ESC Trillium student says The River "is in my opinion unbeatable and one of my favorites"

A grade 12 class at ESC Trillium High School in Ontario, Canada, studied my thriller The River this year. I was fortunate to be in touch with the students and to answer their questions via a video conference. I know I had a blast and I hope they did too.

Their teacher Pam Morin and I decided to hold a contest. The students would write a book report and Mme Morin and I would judge them. It was a tough competition; all the book reports showed a lot of thought and some varying reactions.

However, the following report stood out for me because I felt Kasandra really "got" what I was after and she noticed the little things, such as the quotes I spent hours looking for so they'd be the perfect ones.

Here is a condensed version of Kasandra's winning book report/review:

"I just finished reading The River by Cheryl Kaye Tardif, for my grade twelve pre-university reading assignment this year. And I must say that I truly enjoyed reading this novel. It was full of suspense, action, love, adventure, science and mystery. Let’s just say I was very impressed by this memorable novel...Ever since I studied The River, I discovered my interest in reading more of Cheryl Kaye Tardif’s books. The next novel on my list would definitely be Whale Song.

I loved the fact that we were reading a Canadian author’s novel, and that the story took place in Canada. I felt as if I could make a connection with this novel compared to other novels that I had to read in the past years. It was also great knowing that I could communicate with the author by e-mail if ever I had any questions about the novel or such.

The River was a great thrilling adventure that had me wanting to read more. It also had a little love story that fit in to the novel perfectly. I could also visualize everything that I was reading even with all the mystery and action going on. With that being said I think this novel would make an awesome movie...I must say that this novel was indeed the first novel that I didn’t want to put down, and this is coming from someone who doesn’t normally enjoy reading for a pastime. I also liked how this novel wasn’t too long to read.

I loved everything about this novel even the littlest things, such as the quotes at each part of the novel. For example, my favorite quote was: "When you arrive at your future, will you blame your past?” -Robert Half. This quote really makes me think. I also think that it was a great opportunity for my classmates as well as myself and my teacher to be able to read this novel, because of the interaction in-between Cheryl Kaye Tardif and my teacher. That was for sure a bonus. So far this novel is in my opinion unbeatable and one of my favorites yet. And I’ll always remember that “Life’s a journey!”

Congratulations, Kasandra, on winning a triple pack of signed novels: The River, Divine Intervention and a signed collector's copy of Whale Song. I really hope you enjoy all of my novels. :-) CKT

*Purchase The River from Amazon (paperback & Kindle), Chapters, Barnes and Noble and many more online retailers. In Edmonton, please check your favorite bookstore.