When You Live by a River
A Novel
A teenager moves to a remote farm in the Catskill Mountains in 1931 to raise her late aunt's baby in this novel from “a writer of talent and vision” (San Francisco Chronicle).
Leenie is a precocious fifteen-year-old, but her hopes of going to college depend on her mother’s scheme after a family tragedy. Leenie must travel to her late aunt’s home and take care of her newborn cousin, lending support to the baby’s grief-stricken father, Digger. As Leenie gradually, and with difficulty, grows into her new role, she and Digger form a surprising bond of affection. But the new love and community she’s discovered are now at risk from New York City, which considers their remote, fertile valley a promising site for a future reservoir, and the ground under Leenie’s feet could soon be swept away . . .
Praise for Same Blood
“Remarkable . . . Impressive.” —Publishers Weekly
“The Catskill Mountains are full of myth and mystery in this striking first novel.” —The New York Times Book Review
“Scenes that leap from the page and either wrench your heart or twist your guts.” —Chicago Tribune
Mermer Blakeslee is an author, teacher, skier, and gardener. She has been awarded three New York Foundation for the Arts Fiction Fellowships, and her second novel, In Dark Water, was selected by Barnes & Noble for its Discover Great New Writers series. “Leenie,” an excerpt from When You Live by a River, won the Narrative Prize. Blakeslee’s nonfiction book, A Conversation with Fear, is based on her work with fearful skiers. A former member of the National Alpine Team for the Professional Ski Instructors of America, Blakeslee was born, raised, and still lives in the Catskill Mountains.
