Leafy Rivers Author:Jessamyn West Jessamyn West's new novel, set in the Ohio region in the early 1800's, is a handsomely paced adventure, charged with increasing suspense. Leading a superbly realized, varied cast of characters is Leafy Rivers, the young bride, caught up in the emotions she does not altogether understand and cannot quite control, racing against time to save a li... more »fe and a marriage that may already be lost. Among the others who live on these pages and linger in the reader's memory are Simon Yanders, a man whose loss has taught him generosity, whose grief has made him alert to joy; Cashie Wade, irresistibly wild and free; and Reno, Leafy's husband, whose love is matched only by his ineptitude. These are merely a suggestion of the vibrant people who play vital roles in a continuously fascinating saga. In addition, this moving novel offers a magnificent journey through woods of Americana that have rarely, if ever, been explored.« less