True North

With this exciting and intelligent family drama, Graff returns to the Wisconsin Northwoods terrain of Raft of Stars. In 1993, Chicago transplants Sam and Swami Brecht arrive in the tiny town of Thunderwater to take over a white water rafting company from Sam’s uncle. The couple met when they were both in college, working as rafting guides in West Virginia over summer break. After getting married, they’ve drifted far from their old lives (“They’d just changed, subtly as weathering rock”). Sam became an art teacher while Swami, who studied geology, has been consumed with motherhood. Now, in Thunderwater with their three young children, Sam hopes running the rafting company and living in a camper van will more closely resemble the setting where they met and fell in love. Their hopes for a pristine life are compromised, though, by a rival company aptly named X-treme Outdoor Adventures for its brazen marketing to the Mountain Dew crowd. Dangerous flooding and a mining company’s ominous plans for the region add to the plot, which takes a tragic turn near the end. Graff expertly balances his character-driven domestic fiction with an exciting adventure story. Readers will enjoy the ride. Agent: Maggie Cooper; Aevitas Creative Management. (Jan.)