--- product_id: 19221332 title: "Once Upon a River" brand: "bonnie jo campbell" price: "78 zł" currency: PLN in_stock: true reviews_count: 13 url: https://www.desertcart.pl/products/19221332-once-upon-a-river store_origin: PL region: Poland --- # Once Upon a River **Brand:** bonnie jo campbell **Price:** 78 zł **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** Once Upon a River by bonnie jo campbell - **How much does it cost?** 78 zł with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.pl](https://www.desertcart.pl/products/19221332-once-upon-a-river) ## Best For - bonnie jo campbell enthusiasts ## Why This Product - Trusted bonnie jo campbell brand quality - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description "A demonstration of outstanding skills on the river of American literature." ― Entertainment Weekly Bonnie Jo Campbell has created an unforgettable heroine in sixteen-year-old Margo Crane, a beauty whose unflinching gaze and uncanny ability with a rifle have not made her life any easier. After the violent death of her father, Margo takes to the river in search of her mother with only a biography of Annie Oakley to her name. Her river odyssey through rural Michigan becomes a defining journey, one that leads her beyond self-preservation and to deciding what price she is willing to pay for her choices. ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Dimensions | 5.5 x 1 x 8.3 inches | | Edition | Reprint | | Isbn 10 | 0393341771 | | Isbn 13 | 978-0393341775 | | Item Weight | 9.6 ounces | | Language | English | | Print Length | 352 pages | | Publication Date | June 4, 2012 | | Publisher | W. W. Norton & Company | ## Images ![Once Upon a River - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/61swROkIKAL.jpg) ## Available Options This product comes in different **Format** options. ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ à la Kingsolver, Katniss, Winter's Bone, Huck Finn, My Side of the Mountain and Anne Rice's Belinda *by on Reviewed in the United States September 4, 2011* Note: I just realized that the author wrote a book in 2003 called Q Road. Q Road takes place after this book. So it flows really well if you read Once Upon a River and then read Q Road.Fond memories of Kingsolver, Katniss, Winter's Bone, Huck Finn, My Side of the Mountain and Anne Rice's Belinda were all stirred up as I read Once Upon A River. I am not saying this book is rehash. It is just that I think if you like any of those things you will like this book too. I just finished the book on my kindle last night and I loved it. I think I am going to reread it. I can't even tell you the last time I reread a book right away.The setting is the river. The river is in Michigan. The main character, Margo, is a teenager for the entire book. Most of the other characters that she interacts with in the book are adults. This is not to say that they are grown-ups, because that would be false.A strong theme in the book and something that has been on my mind lately is teenagers and senior citizens interacting. I've been watching the young aids at my grandmother's nursing home and even the seniors and teenagers working together at my local McDonalds. This is a fascinating dynamic that this author explores here.Guns and Annie Oakley play a huge part but don't be put off by that if you're not into guns.Margo sort of is the river. Or the river is so much a part of her that they blend together. She ebbs and flows through events rather than being completely present sometimes. The character is completely believable but it still frustrated me at times. I wanted her to make better choices but I understood why she did what she did. Just because the character's motivation is believable doesn't make it acceptable. I mean I got left off at a very troubling dock at the end of this book. The next few months and years for Margo are probably going to be really ugly. That is partly why the ending of the book is going to go either way for readers. Am I supposed to jump into that filthy water and try to help her? It's not like she listens to sense. Is it possible going with the flow for her could result in a happy ending years down the road? I want answers!I love a strong woman character and I love books where characters have to use survival skills and I love books with steamy sex scenes and I like to spend time in places I'll probably never get to in real life. But you could argue that Margo is often not working from a position of strength, sex in this book is often if not always, inappropriate or down right rape/wrong and this river for all the passion that Margo feels for it, is a polluted poison ivy filled depressing place. But yet I am looking forward to diving back in there. Why?Spoiler alert from here on.Things I `d love to talk about at book club: Was Michael a Unitarian? I'm guessing yes. One of my favorite scenes is when she has no desire to eat any more stolen vegetables after eating the entire jar of jam. Perfect! The scene with Smoke in the river, again, perfect. Huck Finn, and the role of the Indian and the role of the black man. What would happen when what's his face gets out of jail? And guessing the next few months and years. And what was she thinking when she hid and watched her mother? ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Dread if you do, dread if you don't *by on Reviewed in the United States September 14, 2011* Someone I know conducts her life according to the notion that happiness is the absence of dread. Fear is fleeting but a smothering apprehension that something awful is coming becomes long-lasting and debilitating and carries you to a place empty of hope.Margo Crane has known dread and is driven to escape its grip even as she moves up river in search of her mother. "Margo herself had lived with dread, like every other creature in the wild. Dread about what she might lose or who she might encounter that day, maybe someone who wished her harm."Margo, 15 when the book begins, is the fully realized main character in a book stuffed with vivid, endearing and treacherous Michiganders, most of whom are river rats living on the banks of the Stark or Kalamazoo rivers in the state's Lower Peninsula.She is a completely original heroine, self-sufficient in a wild and brutal natural environment and as strong as Indian flint. She's a soul mate of Ree in "Winter's Bone," and occupies the same status as outsider and survivor. She's comfortable in her sexuality and strong in her simple resolve to find someone to care for who cares equally about her.The spirit of Annie Oakley is Margo's guide. Margo's limited edition lever-action 0.22 gauge Marlin, the same gun that Annie Oakley shot, is her sword. The rifle is her protection and her weapon of vengeance.Her odyssey along the Stark River is mesmerizing but I don't know if she's someone I would want to become close to. She's extreme, someone too wild. Michael, one of the many characters she encounters, sees something feral in Margo. He tells her she freaks him out, that she seems to him like a kid raised by wolves.For me, "Once Upon a River" is an amazing read. It's thrilling, as merciless as it is caring, and continually gripping. It's rich in its language and lore and you'll meet characters that will stay with you.The book is long but a fast read. It's mythic in scope and ultimately a work of folklore. I'm left imaging Margo living life her way, sitting on the bank of the Stark skinning a rabbit in a minute flat or slinging her Marlin over her right shoulder and shooting an acorn off a horse apple.[4.5 stars] ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ A unique and at times uncomfortable story *by on Reviewed in the United States July 3, 2011* This book may very well stay in my mind for a long time. There seem to be so many issues and subtexts addressed that I have been thinking about it since I finished it two days ago.This book is the story of Margo Crane, a young woman who lives near a river in a rural area of Michigan in the 1970's. But Margo, who is about 15 when the story begins, is no ordinary teenager. She can shoot, hunt, skin an animal, and does not appear to be afraid of much. Margo will need these skills when she finds herself forced to assert her independence earlier than most teenagers do.Be aware that this is not really a plot-driven book. This is a painting with moving characters. The backdrop of the river provides a rich canvas on which the author can place Margo and the various people she meets. As she searches for something that she has lost, she experiences fear and violence; and like many young women of her age, she often mistakes sex for love.There were times when I struggled with this book. It is a heavy story and doesn't start to show some rays of sunshine until the very end. However, the deeper themes explored in this book are worth sticking with it. It is truly a unique story of growing up, and it raises the very legitimate question of whether we all need to have the suburban house and picket fence to be happy. The book also explores how judgmental we can be about the way that others choose to live, simply because they are different from us. The characters in this book find contentment all around them just by paying attention to life. And these are just some of the issues explored; in reality there is a kaleidoscope of concepts from which to choose for further examination after closing the book.This is a strong recommend, but with the caveat that this is not a "beach read". This is an intense book that will keep you thinking. I know that Margo will be on my mind for quite awhile. --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.pl/products/19221332-once-upon-a-river](https://www.desertcart.pl/products/19221332-once-upon-a-river) --- *Product available on Desertcart Poland* *Store origin: PL* *Last updated: 2026-09-10*