This is a stunning book - I loved the writing but most of all I loved the story of the main character, the hardships she endured and overcame, and her love of her family's peach orchard. I was fascinated by the transplanting of the trees to hold onto her family legacy even after their original farm was flooded. I especially loved the reflections on relationships, family, motherhood, love and loss. Highly recommend this book and can't wait to read the author's next novel.

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The story of Victoria is heartbreaking- lots of tears involved on my end. I don’t know that I would recommend to someone who has a hard time reading about lots of sadness. The writing is very beautiful, but since the story could be slow I found myself speeding through parts of it. It has all the parts of a book that I would love and I’ve seen many good reviews, but I only liked and not loved it. Maybe it was just a case of bad timing.

This is one of the most heartbreaking and beautiful books I've read all year. I can not believe it's a debut novel! The writing is gorgeous and Victoria's story will stay with me for a long time. Read it and thank me later.

This book tugged on heartstrings as a lot of historical fiction does. It was a story of loss and finding yourself surrounded by loneliness and heartache but still making it up the ladders. It's not an easy read as there are a lot of emotional baggage let loose throughout this book but still a book that should be read to understand a bit more of the prejudices of our country through the years (and today).

“Just as a single rainstorm can erode the banks and change the course of a river, so can a single circumstance of a girl’s life erase who she was before.” Shelley Read, Go as a River.

At the tender age of twelve, Victoria Nash finds herself thrust into a world of loss and responsibility. Her mother, aunt, and cherished cousin tragically die in an auto accident, leaving Torie to shoulder the household duties for her father, angry brother, and an embittered war-wounded uncle confined to a wheelchair. They live on a flourishing peach farm nestled in the very real town of Iola, Colorado, near the serene Gunnison River.

Torie’s existence becomes a relentless cycle of work, sleep, and little else; a stark reality for a teenager burdened by grown-up expectations. “The men expected me to slip silently into her role—to cook their meals, clean their pee off the toilet, wash and hang their soiled clothes, and tend to every last thing in the house and the coops and the garden.”

On a crisp autumn day in 1948, Torie’s life takes an unexpected turn. The 17-year-old delivers late-season peaches to a nearby village and meets Wilson Moon, a Native American who has left his tribe. Their love is an affront to the community and Victoria’s own family, forcing them to conceal their relationship.

When Victoria discovers she is pregnant, she flees to the unforgiving wilderness to give birth. Her solitary struggle and profound loneliness in the wild tugged at my heartstrings. The poignant narrative spans decades, narrated in Torie’s retrospective first-person voice. Her strength and resilience shine through, making her an inspiring protagonist.

The history of Iola adds to the story, especially when the town was intentionally flooded during the building of the Blue Mesa Reservoir. (Check out this informative piece: https://coloradosun.com/2018/12/10/iola-blue-mesa-reservoir-drought/)

Go as a River is a gut-wrenching coming-of-age saga that weaves together eloquent prose, indelible characters, and a vivid natural setting. It’s a story that delves deep into themes of friendship, love, and transformation, brimming with wisdom and an unquenchable yearning. I was deeply moved.

Shelley Read’s debut novel is a testament to her exceptional writing talent. I can’t wait to see what comes next. This is really a special book and earns a solid 5 stars.

** Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Go as a River is a book that doesn't fit neatly into any genre. It is a coming of age story, a story of racism, family relationships, grief, loss and more. Seventeen-year-old Victoria Nash runs the household on her family’s peach farm in the small ranch town of Iola, Colorado. She takes care of her father, disabled uncle and brother as well as happening in the peach orchard. She meets Wilson Moon, a young indigenous drifter who was displaced from his tribal land. They begin a friendship and eventually have a physical encounter. Wilson is killed by her brother and his friend due the fact that he was "an Indian" and a danger to the community. Shortly after that, Victoria finds herself pregnant and isn't sure what to do. She flees into the mountains and finds the cabin Wil lived in sometimes. She stays there and eventually has her child. The decisions she makes at that point will change her life forever. Eventually returning home, she finds her father alone. She takes over the same responsibilities until he dies and she is on her own. Other events such as, the selling of her farm, the flooding of the town to make a damn and reservoir round out this story.

Wow, this was such an unexpected story. Victoria was such a strong character and what she went through in life was hard to imagine. She was resilient, didn't give up, caring and loyal to a degree. She was the typical woman in the 1960s, taking care of the family and helping on the farm. I was surprised that there was so much racism toward indigenous people, but again, hatred knows no boundaries. This is a book that you have to just pick up and read. I don't want to ruin it for anyone. I will say that the writing was beautiful, descriptive and so well-written. I enjoyed the plot and although this story is set in Colorado, it had overtones of southern fiction. I had not heard of the flooding of Iola, Colorado, so you can bet I googled it to find out more. There was not a lot to find, which surprised me, it was like it was no big deal.

It was a chance encounter, two souls crossed paths walking on a crumbling sidewalk on Main Street in small town Iola, Colorado. Wilson "Wil" Moon was a young, muscular stranger of Native American descent. Victoria Nash happened to be delivering two baskets of late-season peaches from her family orchard.

"Wilson Moon didn't experience time the way most people do...He rarely looked to the future, and to the past even less, but gathered up the current moment in both hands...[Victoria] would come to learn the wisdom of his ways and, in time, apply that wisdom when [she] needed it most."

"After Mother died, the men [Daddy, wheelchair-bound, embittered Uncle Ogden and my brother, ill-tempered, vengeful Seth] expected me to slip silently into her role-to cook their meals...wash and hang their soiled clothes and tend to every last thing in the house. From age twelve, Victoria performed these tasks of domesticity. "I had left the farmhouse that morning an ordinary girl on an ordinary day...but I knew I was returning home uncommon...feeling everything around me subtly transformed." Wil saw [me] as "Miss Victoria, Queen of Iola...he stood and eyed me so long I thought I'd melt like chocolate." Victoria saw a kind, young man. Wil stated that he had been working in the coal mines and had run away. Why was he in Iola?

The Nash Farm was the only peach grove in Gunnison County. According to Victoria, "I had picked peaches my entire life...how to use smell and a gentle touch to determine the ideal ripeness...how to know which rosy fruit was ready for market, which for delivery, and which to eat off the tree." When she suggested that Wil could help with the crop, family as well as town bigotry would prevail. Despite vicious threats, Wil and Victoria met in secret. After an unthinkable event, Victoria needed to leave town, at least for a while.

Standing in the shade of the orchard where her heart was most settled, she would have to make a painful decision. In order for water to be delivered from the tributaries of the Colorado River to the Southwest, three small towns needed to be vacated. She would have to sell the farm. The Blue Mesa Reservoir would be built. The Gunnison River, once plugged, would turn into a lake. "My home is at the bottom of a lake. Our farm lies there, mud bound, its remnants indistinguishable from boat wreckage...".

Victoria was doggedly determined to keep her past hidden by using all her inner strength and resolve to save the peach trees that had been planted and nurtured by past generations of the Nash family. The kindness and support of some unusual hometown residents would enable her to grieve her losses while continuing to move forward.

"Go as a River" by Shelley Read is an absolutely fascinating as well as haunting debut novel. The picturesque landscape is beautifully portrayed, the characters unforgettable. Highly recommended.

Thank you Spiegel & Grau and Net Galley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Wow, just wow.
It's a long while since I've read a book which leaves me with a sad silence because I've finished it. Beautifully written, lyrical and like a thinking woman's Where The Crawdads Sing but without the melodrama and silliness.
I can't believe this is a debut.
Set in small town, rural America over four decades, it's a coming-of-age story dealing with themes of love and loss, prejudice, injustice, family, friendship, motherhood., strength and courage.
The main character of Victoria is brilliantly drawn and the supporting cast and descriptions were just right.
I know I will be thinking about this book long after finishing it. A haunting yet immensely satisfying read.
Thank you NetGalley for the advance copy.

I loved this book so much. The opening chapters had me hooked in the first few characters. Maybe as I age, I have enjoyed the growing love against harsh environment. Victoria's journey as a young women navigating life without a her mother (or any other women in her life) to help her along snagged at my heart. Finding love in a bigot town and family, becoming a women, the harshness of reality was well written in Shelley Read's hand. I am looking forward to reading more of her books!

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.