A MILE OF RIVER
Publisher: DOUBLEDAY an imprint of Transworld Publishers; Doubleday
Published: 25 March 2008
Place of publication: LONDON W5 5SA
Number of pages: 288
ISBN-13: 9780385613064
Subjects: Fiction
Genres: General & Literary
First sentence: I STOOD IN THE MIDDLE OF MY FATHER'S BEDROOM, HOLDING MY breath.
Description: DUSTJACKET BLURB.
"It is 1976 and England is suffocating.  The long, dry spring has given away to a summer of severe drought, with standpipes in the street and a rallying cry to 'save water, share a bath!'  For the farmers, life has become a daily struggle to make ends meet.  The fields are tinder dry, the earth is dusty and scorched and the air crackes with heat.

"Jess and Tom live on a remote farm in the English countryside with their increasingly difficult father, Henry.  Their mother, Sylvie, walked out years before and Jess is struggling with the role of mother figure to Tom, as well as skivvy and labourer for her father.  Jess just wants to be a normal teenager, to go to dances and kiss boys, to take her exams and dream of a future far away from milking cows and ploughing fields.  Daydreaming about her mother's return, Jess discovers Sylvie's old diary and begins to unravel hidden secrets.

"As the drought  grips ever tighter, as the water level of the river begins to drop, the menace in the air builds until it reaches boiling point, with a confrontation between Jess and her father that has devastating consequences...."
£14.99 Hardback.
Notes: Author's website: www.judithallnatt.co.uk  FIRST NOVEL. ISBN 9780385613064 (cased)
Table of contents: label: 1
title: Jess
pagenum: 009; label: 2
title: Sylvie
pagenum: 020; label: 3
title: Jess
pagenum: 032; label: 4
title: "THE FAIR WAS A DIFFERENT ANIMAL...."
pagenum: 046; label: 5
title: Sylvie
pagenum: 060; label: 6
title: Jess
pagenum: 081; label: 7
title: "OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF WEEKS...."
pagenum: 106; label: 8
title: "DAD CAME BACK FROM THE BANK...."
pagenum: 130; label: 9
title: Sylvie
pagenum: 148; label: 10
title: Jess
pagenum: 161; label: 11
title: Sylvie
pagenum: 172; label: 12
title: Jess
pagenum: 186; label: 13
title: "HOURS LATER THE HAYLOFT...."
pagenum: 198; label: 14
title: "THE ALARM WOKE ME...."
pagenum: 210; label: 15
title: "I WAS GLAD TO HAVE...."
pagenum: 220; label: 16
title: "IT WAS THE LIGHT STREAMING...."
pagenum: 234; label: 17
title: "I DREW UP ON THE GRAVEL...."
pagenum: 243; label: 18
title: "THE NEXT DAY WAS HARD...."
pagenum: 250; label: 19
title: "DAD WOULD BE HOME...."
pagenum: 257; label: 20
title: 'HENRY'S SUCH A STUPID CUSS',....
pagenum: 268