The CRI is a program that encourages the campus community to read and come together to discuss a common book.

Set to be officially released in September by Simon & Schuster, “Rivers” is described as eerily prophetic in its depiction of a Southern landscape ravaged by extreme weather. “Rivers” is a masterful tale of survival and redemption in a world where the next devastating storm is never far behind.

In response to the unrelenting storms and widespread devastation, the federal government instituted a boundary known as the Line, below which citizens can expect no aid. Those who stay behind do so at their own peril. Shattered by the loss of his wife and unborn child, Cohen has been unable to abandon their home, risking exposure to violent storms as well as roving mercenaries that prey upon survivors. Attacked and left for dead, his house ransacked and food and supplies diminished, he summons his last reserves of strength to forge a new life above the Line — And to avenge all that he has lost.

Library Journal has named Rivers a “hot debut for the fall” and bestselling author James Lee Burke categorizes Smith with such literary giants as William Faulkner and Cormac McCarthy.

For additional information, visit www.simonnovels.com/authors/michael-farris-smith.