This is a book that I will be thinking about for a while after reading. Dealing with themes of home and identity, love and loss, motherhood and violence, it is one of the most lyrical proses I have read in a long time. The setting is evoked so beautifully that I felt like I knew it intimately. Our protagonist, Victoria Nash, has such a strong sense of character and development, even as she struggles with her identity and her life-changing decisions, that I felt her emotions as she did - I felt her heartbreak, her quiet hope, her first love and her constant loss. Even as she made heartbreakingly difficult decisions, some of them influenced by her mental state, or by her violent and racist family members, I supported her through it all. She is such a strong character, as she grows from an obedient girl to a strong woman, and has such a powerful voice. The characters that come and go from her life are all complex, representing certain traits, but also acting as emblems of the complicated human condition, that allows room for bigotry, as well as growth.
I still can't believe this is a debut, and I'm very excited to read more from this talented writer.

Simply put this book made my heart very happy.

Thanks to NetGalley / Edelweiss and the publisher for providing me with an eARC of this book in exchange for a review.

Better than WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING. Yes, and that is a mouthful. Talk about a strong young woman given so many awful challenges. The sense of place for this story is an actual town in Colorado that was flooded to make room for a reservoir. So the story brings this all into place. The love story is heartbreaking. The journey is harsh and I totally fell in love with the main character. Talk about a coming of age novel. This one is perfect.

Go As A River by Shelly Read


🍑I had high hopes for this debut as I’ve seen some posts about it being a top read of the year, but it didn’t reach that level for me.

🍑A well written story, this novel has been compared to those of Kristin Hannah and Delia Owens, but it lacked the gut wrenching emotions of The Four Winds and the mystique of Where The Crawdads Sing. The decades of life retold in first person fell flat and could have been so much more engaging if any of the scenes held feeling.

🍑I wanted to have empathy for the main character’s plight but felt disconnected as she came off cold and one dimensional. It covered a lot of time and lacked character development that could have pulled me in.

🍑Instead, it will be a book I vaguely remember about a peach orchard in Colorado, an illicit and one page love affair that leaves rippling effects, and a town that gets wiped off the map as the Gunnison River submerges it. I’m in the minority based on reviews so if this worked for you I’d love to hear why.

This was enjoyable but not too memorable. I never felt very connected with the protagonist although I liked the historical setting and the sense of Colorado.

Ive never read Shelley Read before but after reading GO AS A RIVER I will read everything she writes! Victoria Nash is the only female in her household. She lives with her dad, brother, and her disabled veteran uncle on a peach farm, after her mother, cousin, and aunt died in an accident. She is walking in town one day and notices a young man – Wilson Moon, A young Native American, and is intrigued by him. Her life changes forever after that meeting. GO AS A RIVER starts out in the 1940’s..in a small ranch town in Colorado and ends in the early 1970’s.

Once you start reading GO AS A RIVER be prepared not to do anything else until you finish. Ms. Read pulls the reader in from the very first page as the story consumes them. Its so hard to believe this novel is written by a debut author. The writing is beautiful and pulled me right in. I found myself afraid to turn the page for fear of what was going to be revealed next. The story is a slow burn and absolutely heartbreaking as it rolls its way to the tear filled last page. Shelley Read is going on my auto buy author list right now!

I finished GO AS A RIVER in two days, but it will live in my heart much longer. I find myself thinking of the characters and the story often, and feel privileged to have been able to read it. I can’t say much more about GO AS A RIVER without giving away too much. I will tell you that the story follows Victoria through the years, and you will read about her doing what she needs to do to survive. Her small town will disappear underwater when a dam is built in the 1960s, which is just heartbreaking. If you enjoy historical stories of family and romance, you will love GO AS A RIVER. The characters are all relatable and their journeys were at times, heartbreaking. The bond between Victoria and Wil is very strong. When the story ended I was thinking that with their personal revelations, many of the characters’ stories were just beginning.

Victoria and the rest of the characters grew with each passing page, until I loved each and every one of them and their stories. GO AS A RIVER had me holding my breath more than once. A coming of age story like none I’ve read before. It’s filled with family, mystery, small town drama and tragedy. You aren’t going to believe some of the twists and turns! I strongly strongly recommend GO AS A RIVER. Keep the tissues close by as you are going to need them!

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Netgalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Beautiful! Author writes settings so well that it's an instant transport into another place, the gorgeous peach farm with air so clear and scents so vivid. The plot sails along, engagingly, and characters are ALL likeable. This is the perfect escape. I'll read everything by her.

Victoria Nash comes of age in hardscrabble, 1940s Colorado. A chance meeting with a handsome young man sets her life on a different course than she otherwise would have followed. Against the odds, she becomes a successful peach grower in the male-dominated society of the times.

This is a compelling story of love, racism, happenstance, and family set in the beautifully scenic Colorado mountains.

Victoria Nash's story is one I'll be thinking about for a long time. Full of disappeared peoples and places from the past, like we all have intertwined in our lives as the natural consequence of time marching relentlessly through our lives, and some that were yanked out of creation by the actions of others, spontaneous, deliberate and those that are simply wicked evil.

The place is Iola, Colorado around 1948. No need to look it up. It's mostly under the Blue Mesa Reservoir now. . .occasionally drought gives drowned Iola momentary peeks out of the water that is her grave. Torie's story of her quickly disappearing family, leaving her with the least reliable family members twisted me with concern as she was passing through the weird awkwardness that is girl-to-woman-body life. And also that love-for-the-first-time life. None of it easy or smooth. All of it sky-high-happy and jump-off-a-cliff-anxious.

Shelley Read has captured this story of Victoria, Wilson Moon, Lucas, Inga, and all the others, wrapped in a peach orchard, tied round with a river. Hard things happen, but the author shows that hope IS the thing with feathers. . . .that never stops at all, and neither does her river. . . .

*a sincere Thank You to Shelley Read, Spiegel & Grau, and NetGalley for an ARC to read and review.
And to Shelley Read, our Book Buddies group is SINCERELY hoping for a sequel. Just sayin'.*

I really enjoyed this book, and think I would have enjoyed it even more if my expectations were set up right. From reading the blurb and hearing from other readers, I thought this book was going to primarily focus on the damming of the river and how the main character deals with her hometown being flooded. That was essentially just the way for her to get out of town and why she moved the orchard. It was more a book of survival, motherhood, and nature.

5 well deserved stars for this beautiful family saga. I especially adored the thread of female friendship throughout this story. Victoria will stay with me for a very long time.

Loved, loved this book! Extremely well written with strong character development. Set over the course of decades, we follow the main character from childhood to old age as she faces the trials and tribulations of love and loss. Beautiful, lyrical prose.

I'’ve been so excited to share Shelley Read's debut novel, Go As A River with you and it’s been so hard to keep quiet about it! It’s a beautiful story of a young woman who’s trying to make a life for herself on her family’s peach farm in rural Colorado. It’s uplifting but at the same time it will break your heart as Victoria Nash learns to navigate a world filled with racism, family expectations and natural destruction. This story captured my heart and I could not put it down!

9/10

Oh my Lordy dordy diddly doo. I love stumbling upon a book that sucks me into the story with incredible writing. And when it’s a debut novel? Well, I just think “where the heck have you been hiding your writing all these years?!”

Shelley Read can write. She can write really really well. Like I’d be shocked if her writing isn’t award-winning in the near future. I’m in awe of her writing.

“Go As A River” is her first novel. It takes place between the 1940s to the 1970s and follows Victoria from the age of 17 on. Victoria lives in a small Colorado town called Iola. Her family runs a peach farm. As the book opens, Iola meets Wil. That meeting is the pivot point in her life.

Reading this book is like riding a raft down the river of Victoria’s life. There are twists and turns, white water and calm, and various obstacles along the way. But through it all, you stay on the raft.

I didn’t want this raft ride to end and I couldn’t put it down.

I can’t wait to read more from Shelley Read.

#netgalley #goasariver

Go as a River
Author Shelly Read
Available now!

Thank you, @netgalley and @spiegelandgrau, for the opportunity to read this e- arc and to @librofm for my #gifted audiobook! I listened to Go as a River narrated beautifully by Cynthia Farrell and @orangeskyaudio.

Inspired by true events, Read's debut novel takes place throughout the 1960s in a small ranch town in Colorado near the Gunnison River. After her mother passed away, it was assumed that young Victoria would take over her mother's role in the household and care for her father and brothers on their family's peach orchard. Going unhappily through the motions, 17-year-old Tori meets Wilson Moon, a young drifter estranged from his tribe, and the two have an instant and forbidden connection. After a horrific act of violence occurs, Tori flees her home for safety and must make a life- altering decision and learn how to survive in the wilderness alone until she feels it's safe enough to return.

A true coming- of- age story told in Victoria's perspective alone and with little dialogue, Go as a River explores prejudice and bigotry, anger and alcoholism, familial and forbidden love with deep and tragic loss, and survival and resilience, in the changing and harsh landscape of Colorado.

While I appreciated Tori's growth and courage throughout the novel, I would have preferred multiple points of view vs. hers alone. With only her perspective, I found it difficult to be fully immersed in her story, which had the potential for much more emotion. Part 4 included letters written by another woman, and I loved to read her version of a particular event that brought us to the ending of the novel. But in truth, I wanted so much more from the ending. I wanted one character to have more of a voice and an opportunity to learn of his growth and resilience as well.

I look forward to what Read comes out with next!

Excellent read. Was very well written and immersed you into the setting. You feel for the characters. One of my top reads this year.

One of my favorite novels of the year about love, loss, and parenthood. The book read like a memoir, I had to keep reminding myself it was a novel because the story was so deeply rich and captivating.

Loved this story of love, loss, grief and budding redemption! Set in Colorado on a peach orchard and a family reeling from death and war. Children growing into adulthood without a mother, a hard and task driven father and an angry bitter uncle. One turns to violence and one to a forbidden, yet life long love. This story is about a mother's sacrifice and strength. It's about true friendship and family. Five stars from me!

I loved the descriptive writing, and the breathtaking scenery held my interest from the very beginning. If you love a character-driven novel with landscape at the heart of the story, I highly recommend this book.

Young Torie's days are filled with housework and farm work on a Colorado peach farm in the 40s, caring for her father, uncle and brother after her mother's death. In town, Torie meets Wilson, a drifter and Native American. They face racism and are eventually ostracised by the community. The book is beautifully written and tells the story of Tolly's life, her passion and love for the land, and the heartache and discrimination that ensued.

Go as a River is a powerful, compelling and tender coming of age story about motherhood,love, loss, survival and bigotry. It is a beautifully written, poignant story about one woman’s journey after a fateful choice that changed her life forever. It has so many interesting topics including interracial relastionships, adoption, family bonds, drug abuse and the Vietnam War. These are all great topics with equally great characters. Told over the span of decades, we get to see just how much strength one woman has in the face of incredible loss and the sacrifices she's willing to make in order to save the ones she loves. I was provided an ARC of this book by NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.