Review of 'Scar Like A River' by Lisa Graff


Because it covers themes of sexual abuse and family upheaval, this is an excellent book for adults and older teens. Thirteen-year-old Fallon has three secrets, and she ranks them in her mind by how big they are. Two summers before, Fallon's dad took the family to a blackwater river where they sifted for artifacts, or secrets from years ago. She discovered that the river is a keeper of secrets, like the large, ugly scar on her face. Fallon has had this scar since she was just five years old. On New Year's Day, she woke up before everyone else and wandered out into her backyard to play on her swing. When she got there, however, the swing was occupied by a man.

"(H)e wasn't sitting so much as slumping. Swaying slowly back and forth like the wind was moving him more than his feet. His eyes were glazed over, half asleep, maybe...The skin on his face was almost gray, and his beard was stubbly, all over his chin and his neck, too...He was holding a knife in his lap, and the metal was catching the orange light of the early morning sun...When the knife slashed my face, everything went hot."

Fallon hardly ever thinks about the scar anymore, because she has buried it deep down with her other bigger secrets. When the story begins, she is excited about the tryouts for her middle-school play, which will be 'Hello, Dolly!' She did well in the auditions, and she and her best friends Kaia and Trent are sure that this will be the activity that will get their pictures on the 'Bests' page of their middle school yearbook.

This book is a mix of humor, friendship and seventh-grade shenanigans, but it also touches on some very serious and dramatic themes. I can't say that I enjoyed all of it, but it was very educational and many of the events are very funny. Available at the Vinton Public Library, I recommend this book as a true-to-life story.

Relax and read!

~Connie, Library Assistant