One More River

by Lynne Reid Banks

Book Overview

Lesley lives in Canada and thinks life is just great, she has got friends, she likes school and they are very comfortably off. But then her father makes a fateful decision, the whole family is going... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0380715635
• ISBN13: 9780380715633
• Release Date: May 1993
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 0.56 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.1" x 7.5"
• Age Range: 12 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 7 and higher

Customer Reviews

A Remarkable Novel

Banks writes about a complete, real-life situation about a Jewish family moving to find their genuine way of life. "A large part of the novel--set during the days before, during, and after the 1967 Six-Day War--chronicles Lesley's gradual, difficult adjustment, and her growing friendship from afar with Mustapha, an Arab boy. The story is fleshed out with numerous details about kibbutz life, farming, and military maneuvers, which bring a sense of realism." (Fader). Fader provides a perfect description of the plot of the book. Banks also includes Yiddish words with a glossary, which enhances the reading comprehension of the book for knowledge of a different language. This is a top rate novel for kids or teens, especially whom are interested in the Jewish religion, traveling, and war. "The story is set just before and during the 1967 Six Day War and helps to provide younger readers with an insight into the history of and politics of the time. It is simplistic in some ways but this is to be expected given the target age of its readers. It also helps to explain the optimism of the time and the assumption that Israeli occupation of the territories would be a short term thing - highly relevant given the ongoing conflict as many readers no doubt have questions about how it all started." (Shapiro).

enjoyable

An intriguing kids'-eye view of events surrounding the 1967 war--considerably less violent and more hopeful than Broken Bridge. Also just a good account of the trials and tribulations of dealing with life in a new country. This definitely should be paired with Naomi Shihab Nye's Habibi.

Original version was better, but still a good book

I see why the book had to be rewritten to bring the politics up to date. In rewriting the book, the the characterizations are more complex. For example, it is hinted that Lesley's mother was less enthusiastic about moving to Israel, than her father: this was not mentioned in the original book. Also the characterization of Lesley's father is shown more complexly: with more flaws. However, in deepening the characters, the author has softened the initial depiction in the original book of Lesley as a spoiled B-R-A-T that you love to HATE, into a spoiled rich girl who is still likeable, and therefore the healing and transformation of Lesley into a young woman of cahracter, by her experience of the land of Israel and the kibbutz, is a less dramatic, and thus a less interesting story. However, this is still a highly enjoyable book for both teenagers and adults to read: n enjoyable powerful story of transformation and growing up. I would agree with another customer review that this book should be read along with the young adult novel "Habibi" by poet Naomi Shihab Nye, which tells about a Palestinian teenage girl about the same age as Lesley, so that readers can get both points of view: a discussion of how Lesley and Liyana both love the same land, and how and why they see it differently, could be educational.

One More River....I thought it was just another class book!

A great book!......what does that exactly mean? A favorite author, a lot of pages, or a really cool looking cover? To me a great book is one that grabs you from the minute that you read the first page, and that is exactly what Lynne Reid Banks did when she wrote One More River! As I read One More River all that I remember thinking was "I wonder what will happen next?" I enjoyed reading every page and every chapter of the book. I laughed at several parts and I cried, I really got into this book and enjoyed it too! Andria Navin at The American School In Japan.

I thought this was a great book!

As I opened this book to begin, I was thinking: "Oh, just another class book." But as I closed it at the end, my thoughts were more like: Wow, what a good book! To begin with, this book pushes you into the story on the first or second page. After that it keeps you deeply into it for almost the whole book, but in the middle it kind of slows down for a few pages here and there. This book has wondeful climaxes now and then. And the ending is, I wouldn't call it sad, but I guess you could call it very touching. I highly recommend this book! -By Katie Manning