’s orders, has gone fishing somewhere on the Junction River.  Frightened, Amanda, along with Shana, her adopted dog, and Vernon, a grieving alcoholic, searches the river—but marches into an unexpected, terrifying event that, in a surprising way, helps her learn to forgive and to see the good in the world.

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This is a really well done novelette describing life through an angry fourteen-year-old’s eyes.  I enjoyed it immensely, especially the superb imagery and description Kadish provides in regards to fly-fishing.  I never was much of a fisher, but I enjoyed it as a little girl.  The thrill of catching a fish still weighs heavy in my mind, and through Kadish’s prose I was easily able to envision Amanda as she trekked along the river, dredging up my memories of carefree summers and the palpable heat.  Although I’ve never been in Amanda’s shoes, I believe Kadish does a superb job capturing her thoughts, feelings, and overall struggle as she attempts to cope with her mother’s betrayal and her grandmother’s sickness.  I enjoyed the story, though some of the incidents do seem far-fetched, and while there is some discussion of religion, it is not an overbearing topic within the novel, but rather a touch upon the philosophical side of humanity.  Three and a half stars.

I received a copy of this novel from the author in exchange for an honest review.