By: Meghan Denton
“In the story of Aquavania there is a Riverman and a girl. Who is the riverman? Is the girl in danger?”
“The place where stories are born? Who claims to have been there? She is in danger.”
To Alistair, Fionna is just the strange girl next door while to Fionna, Alistar is the only one who she can tell about her biggest secret. She’s been to another world, the wonderful world of Aquavinia for imaginative children, the place where stories are born.
Fionna tells Alistair about a story about her life in a fantasy world called Aquavinia. She has friends, a kingdom, and her creativity there. The stories start getting stranger and darker though as she begins to tell Alistair about the horrible creature called the Riverman who’s been stealing the souls of her friends and other children inside Aquavania. She states that her’s might be next. This causes Alistar to start to think about Fiona's tale and if this is a real-life crisis cry for help, or if this Aquavania is a real thing, and a very real problem.
The town that she may be crazy but if what Fionna is telling him is true then other kids could be at risk. It all comes down to Alistair to separate fact from fiction, fantasy from reality.
In the Riverman, Aaron Starmer presents a story told by the point of view of a 13-year-old Fionna Loomis and a 12-year-old Alistair Cleary. The two tell you their story about being lost between their reality of earth in 1989 and fantasy in the wonderful world of Aquavinia while facing betrayals, wonder, hard decisions, and loss.
The Riverman is the first book in the trilogy series by Aaron Starmer. A fantasy themed but also a mature and serious book. As a reader who likes to read fantasy and realistic fiction I found this book an enjoyable genre of a book. A good find for readers who are seeking a book about misfit kids mixed in with fantasy and gritty reality.
