Once Upon A River is rich with character development and backstory. The book is divided into the different family stories and the beginning spends much time setting up each family so that when they come around to join in the same story, their roles are clear. The two main family stories revolve around the Armstrongs and the Vaughns, each staking a claim to a little girl who is washed up along the shore of the river. She is either Amelia or Alice and neither family is quite sure, while both desperately want her to turn out to be the little girl they have each been missing.

Along the way, we learn more about the characters as we all try to figure out who the little girl is, to whom she really belongs. We also meet “talking” pigs, river boat photographers, a myriad of bad guys and voracious story tellers. In addition, the character named Quietly acts as the Grim Reaper of the river. Setterfield does an amazing job weaving the stories of all together. I enjoyed the story of the Armstrongs best, Robert and Bess, and the story of their relationship and family, and the way Robert was with every human and animal he met. While I still love The Thirteenth Tale the most, this book did not disappoint.

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