Three Rivers by Tiffany Quay Tyson + a Giveaway

Melody's father is dying, so of course she drops everything to return home to care for him. But when she arrives she finds that her mother has left with no explanation. Geneva has been hiding a secret from her family and has finally come to the conclusion that something must be done. What that something is, she isn't quite sure just yet but she knows she can't stay. All Obi wants is to care and provide for his son, but a tragic accident has left him on the run and in search of shelter. It's a search that will lead him straight to Melody, Geneva, and Three Rivers Farm. Though these three people are all on very different paths, they are nonetheless entwined by fate. And with an historic storm headed straight towards them, they could each find themselves swept under by the force of the coming flood. 

I'm afraid that my synopsis doesn't do Tiffany Quay Tyson's book justice. It doesn't contain any of the charm or emotion of the story, for example. Nor does it capture the heart or essence of the characters in any way. It doesn't even express how emotional a read Three Rivers is or how much I thoroughly enjoyed it.

What I do hope that it does, though, is get your attention. I hope that it makes you curious about Three Rivers. And of course I hope that it makes you seek out Tiffany's book and discover just how fabulous it is for yourself.

Tiffany is local to me and so I was able to attend her launch at the Tattered Cover last week. I learned that this story had it's beginning in a terrible story about a baptism that ended in electrocution and death. It was apparently a story that stuck with the author for quite some time and inspired a character and scene in the final book. And while it is a pivotal scene for Melody and her family, it is just a small part of the overall tale.

At times Three Rivers reads as three separate stories. Melody, her mother Geneva, and Obi all begin in different places both in terms of setting and in terms of what's happening in their lives. Melody has been traveling with a band and has been miserable for most of the tour (she snaps in the beginning of the book and it made me love her so!). She and Geneva haven't spoken much and she hasn't visited home for quite some time, so she isn't aware that her mother has left until she arrives home.

Geneva is probably not going to win a lot of points with readers. She's... selfish and quite self centered. That's apparent almost from the moment the reader meets her, or rather learns that she's abandoned her dying husband and her mentally impaired son. And yet her story is undeniably intriguing.

Melody and Geneva couldn't be further from Obi. He's a loving father who finds it hard to fit into conventional settings and society. He and his son have been abandoned themselves and have been living off the land, traveling along the river. We soon learn, though, that Obi is seemingly a man cursed by his circumstances and bad luck.

Through alternating chapters, Tiffany draws all three characters and their stories closer and closer, eventually weaving them together much the way the three rivers of the title intersect in the fictional Mississippi town Tiffany has created for her story.

Three Rivers is the kind of book that's gut wrenching at times and laugh out loud funny at others. It's thoughtful and heartwarming, and a true testament to Tiffany Quay Tyson's talent. Readers, she is an author you will delight in discovering and one that I know we'll be looking forward to reading more of for some time to come!

And now, because I was able to attend the book launch, I thought it would be fun to give away a finished, autographed copy to one of you lucky readers! To enter, simply fill out the Rafflecopter below before Monday, August 10. Open US only.

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