Review of 'What the River Knows'

A historical fiction with a dash of fantasy and danger, What The River Knows was fast-paced but struggled with characterization.

CharacterizationMy biggest issue with this novel is the characterization. Let’s say this, Inez is not Evie. And you know what, I wasn’t expecting that. The issue I have here is that Evie has many similarities, but Inez is not likable at all.

I feel like authors sometimes get into their heads about what it means to be a strong woman, and that means constantly making them argumentative and stubborn to the point of stupidity. That’s what happened here, and it was so frustrating.

Inez runs away from home and runs to Egypt to see her uncle because she believes her parents were murdered. She knows nothing of the country, has no money in her name, and is a young girl in a foreign land. So when her uncle sends her back home, you get it. However, that wouldn’t have been much of a story.

This just begins a cycle of her continually not listening to her uncle or anyone, being stubborn and argumentative, and getting into life-threatening situation after life-threatening situation with little to no plan that ultimately does lead to the death of someone dear to her.

Inez was so frustrating that I didn’t find her endearing at all. Half the time, I wanted to smack and yell at her to listen. I understand creating tension between characters to further the plot, but not at the risk of alienating the reader by making the MC so unlikeable.

Final Thoughts

I enjoyed the story within What The River Knows, and I enjoyed the plot, for the most part. I wish the MC had been likable and used her brain more instead of being so frustratingly stubborn and argumentative.

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About the Author

Cynthia Bujnicki graduated from Emerson College with a BA in Writing, Literature and Publishing. She has always loved to read since she was a child. A contributing writer for YA Fantasy Addicts, she is also the Editor-in-Chief for Cyn's Workshop. She lives in sunny South Florida with her husband, two kids (the perfect pair), and their two cats Mr. J the Kitten and Nyx (aka Girl).