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!

Sometimes literary writing styles can be frivolous, pedantic, or over-done—more of an exercise in seeing how long sentences can be or how opaque one’s meaning can be. That’s not the case here. Read’s style is lyrical and paints a scene rich in color, shapes, and sounds. The story arc is simultaneously familiar and surprising, a rare treat. It has all the feels. It's satisfying. It's cinematic. I highly recommend it.

Oh my goodness, what an amazing debut by Shelley Read! I really didn’t know what to expect with this read, but I was blown away.

This coming of age novel tells the story of a young girl whose life was changed forever when her path crossed with a newcomer. The story beautifully depicts the struggles she faced and the bravery and resilience she embodied as she went through life.

I would not be surprised if this book becomes a top seller in 2023!

I want to thank the publisher and the author, for this advanced copy… Not since Where the Crawdad Sings have I found a book as descriptive and hauntingly, devastatingly beautiful.

This coming-of-age story begins with a 17-year-old, who knows no boundaries when it comes to the first love in her life… The pull is so strong, warnings from family be damned… However, when she finds herself in a situation that she cannot escape, we experience one of the most gut-wrenching, written stories that only come around about once a year.

The writing is beautifully crafted from about a quarter of the way in until the end. The reason I gave four versus five stars is that the beginning of the story was extremely disjointed. We kept going from one situation to the next without a period in between sentences or a timeline. I almost gave up, but I am now glad that I stuck it out. (I’m hoping this was just due to it being an eARC, and that some tighter editing was done for the final product.)
This novel is certain to make all of the celebrity rounds, and I wouldn’t doubt if this becomes a movie as it would make for gorgeous cinematography.

Thank you to NetGalley and Spiegel & Grau for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion. This is a beautiful debut novel that I started recommending before I even finished reading - I just knew it was going to be that good! It follows 17 year old Victoria Nash, growing up in a small, rural town in western Colorado. A coming of age story that delves into themes of family and home/place, Go As a River is hard to put down once you begin reading it. I had to pick up a copy of my own to hug (literally) when I finished my digital version. I think the various themes will resonate with many other readers, like they did with me. Fans of dramatic fiction will enjoy this one.

Go as a River was a stunning story of resilience and perseverance. Family history pushes and pulls the main character, Victoria, to forge her own path. At each crossroads of loss and pain, she must move forward. As she grieves, she also becomes new, seeking to hold onto truths and memories of her family, yet also discarding the pieces that don’t allow for growth. This book truly drew me in from the first page and kept me reading in every spare minute until I finished it.

I really enjoyed this book! The writing was very beautiful and the story was heartbreaking and lovely. The book follows Victoria Nash from the 1940s though the 70s on her families peach farm in Colorado. As many tragedies befall her and her family she preserves to find the strength to survive and to carve out her place in the world. I would definitely recommend this book especially to people who enjoyed Where the Crawdads Sing.

DNF @50% I couldn't get into this story with how overly dense the writing style was. Just wasn't for me! Could not make myself pick it up knowing there would be so many extra paragraphs about descriptions to get through.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for the eARC, I hope others enjoy it!

Such a stunningly beautiful story, in the way that you get beauty from grief, hardship and struggle. I'm blown away that this is a debut novel; the author brilliantly uses words to paint vivid images in the reader's mind. The writing in this book is both lyrical and rhythmic, and it envelops you in a comfortable cocoon of beauty (this sounds cheesy, even to me, but I can't quite describe it any other way). I found myself completely absorbed into the descriptions of the geographical landscape of Colorado in the 40s and 50s.

Victoria is an amazing character, one of the best I've read in a very long time. I was pulled into her story as though I didn't have a choice. Her resilience and strength through everything she struggled to overcome was truly inspiring.

This is one of those books where you are torn between wanting to keep reading, and not wanting to ever finish it. I can't recommend this one enough!

Such a powerful story, about losses piled upon a teenager in rural Colorado. The people who made a difference in her life were acquaintances who became friends.

This is a story of survival, of just getting through, of refusing to be defeated. I did not want to put it down.

In my Instagram post, I compared it in part to a few of my favorite books, The Heart’s Invisible Furies and A Place for Us.

Beautifully written and emotional debut novel that follows a the journey of a teenage Victoria through her adulthood. This story is a coming of age story as well as a story of grief, loss, perseverance and love. The writing makes you feel one with nature and I could imagine the mountains, fresh air, and the cold waters of the rivers of Colorado. At first I thought this story was going to be just another romance story but it turned out to be so much more with themes of loss, difficult choices, motherhood, and family drama. This book will having feeling so many rollercoaster of emotions and will leave you heartbroken and devasted at some points and yet will warm your heart at other points.

Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Books for an ARC in exchange for my honest feedback.