Donelle Dreese

Deep River Burning Donelle Dreese

Denver Oakley's home town of Adena, Pennsylvania has become a world on fire. The abandoned coal mines underneath the town are a blazing inferno, the escaping smoke and gases killing vegetation and making residents sick. Denver, who recently lost her parents, feels adrift and alone. She sells the family home, drops out of college and takes refuge in Isabel Beach, North Carolina. There, white, scalloped beaches and a coastal wildlife sanctuary provide Denver with a sense of belonging and a new focus.

And then she receives a letter from Josh, a good friend who disappeared from Adena before Denver left. In the letter, Josh asks her to return to their hometown and meet with him at their old meeting place on the river. She thought she d never go back, and is still not convinced she can re-open those old wounds.

But if she ignores the letter, Denver will always wonder what might have been.