Chasing River by M. C. Sakala

Have you ever read a book just because of social media? I have and never have been let down like this.

This was the worst book I have ever read. I try not to say bad things about authors and their writing because I don't know their story, but this is genuinely terrible. In the author's note at the end of the book, Sakala wrote that she had written this book when she was thirteen. I don't want to be disrespectful or anything but whoever her teachers were, they failed her. The grammar was bad. Commas were in places I didn't know they could be. The sentence structure was atrocious. Sakala wrote in run-on sentences and broken-up dialogue. At certain points, I couldn't tell who was talking because the indents were in the wrong places. The book tried to have a deep look at grief when a family member, loved one, or friend dies, but it just felt shallow. 

 I thought Chasing River was going to be a well-written, in-depth story about an African girl, Armani, going to live in Paris without her family for the first time. Armani immediately makes friends with a group that includes River. River is having a hard time adjusting back to life without his best friend. He and Armani start to talk, they argue and act like they hate each other and then fall in love. Sakala tried to write the book as though Armani had found family but it felt forced. She hung out with her friends at random intervals and they got into fights that did not make sense. Armani was also a very confusing character. At one point, she said that she hated J. K. Rowling, which makes sense, but also hinted that Rowling was a bad author. A couple of chapters later, Armani talks about how influential Harry Potter was to her childhood and even puts on a Harry Potter jumper to go out with River.

The bottom line is DON'T READ THIS BOOK if you want to keep your sanity.