Swift River

Essie Chambers’s debut novel Swift River (2024) is a work of historical and literary fiction set in an old New England mill town in decline. The book explores the existence of “sundown towns,” which required Black people to leave by sunset under penalty of violence, alternating between narratives that take place in 1915, 1980, and 1987. The main character is Diamond Newberry, a Black teenager and the only person of color in the town. Through her story, the novel explores themes of The Intergenerational Harm of Racism, The Importance of Family Roots, and The Pain of Family Secrets. Swift River was Jenna Bush Hager’s Read with Jenna book club pick for June 2024. 

This guide refers to the 2024 Kindle edition of the text, published by Simon and Schuster.

Content Warning: The source material and guide feature depictions of substance use, bullying, graphic violence, antigay bias, sexual content, pregnancy loss, child abuse, physical abuse, child sexual abuse (sex between an adult man and a teenage girl), death, suicide, and racism. Specifically, the work takes place in a historical “sundown town” and centers on the ongoing persecution of the community’s few remaining Black residents.