In the Heart of the Canyon

Hyde, Elisabeth. (2009). In the Heart of the Canyon. New York, NY: Knopf Publishing Group.

ISBN: 9780307263674

Pages: 316

Genre: adventure

Annotation: A rafting trip changes the lives of a tour group.

Summary: JT is a river guide celebrating his milestone 125^th trip. Little does he know each person in this group has their own secrets which will affect the trip. One secret in particular has the power to lead to great change or tragedy.

Evaluation: very good read

The reader can tell Hyde is writing from experience: the details of rafting are crystal clear and feel authentic to the reader even before looking into her background. Rafting is fun, scary, stressful and relaxing depending on the moment. The characters are a diverse group which captures the reader’s attention: married, single, young, old, etc. With such a diverse group the reader is likely to find someone they identify with. Some characters are focused more on than others, but all characters are developed enough the reader can get into their point of view somewhat. Hyde gives commentary on social interaction without writing a paper on it: the differences in how people see themselves and how others see them are very interesting. The storylines keep the reader’s attention right to the end of the book. One storyline seemed over the top to me which keeps me from giving the book an excellent rating. This could be my own perspective, others felt it was not too unusual, which means the book could be excellent in another’s eyes. Regardless, this book is a very good read for adventure lovers, people coming to realize truths about themselves, rafting and the Grand Canyon.

What else to read:

Other books by Elisabeth Hyde.

Grand Ambition by Lisa Michaels for another book involving the Grand Canyon.

Grand Canyon: The Complete Guide by James Kaiser for learning about the Grand Canyon.

The Grand Canyon Reader by Lance Newman for more stories about the Grand Canyon.