📙”Go As A River” by Shelley Read

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A debut historical fiction novel filled with beautifully picturesque writing. Set in the 1940’s, Victoria Nash, 16, is the only female in her house after the death of her mother and aunt. It’s a household of men (her Dad, brother, and a disabled WWII veteran uncle) all living on a rural peach farm in Iola, Colorado. One day Torie goes into town with some late season peaches, and finds Wilson Moon, a Native American drifter. Though their meeting is short, it ignites a spark within them both that will lead to both passion and danger. Wil changes Torie’s life forever, and the novel follows her story for over 4 decades. The mountains and wilderness surrounding the Gunnison River form a beautiful backdrop for the passion, betrayal, heartache, loneliness of the story but ultimately a mother’s resilient love.

The story is so well crafted I was instantly
invested and absorbed, and very sad when I turned the last page.

This book was beautifully written. I loved the beginning of this book. Her relationship with Wil made me want to keep reading. Once we got to the part about her coming off the mountain, I got a little angry with MC’s decision. I know it was on a whim, but how come she didn’t try to go back to her dad’s house or Ruby-Alice Akers’ house? Still a great book though!

Heartbreaking yet uplifting. The responsibilities placed on 12 year old Victoria when her mother passes are tremendous, yet she meets them with a strength of character seldom seen. I look forward to future books from this author.

Historical fiction at its finest, this literary telling of one woman's life story entwined with the displacements of her whole town when a new dam was built delivers a perfect book club worthy discussion experience.

Beginning in Iola, Colorado in the late 40s and continuing into the Vietnam War era, Victoria's story of surviving tragedy after tragedy and growing into herself is told with heart and will lead the reader down a research rabbit hole.

I feel like this seems to be the book of the spring.

A young girl at the age of 12 loses her mother and aunt and becomes the woman of a household of men, with the responsibility of cleaning and cooking for all of them, with no benefits of having a say. She goes through periods of life wilderness and comes into her own (which was lovely to see).

I loved the writing in this book; I highlighted so many passages. I had tears in my eyes a couple times toward/at the end and felt like the ending itself was perfect.

Go As A river is a terrific debut novel! The story takes place in Colorado, an area in the southwest part of the state, from 1948 to 1971. When the book opens, we meet Victoria, age 17, who has been the only female in her household since her mother died several years before. She does all the housework and also works on the family’s peach farm, which is famed for the quality of its peaches. In a way, it’s a coming of age story, but it spans over 20 years. Victoria has a chance meeting with Wilson Moon, a young man of Native American heritage, who is passing through town, and this encounter changes the trajectory of both of their lives. His backstory is only sketched in, but seems to include one of those boarding schools which took Native American children away from their families and culture. Wil encountered enormous racial prejudice from the townsfolk in Victoria’s town but felt that it would be the same anywhere he went.

I can’t write much more about the story without including spoilers, so I will just say that the story follows Victoria through the years, and you witness her doing what she needs to do to survive. Her small town will disappear underwater when a dam is built in the 1960s. This part of the story is based on something that really happened and the dam is real: Blue Mesa Dam, which dammed up the Gunnison River, a river that plays a part in this story.

The author’s descriptions were vivid. I could easily visualize the wild Colorado landscape. In particular, I was affected by the descriptions of Victoria’s time in a remote mountain cabin.

Thank you to NetGalley and Spiegel & Grau for the opportunity to read an advance readers copy of this book, although I am a bit late to it. I bounced between the ARC and the published audiobook, courtesy of my public library. The narrator, Cynthia Farrell, did a good job with the various voices. All opinions are my own.

This was beautiful. It is heartbreaking, but also filled with hope and so much love. There is so much going on, but it worked perfectly - loss, coming-of-age, forbidden love, an exploration of motherhood, female friendships, found family, love of nature. It was just incredible, I cannot wait to see what Shelley Read does next, she has set the bar so high with this debut. I highly recommend this to anyone!

Thank you to NetGalley and Spiegal & Grau for the ARC of this book.

This has been compared to Where The Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens. While it does give those vibes, I liked Go As A River better. It is a story of survival and redemption. if you are one of the millions that read and liked Crawdads, you will love this one as well. This will be one of my favorites of the year.

What a great debut novel by Shelley Read.

Solid writing with such detailed description.
Beautiful story.
Strong characters.
And so much heartache, but in a good way, if that's possible.

I truly loved this story of Victoria and her tenacious spirit. When I first started it, I wondered if it would be too sad (which Crawdads was for me, at times), but I easily embraced the plotline and adored the writing of this beautiful story. It's hard to believe this is a debut novel but we're seeing so many incredible debuts coming out in the past couple of years (congrats and thank you, publishers!).

Go As a River is a true character-driven novel, which often works so well for me, especially when it's executed this well. It definitely has some tough moments and I'll include content warnings in the comment section but there's ultimately hope, a message of determination paying off, bonds of friendship and family, and ties to nature that are difficult to resist. By the end, I couldn't flip the pages fast enough to discover the beautiful ending.

Go As A River by Shelley Read is one of those stories that stays with you. Torie goes to fetch her drunk brother from town when she meets a stranger who changes her life and how she thinks of herself forever. At times heartbreaking, inspiring, and full of hope, Victoria’s story is not one you’ll soon forget.

Thank you for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Victoria Nash, a young teenager, in the 1940’s in a small town in Colorado is faced with unthinkable events and choices. She is the sole surviving female in a family of difficult men and she runs the household in addition to working the family’s peach farm. While in town one day she meets a man by the name of Wilson Moon, a drifter from a tribal land. This encounter will change the direction of her life forever as she endures love and loss while striving to be resilient.

This novel is cited as historical fiction and romance but I didn’t find it rooted much in those categories. Although, it is a beautiful work of literary fiction. The writer created a very character driven story that will take you through the life of Victoria. I was immensely swept up in this story despite feeling that the book was a bit of a slow burn at times. If you are looking for a book that will have your emotions in a whirlwind this is it.

A special thank you to NetGalley and Spiegel & Grau for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

It’s hard to review this book without spoilers but I will do my best. Read’s debut book is beautifully written. This emotionally compelling historical fiction novel is based in the 1940’s small town of Iola, Colorado and surrounding communities which were destroyed (in real life) by the construction of the Blue Mesa Reservoir. I particularly appreciated the detailed descriptions of the Gunnison River and North Fork Valley area’s flora and fauna - thanks to Read’s environmental studies background. I happen to be currently wintering in the southwestern Colorado town of Paonia, where Victoria, the main character, is forced to relocate her life and her family’s peach orchard, after much much tragic drama. I’m not the first person to compare Victoria’s persona and plight with Kya Clark from “Where the Crawdads Sing” and Leni Allbright from “The Great Alone”; all strong female protagonists facing unbelievable heartbreaking odds. I’m also not alone in my criticism of the lack of development of the only Native American character - Wilson Moon. The love affair between Victoria and Wilson happens so quickly (even for teenagers) and it felt contrived. I would have liked more time spent (the book is quite short after all there could have been room?) exploring Wilson’s character and getting to know them both better before he was, in my opinion, used to just move the plot forward. Despite my critiques I still think the book is very well written and a compelling read.

This book is worth all the hype surrounding it! It’s a gentle breeze, a harsh tornado and driving rain all at once. How much heartbreak and at the same time hope can live inside one person. This story gives you people to love and people to hate all the while building on the beauty that surrounds them. And now I really want a juicy peach. Loved every word.

Set in small town Colorado, Victoria spends her whole life grappling with the consequences of her love for Wilson Moon and those consequences run deep.

I devoured this book over two days and weeks later moments of it still come back to me. The writing is deeply moving, and the story itself rich and alluring. Read perfectly captures the hostility of small town 40's America and the under-currents of racism, sexism and small mindedness that run through them. She writes a world that is vivid, evocative, and above all, highly believable, shining a light on toxic masculinity, trauma and in many ways the resilience of women.

For me it is is a very solid five stars, my heart broke with Victoria as she came to terms with both grief and a new life in tandem. This book is haunting in the same way that I found Crawdads to be. Highly recommend it.

The descriptive writing is exquisite. Through this beautiful writing, I could feel the forest, hear the shimmering water and taste the peach sweet. Victory and Wil's love story full of hope and sorrow will stay with me for a long time! Absolutely a beautiful must read!

5-star books for me must have a character or characters that I love and a story that I can’t stop reading or thinking about. In Go As a River, Victoria is so brave and her story will tug at your heartstrings. Her resilience and desire to always think of others before herself is admirable and I couldn’t stop thinking about this book every time I put it down.

Summary: Victoria Nash is a teenager working on her family’s peach farm in the 1940’s when she meets Wilson Moon, a drifter with a mysterious past. They fall in love quickly and when tragedy strikes, Victoria is forced to flee and survive on her own in a small hut in the wilderness. She eventually realizes that she won’t make it on her own and that her community is in danger due to the rising of the Gunnison River. Go As a River is the story of Victoria’s resilient quest to find love and stability as she navigates many losses.

I can’t wait for Go As a River to get in the hands of other readers! It's one I'll be highly recommending for a while!

Go As a River is what I would describe as a perfect novel. It is heartbreaking in the best way and I really appreciated the author’s descriptions of the wilderness in Colorado. This book gave me the same feeling as some of my favorite books like Where The Crawdads Sing and The Great Alone. If you love stories about surviving nature as much as I do, you will love Go As A River!

This was an exceptional book with absolutely lovely writing. The story was well plotted and written. Just beautiful. Bestseller for sure!

4.5⭐️

✔️ literary historical fiction set in western Colorado, mainly in the 1950s and ‘60s
✔️ absolutely *gorgeous* prose
✔️ character-driven literary fiction
✔️ themes of coming-of-age, racism, grief, overcoming odds, respect for nature and the land, found family
✔️ will make you crave peaches

I’m originally from Colorado and my bookish antennae always perk up when I see a book is set there, so I was thrilled to get an early copy of Go as a River.

It’s set at a peach farm on Colorado’s western slope and the protagonist’s connection to the land is a central theme in the story — it’s a bit reminiscent of Where the Crawdads Sing in that way.

The writing was spectacular and the story was beautiful. I definitely recommend this one!