When David Harper and his mother move to a rural area outside Ludington Michigan, David is bored and resentful and knows no one in the area. Added to that, he's feeling a bit marooned in that he has no car when his mother is at work. What David does have is a stream and a swimming hole nearby. Then David meets Benjamin Killinger, an Amish boy his age who just might share some of David's interests...This novel has an interesting plot-line and touches on just how difficult it is for someone who's been raised Amish to leave that community. However, the novel is handicapped a bit in that there is a lot of telling and not as much showing. That tended to make it difficult to fully engage with the story and to fully empathize with the characters or even to envision them as more fully realized, three dimensional characters. In addition there are some points where the story strained my credibility. There is a storm scene that just did not "ring true." Not that there aren't big storms in that region, there are. It's just that the characters' reactions did not feel organic. Also David's reaction when he and Benjamin are discovered just seemed too immature for a high school senior. Conversely, the counsel of his gal-pal seemed too worldly for a girl still in high school. Finally, it seemed like the Amish concept of Rumspringa was handled poorly or perhaps not fully understood by the author.This (debut?) novel is worth the reading time, but might have been better in the hands of a more experienced storyteller. I look forward to seeing what the author does next.I listened to the audio-book version of this narrated by Paul Morey. His portrayal of the voices of both boys was well done and his portrayal of the women in the piece was effective if not inspired. Overall, the audio version was a good but there was a monotone aspect to this that I'm undecided about. It may have been a factor of the way that the tell-heavy, show-light, prose was structured as much as the voice performance. By the Creek is a very sweet YA novel that I think is an excellent primer for LGBT novels. The love story was cute in a young romance kind of way and managed to be endearing without being sappy or unrealistic. The realities of the Amish lifestyle were handled well and as someone who grew up with an Amish community nearby, I can say from personal experience that the book did a good job of portraying the community with sensitivity and, from my own knowledge, accuracy This is a great, easy read for fans of YA, teens and adults alike.
What do You think about By The Creek (2013)?
3.5 Stars. This one was a pretty slow read.
—vibechedart
