River Sing Me Home

Critics Review

• Every once in a while, a book comes along that is so assured and so powerful you can’t believe it’s a debut novel. RIVER SING ME HOME is just such a book . . . Eleanor Shearer is a remarkable writer and she brings this story of a mother’s courage to the page with compassion, tenderness and pitch-perfect prose

  Natasha Lester, New York Times bestselling author of The Riviera House

• An extraordinary odyssey of pain, love, and homecoming . . . RIVER SING ME HOME is a haunting and powerful debut

  Kate Quinn, New York Times bestselling author of The Diamond Eye

• A strong and beautiful novel that stares into the face of brutality and the heart of love

  Jeanette Winterson

• Epic and lyrical, a story about love and the power it brings us

  Frank Cottrell-Boyce

• A searing debut full of love, loss, and the shadows of the past . . . Heartbreaking, hopeful, and unforgettable. Both a powerful ode to the endless depths of a mother’s love and an important meditation on what freedom really means, this is the kind of book that will stay with readers for years to come

  Kristin Harmel, New York Times bestselling author

• An extraordinary and gripping debut. Rachel’s love for her children resonates through each page as she fights for her freedom and theirs. A must-read!

  Chanel Cleeton

• A powerful story, beautifully told. Shearer skilfully depicts the cruelty of the British slave trade, contrasted with one mother’s indomitable love for her children, and her burning will to live. An empathic, elegantly rendered and deeply humane novel

  Jessica Moor

• A powerful novel that explores how freedom and family are truly defined

  Marie Benedict, New York Times bestselling co-author of The Personal Librarian

• RIVER SING ME HOME is a masterclass in how to speak of unspeakable things. A beautiful read

  Meg Clothier

• RIVER SING ME HOME slices you open . . . and knits you back up again. A powerful account of love, loss, defiance and the lengths to which a mother will go in order to make herself and her family whole again. Breathtaking

  Chikodili Emelumadu

• Lyrical, heartbreaking, thought-provoking . . . A book about love, motherhood and survival that will stay with you long after you’ve finished it’

  Costanza Casati

• I absolutely loved this book and Eleanor Shearer’s lyrical prose kept me gripped as the story moved from Barbados to Demerara and Trinidad . . . a beautifully written debut

  Stacey Thomas

• Propulsive . . . This compelling premise of a mother in search of her children powers a moving and dynamic novel. The pacing is swift, and Shearer writes in clear, energetic prose. There is an accessibility to the language that is refreshing; it buoys the narrative, giving us intimate access to a complex period in history

  Guardian

• An immersive debut . . . the heart of the novel lies in its celebration of motherhood and female resilience. A tender exploration of one woman’s courage in the face of unbelievable cruelty

  Observer

• The beautifully written depiction of a mother longing for her children makes this transcendent

  Publishers Weekly (starred review)

• Early readers of RIVER SING ME HOME are evangelical about this story . . . Full of love and compassion, this will be everywhere next year

  Stylist

• A powerful, gripping and poetic novel about the strength of a mother’s love

  Red

• Such a glorious and compelling story

  Prima

• A cracking debut

  Belfast Telegraph

• Hugely profound, hopeful and emotive this is written in lyrical prose that demonstrates Shearer’s mastery of language

  Glamour

• Action-packed, emotionally demanding, richly described, the novel paints an extraordinary portrait of motherly love and hope . . . a thoroughly compelling read

  Daily Mail

• An intense and absorbing debut

  The Times

• River Sing Me Home is a fine testament to the women who inspired this debut

  The Sunday Times

• Lyrical, heart-wrenching and so well crafted

  Goodreads Reviewer

• A triumph of tragedy and hope

  Goodreads Reviewer

• An extraordinary tale of fearlessness, passion, motherly love and hope

  NetGalley Reviewer

• This debut novel does exactly what I want historic fiction to do – teach me something while telling me a good story

  Goodreads Reviewer

• The most moving, beautiful, heart-breaking yet hopeful book I’ve read this year.

  Goodreads Reviewer

• A novel which explored, with courage, care and capability, the illusory nature of freedom at a critical point in West Indian history. I was riveted by Rachel’s story and it is a testament to Eleanor’s craft that I felt every fraught element of Rachel’s journey to finding her children right along with her. Like the River of its title, this novel sings . . . a beautiful debut

  Cherie Jones, Women's Prize for Fiction shortlisted author of How the One-Armed Sister Sweeps Her House