The Storyteller: The Riverman Trilogy, Book III

by Aaron Starmer

Overview

Keri Cleary is worried about her brother, Alistair. Everyone is worried about Alistair. As the one witness to a shooting, he has been shocked into silence. But everyone needs to know three things: Who shot Kyle Dwyer? Where is Charlie Dwyer? What does this all have to do with the disappearance of Fiona Loomis?

Perhaps the answers lie in stories. As Alistair makes strange confessions to his sister, Keri becomes inspired. She tells stories, tales that may reveal hidden truths, fiction that may cause real things to happen. In the concluding volume of the Riverman Trilogy, readers are asked to consider the source of inspiration, the borders of reality and the power of storytelling. They are asked to forgive monsters, to imagine alternate dimensions, and to believe in a phosphorescent wombat who assures us that gone for now is not necessarily gone for good.

The Storyteller by Aaron Starmer is the thrilling, thought-provoking conclusion to an unforgettable series, the Riverman trilogy.

“Original and uniquely satisfying . . . a great recommendation for fans of Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game or Madeleine L'engle's A Wrinkle in Time.” —School Library Journal, starred review

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250104182
Publisher:	Square Fish
Publication date:	03/14/2017
Series:	Riverman Trilogy Series , #3
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	336
Product dimensions:	5.10(w) x 7.50(h) x 1.00(d)
Lexile:	700L (what's this?)
Age Range:	10 - 14 Years

About the Author

Aaron Starmer was born in northern California, raised in the suburbs of Syracuse, New York, and educated at Drew University in Madison, New Jersey. His novels for young readers include The Riverman, The Whisper, Dweeb, and The Only Ones, and his travel writing has appeared in numerous guidebooks. He lives with his family in Hoboken, New Jersey.

Editorial Reviews

Original and uniquely satisfying . . . a great recommendation for fans of Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game or Madeleine L'engle's A Wrinkle in Time.” —School Library Journal, starred review

"Story is the important thing in this consistently imaginative, intense, thoughtful, and satisfying finale." —Kirkus Reviews, starred review

"A stunning and thought provoking conclusion to The Riverman Trilogy." —Booklist, starred review

“Current fans of The Riverman Trilogy will come clamoring for this final installment.” —VOYA

From the Publisher

★ 02/01/2016
Gr 5–8—This title concludes the original and uniquely satisfying trilogy and will not disappoint fans of the first two books. Picking up where The Whisper (Farrar, 2015) left off in the "solid world," former narrator Alistair Cleary's older sister, Kerrigan Cleary, assumes the narrative. Keri is troubled by what is happening to her little brother, from his involvement in the shooting of Kyle Dwyer to the disappearances of Fiona Loomis and Charlie Dwyer. And now Alistair is refusing to talk about what is going on, except in secret conversations in which he divulges unbelievable stories of a fight he is waging in an alternate universe. As Alistair shares his accounts, Keri tries to read between the lines of what he is saying to find a way to help him. What is happening with Alistair is augmented by stories that Keri herself writes, as a way of expressing her frustrations. But when the stories Keri thinks up and writes in her private journal start to contain troubling premonitions of the tales Alistair tells her, Keri must decide if she can trust her brother, or even herself. This coming-of-age novel is a thoughtful and nuanced exploration of the difficult transitions from childhood to adulthood. The uncertainty of what the characters believe to be real and imaginary parallel the way traumatic experiences can alienate young people and make them feel as though they have to struggle alone. In a subsection of publishing where trilogies often seem formulaic or forced, this refreshing take challenges traditionally reiterated narrative devices by never dealing in absolutes and not tying things off into neat bows. Fans of fantasy and realistic fiction alike will find something to love about this book, in which narrative ambiguity has never been so well leveraged. VERDICT This is a first buy for upper middle grade and YA collections, and a great recommendation for fans of the first two books as well as Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game or Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time.—Tara Kron, Aurora Public Library, CO

School Library Journal

★ 2015-12-08
Alistair Cleary confronts the reality of his return home to Thessaly, New York, from the parallel world, Aquavania, and its impact on his family in this concluding volume of the Riverman Trilogy, narrated by his sister. Continuing Alistair's story from her own perspective, 14-year-old Kerrigan admits her brother seems like "someone from outer space" since the disappearance of his friends Fiona and Charlie and the shooting of Charlie's brother, Kyle. Alistair's silence worries his parents, and police suspect he's involved in Kyle's shooting. In response, Kerrigan begins her diary as a "place to confess…to tell stories." While Alistair's parents try to address his changed behavior, he gradually tells Kerrigan about Aquavania and how he's working to release the souls of children like Fiona and Charlie who are trapped there. Fearing he's delusional, Kerrigan starts believing in Alistair when her own stories "coincidentally" overlap with his. Alternating between the fantastical stories she's writing and her factual chronicle of daily events, Kerrigan's pithy, insightful, irreverent, and vulnerable diary spans the gap between Aquavania and Thessaly and between fantasy and reality, opening readers to the "different way of thinking" Kerrigan and Alistair share. "Story is the important thing" in this consistently imaginative, intense, thoughtful, and satisfying finale. (Fantasy. 10-14)

Kirkus Reviews