This a descriptive and beautifully written story with complicated, relatable characters. I rooted for the main character as she came of age (and beyond) in rural Colorado in the 1940’s. I liked how the author wove in pieces of relevant culture and history. Perfect pacing and a satisfying ending. I believe this book will be a popular one for good reason once it is released!

Thank you very much to NetGalley and Speigel and Grau for the advanced reader’s copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Pub date: 2/28/23
Genre: historical fiction, coming of age story
Quick summary: In 1960s Colorado, 17-year-old peach farmer's daughter Torie finds herself drawn to Native American drifter Wilson, and their love affair will turn her life upside down.

This story is beautifully written in poetic language, and I'm impressed that this was her debut! It was a bit of a slow starter plot-wise for me, but I loved Torie's strength as she fought to build a future for herself. The last 25% really made the story for me - I found myself so invested, and the ending made me tear up. I also loved the Colorado setting and the symbolism behind the peach farming.

If you enjoy quiet, character-driven novels, you might like this one. I'm betting it will be read by book clubs everywhere!

Thank you to Spiegel & Grau for providing an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Torie, is the only young woman in the house doing all the chores, plus labor in the peach orchard. Nash peaches are known for growing the perfect peaches in Colorado conditions. Her mother died in a tragic accident and has been difficult for all.
A stranger, Wil Moon,, walks through town and Torie is drawn to him and they fall deeply in love.
Tragedy strikes again and Torie runs to the wilderness for solace.
The descriptive writing in this novel brings you among the wildflowers, into the river, and you are pulled into the settings with these characters. Thank you net galley for this beautiful book that I will keep in my heart for a very long time.

Sometimes a novel needs to be rated in the number of times it made me ugly cry in public. This one made me ugly cry on an airplane multiple times. I'm an absolute sucker for setting, and this novel delivers - it's set in the rugged Colorado winters beginning in the 1940s. Complete with a plucky and rebellious heroine and in-depth exploration of the social issues of the time, this one is a must-read. Read's writing style is reminiscent of Barbara Kingsolver - occasionally a bit overwrought, but mostly compelling and thoughtful.

A touching, poignant story about about a forbidden relationship that led to lifelong consequences.
Torie embarks on an illicit romance that results in both life and death. Some of the most difficult parts of the book are set in a lonely hut as sje awaits the inevitable outcome.
I don’t think Torie had much happiness in her life but managed to get along fairly well.
The ending was good and wraps up the arc of the plot.
I liked the setting of Colorado and the themes of perseverance, determination, and forgiveness.

What a stunning debut! I adored this story of a young women living in the 1940s-60s in Colorado. The author's storytelling was beautiful, and I felt like I was there with Victoria. This was a moving story about loss, motherhood, and determination. Highly recommended!

This was a beautiful and heartbreaking story, set in small town Colorado starting in the 1940s as it follows Victoria through her hardships, growth, and journey to find her place. The book was wonderfully written and the characters felt alive in the story. I truly ached for them and the circumstances that caused so much collateral damage in their lives. I could not put this down once I started reading! I would have loved to get more of the narrative on how everything turned out, but I know that many would disagree in favor of the open ending.

This is a stunning debut novel with absolutely gorgeous writing. It is easily my favorite book of the year and will undoubtedly take its place on my shelf of all-time favorites.

It is a coming-of-age story, an ode to the power and beauty of nature, and a reflection on love, betrayal, and the impassive and random brutality of life.

It is set in Colorado in a small community located next to a “wild and wonderful” river at the base of a forested mountain. We follow Victoria, the main character, from the age of seventeen when the story begins in the 1940s through the 1970s.

Victoria’s family has grown peaches for generations, and the beloved orchards are a silent but significant touchstone in her life. She has a close connection to the land and to all of nature, and her thoughts and feelings are most often expressed as images or metaphors of wild places and creatures.

She faces tragedy, struggles and deep disappointment in her life, but, as someone special to her once taught, she endures by trying to “go as a river”:

“I would say I had tried, as Wil taught me, to go as a river, but it had taken me a long time to understand what that means. Flowing forward against obstacle was not my whole story. For, like the river, I had also gathered along the way all the tiny pieces connecting me to everything else, and doing this had delivered me home, with… a heart still learning to be unafraid of itself.

The story is slow moving but completely absorbing. It is about heartbreak and loss, but also about love and growth and understanding. I guarantee that, as you turn the last page, you will feel uplifted and be smiling through your tears.

Highly recommended, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. Available on February 28, 2023.

My thanks to the author, Shelley Read, to the publisher, Spiegel & Grau, and to NetGalley for providing me a copy of this book.

#GoAsARiver #SpiegelandGrau #ShelleyRead #netgalley

What a beautiful debut story! This is a true classic literary fiction. The descriptive setting in the harsh elements of Iola, Colorado, captures the simplicity of life in the 40's & 50's. Their entertainment is not in cell phones, TV, or the luxuries we take for granted, but in the solace of nature. It was a tough life as farmers and they were not immune to tragedies. It was also a bitter time of war, so life as they knew was often upended in heartbreak.
"The landscapes of our youths create us, and we carry them within us, storied by all they gave and stole, in who we became."
The story unfolds with Victoria living with her family on a peach farm. She lost her mother at the ripe age of twelve and as the only female, she takes up her mother's duties, such as cooking, cleaning and helping her father and brothers with the crops. Living such a solitary life, she meets Wilson Moon, a Native American and falls in love with him quickly. To avoid the prejudice and bigotry dangers of their small town, she escapes to be alone with him whenever she can. Tragedy strikes stealing her passion for life. The betrayal from her brother sends her running away from home.
The bond her and Wil found together will never be broken, even in death. Without giving this haunting story away, you must read it to appreciate the strength Victoria finds in herself and an ending that will leave you immersed in the story as if you were a character. It is rich with feelings of heartbreak, desire, passion, love and tragedy. As Wil's advice "Go as a river", is the simple means to go with the flow of life.
Thank you, NetGalley and Spiegel & Grau for this pre-approved ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was a beautifully written novel. I loved getting lost in the descriptions, in the similes and metaphors she expertly used to evoke feelings and moods. I fell for sweet Victoria, whose life is changed forever with a chance meeting in her small Colorado town in the 1940's. As the novel progressed, I didn't love the actual story itself. I wanted more action, more plot. Victoria lived such a solitary life, I felt so sad for her. Wrapped up well.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC. I loved Shelley Read's novel, Go As a River. It tells the tale of a woman who lost everything yet continues to fight through all the loss to move on and live a happy life. It was wonderfully written and I felt sad at the ending...I wanted to know more about Victoria Nash and how her story ends. I felt like I was really in the Colorado mountains, experiencing the harsh weather that Torie went through, and tasting the delicious Nash peaches. This story will stay with me and I look forward to more from Shelley Read.

I loved this book! Go As A River tells the story of Victoria Nash, who has known her share of heartbreak at a young age. We meet her as a teenager, the 'woman of the house', living on the family peach farm in rural Colorado with her father, brother, and uncle, each of them struggling with loss in their own ways. One day, she meets Wilson Moon, a Native American vagabond, and her life is changed forever. Spanning the 1940s to the 1970s, this is a coming of age story unlike any other. Beautifully written and utterly compelling. Highly recommend!

Victoria 'Torie' Nash lives in Iola, Colorado on a peach farm. Her mother passed away some years ago and Torie's father, brother and disabled uncle reside with her. The peaches from her farm are known throughout the state as the most delicious peaches available.

Torie's brother is a mean and cruel person, someone who always made her life difficult. He is jealous of Torie's friendships and acts out against her.

One day, fortuitously, Torie is in downtown Iola when she runs into a young man her age, seventeen years old. His name is Wilson Moon and he just got off a train, landing in Iola. He is dirty and ragged looking but there is an instant, almost cataclysmic, connection between the two and a love affair of great proportions and horrible tragedy ensues.

The novel takes us through decades of Victoria's life as she learns how to be whole despite the tragedies she endures. This is a story of her strength and resilience in the face of obstacles.

My only criticism of this novel is the amount of 'spiritual' and religious narrative that it contains. I believe it would be a much better book if a lot of the religious aspects were edited out. Other than that, the novel was a beautiful rendition of Victoria's life and ability to thrive.

I kept commenting out loud to my husband that "another character has died" and he asked me if I was going to stop reading the book. I didn't and when Part four started I was glad I stuck with it. I appreciated the promise in the final pages of the story, possibly more so because of the sadness in the first three parts of the book.

It might be difficult to recommend this book to everyone. It is best for avid readers who appreciate that sometimes a book is meant to remind you of how difficult life can be for others and how difficult it was in past times. Go as a River was recommended for people who liked Where The Crawdads Sing but there isn't a mystery to solve or much love throughout the book.

Victoria, or Torie, falls in love early in the story and we learn of previous family tragedies before the new ones continue to happen. She is a resourceful, however lonely, character and ultimately creates a place for herself but the journey there is over 25 years and is filled with grief. What she experienced is worthy of a lifetime of sorrow and the slow pace and story telling style of this novel is painfully realistic. You can feel how she drudges through life carrying her sorrow with each new scene.

This book was heartbreaking and beautiful. Such a fantastic story with incredible writing. I just loved Victoria and watching her rise up through struggles and getting to see her redemption.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC of Go as a River by Shelley Read.

This is one of those books that I'm going to hold to my chest with my mascara running and I'll be proclaiming "this book stomped every inch of my heart to bits, it literally destroyed me, read it!" But for real, if you were a fan of The Snow Child, Crawdads, or any quiet books that also screams heartbreak and healing, this is for you.

It is the 1940's in Iola Colorado and Victoria has just met Wilson Moon. He is gentle, mysterious, handsome and kind. But he also has the wrong skin tone, making him an unwelcome visitor in town. But while Wilson lays low, Victoria and he establish a deep connection, but there is no possible way of knowing just how dramatically Torie's life will change because of it.

I won't lie, this is not a lighthearted read, it's full of tragedy and cruelty, so please treat yourself with care while reading. But I can also promise you that it's laced with exquisite hope and beauty throughout. Human wickedness has no bounds, but thankfully, neither does human kindness and selflessness. I sobbed giant ugly tears at the end of this book, and it will be a long time before I ever forget it.

This was such a beautifully written coming of age story! The writing was so nicely done. I loved the way the author described the setting and nature around Victoria. The ending did feel a bit rushed to me. I would have liked to know more details about Victoria and her son at the end.

I completely revelled in this book. I loved it so much, it had me hooked! I was attracted to the title, the lovely cover and the description sounded very intriguing. I’m so pleased that I listened to that calling.

It was an absolute delight to read and as I said already, I loved it so much! I felt the descriptions of the settings rippling through me, drawing me into the reality of Victoria’s life and pulled at my emotions with each wave and experience that she went through. There were some challenging topics that she lived through and her strength was inspirational throughout.

A quote from the book that I read and reread sat so beautifully with me. I really wanted to share it, but have resisted, so when you read it, it can give you all the feels too. It starts with “Go as a river…”

There was one thing that I was a little disappointed with and that was the very ending of this book. It had me in its deep grip and then left me shocked with the abrupt ending. For me I was still on the journey, so wrapped up in the story and desperate for at least physical contact, an embrace that I felt deep in my heart, which matched my feelings throughout the book, that they were finally reunited. By no means, was the book lacking, I just enjoyed it so much, that I wanted to know more about the reunion.
That would have been the most perfect ending for me, but none the less, I’ll say it once again, I absolutely loved this book!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and all involved with me being able to read this book, for an honest review.

I am in love with this book. Days after finishing it, I find myself still thinking of Victoria and Wil, and all Victoria had to endure in this coming-of-age story. The book opens with Victoria's and Wil's meeting, and from that first chapter I was completely entranced and could not stop reading - I rooted for these two in every page. The family dynamics, the longing for what Victoria had lost, the unlikely friendship she forged with the town's crazy lady - all so beautifully told. The descriptions of the Colorado wilderness and landscapes were rich and made me see a place I have not visited enough feel vivid and as if I was right there with the characters, experiencing the land as they were. It was a treat to learn something about Iola and the other towns erased by the dam that was built in the '60s which was something I knew zero about before reading this book.

I highly recommend this book and will be one that I'll be telling all my friends about. It was heartbreaking and hopeful and every page was exquisite - I did not want it to end!

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to review an advanced copy of this book!

Torie leads a harsh existence on the family peach farm in rural Colorado after war and a cruel accident devastate her family. When stranger Wil passes through and they meet in town, they are drawn to each other and a passionate relationship begins, but he is Native American and soon feels the full force of small-town racial bigotry. Torie flees to the mountains and struggles to survive, but has to make a terrible sacrifice that will weigh on her heart as she strives to make a life for herself. Meanwhile the river threatens to flood her town, and another family with a strong connection to Torie fight their own battles elsewhere, as they wonder about each other. I really enjoyed the first part of the book, dealing with Torie and Wil and their love story, and how the prejudice of the townsfolk was made felt, but afterwards the narrative lost its way a bit and didn’t really hold my interest. Some of the characters, such as Torie’s brother, were interesting but could have been developed more fully. I also found it hard to believe that the events as Torie leaves the mountain would have really happened like that, with no questions asked (I don’t want to spoil the plot here!) and that affected my engagement with the story. I did like the often very lyrical writing and the ideas in the book, I just think they could have been explored more deeply. Most of the other reviews have been glowing so other readers may well disagree.