title: First, There Is a River: Book One in the Spirit of the River Series
author:  Kathy Steffen 
description: Set in 1900, Steffen's debut presents a captivating view of life aboard a riverboat a century ago, but minimal character development makes it hard for readers to become attached to the novel's protagonist, Emma Perkins, an Ohio woman who leaves her abusive farmer husband, Jared, to serve as a cook aboard her uncle's riverboat, <I>Spirit</I>. Despite the often laborious work of providing meals for crew and passengers, Emma is glad to be free of Jared's vicious physical and verbal assaults. At the same time, she misses her young son and daughter, sent by Jared to work at a neighbor's farm. A love triangle emerges among Emma, Capt. William Briggs Briggham and Gage, <I>Spirit</I>'s solitary engineer, but subplots involving a riverboat race and the love life of Emma's assistant, Lilly, detract from the potency of the primary plot line. <I>(Sept.)</I> <BR>Copyright &copy; Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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  DIAL BOOKS FOR YOUNG READERS
  
  
  _An imprint of Penguin Random House LLC, New York_
  
  
  ![](../images/page_ii.jpg)
  
  
  First published in the United States of America
  
  
  by Dial Books for Young Readers, an imprint of
  
  
  Penguin Random House LLC, 2021
  
  
  Copyright © 2021 by Ellen Booraem
  
  
  “River Runs Free” copyright © 2013 by David Windle
  
  
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