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.

Perfect for fans of Where The Crawdad's Sing, this novel tugs at the heartstrings and reminds you of the power of love and family.

“I had been shaped by my kindred- my lost family and lost love; my found friendships, though few; my trees that kept on living and every tree the gave me shelter; every creature I met along the way, every raindrop and snowflake choosing my shoulder, and every breeze that shifted the air; every winding path beneath my feet, every place I laid my hands and head, and every creek like the one before me, rolling off the hillside, gaining strength in gravity, spinning through the next eddy, pushing around the next bend, taking and giving in quiet agreement with every living thing.”

Ooooh…. this book was right up my alley. The writing was beautifully descriptive and the story was slow and meandering, much like a river. I took my time with this one, and I think it is a story that doesn’t need to be rushed. I’ve been wondering when I was going to read a book that will make my top reads of the year, and I am certain this one will be on it. I recommend!

And isn’t it satisfying when the cover is as lovely as the book inside? 😍🤩

**Thank you Netgalley and Penguin Random House Canada for my copy. Unfortunately, it didn't have the "send to Kindle" option, and the formatting of the book on the Netgalley Shelf app was too difficult for me to be able to read it. However, with all the rave reviews, I knew I wanted to read it, so I bought my own copy and read a physical version.

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!). I enjoyed this one more than Where the Crawdads Sing, but I definitely see some of the parallels.

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.

The first thing to draw me into this book was the cover art! I saw it come across my searches on NetGalley and thought it was so beautiful that I needed to see what this book was about.

Of course the description sounded great so I dove in with high expectations - and i was not let down! The writing in this one was so good. It was descriptive and captivating. I also really enjoyed the way the author painted a clear picture of the characters. Torie is such a strong, resilient lead and hard not to like.

It is very clear that this author is a talented writer and I already cannot wait to see what comes next! I hope this book gets a lot of 'hype' on the popular social media platforms because I think it is one many will enjoy.

✨ ARC REVIEW ✨

Go as a River by Shelley Read

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

“… I had tried, as Wil taught me, to go as a river, but it had taken me a long while to understand what that meant. 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…”

I think most would describe Go as a River as a coming of age story, but Victoria describes it best when she refers to her journey as one of becoming…

Starting in 1948, on a charming little peach farm in Iola, we meet a young Victoria and the book follows her journey all the way through to adulthood. Victoria’s life is filled with heartbreak, friendship, tough decisions and love but above all, her life is filled with seemingly insurmountable growth!

Despite all of the challenges she faces we get to see Victoria become the person she was always meant to be - a woman with inspiring determination and strength but who ultimately lives her life just trying to do the next right thing.

Thank you to the author, Netgalley and Penguin Random House Canada for the ARC! Go as River is out TODAY - and yes, you will catch me driving to Indigo in all of this snow to snag myself a copy!

Torie/Victoria is a girl on the cusp of womanhood who has endured loss after loss, but yet who somehow manages to rise again. For certain, she is wise beyond her years.

Iola is a town full of prejudice, bigotry and preconceived notions. So it shouldn’t be a surprise that when Torie meets a boy of different coloured skin, the town and her family are less than pleased. This meeting will forever change the course of her life, in ways she could never imagine.

Spanning nearly 30 years, it’s a story of resilience, perseverance and forgiveness. What struck me is how poetic it is. Not an easy read, but definitely a memorable one.

If you liked Where the Crawdads Sing or This Tender Land, you should like this one too. 4.5 stars.

Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Go As A River …..wow what a beautifully written book, I got lost in the words and descriptive way the author wrote this story. The book has so much depth to it yet I read it in one sitting. I love the title and saying go as a river, collecting all, the bits and pieces that will make up your journey in life as it flows. Both the good bits and the not so good bits those pieces tell the story and this story was a great one.

I voluntarily received a free advanced copy from NetGalley and all opinions are my own.

I would highly recommend this book to my family , friends and book clubs

💫 Go As A River 💫
By Shelley Read
Publisher: Spiegel & Grau (DD Canada)
Genre: fiction
Debut author

I finished this one (and started) in the dark of the night when my “mama anxieties” were on full tilt and I couldn’t sleep. I was thinking about my boys, that instant love and coupled with the fear of letting them go… letting them find their space and voice without me and how darn hard that is as a parent.

So when I found myself looking for my glasses knowing that my whole world was asleep under one roof, I opened this book… and then I closed it again before anyone woke in the morning.

My emotions are fresh with this as I write. It’s a story about found family with the lens of bigotry and race finding their waves within the pages. It’s also about the love of nature and finding peace within yourself. But I think where my heartstrings will always pull hardest will be with motherhood and loss… of that, there is much in this book.
It’s gentle, it’s not necessarily on the page, but the magnitude of what loss does to one’s journey is the gentlest waves within this book. First how cool is that last name

It reminded me of a mix between the movie “The Man in the Moon” with Reese Witherspoon and the quiet strength found in ‘Where The Crawdads Are’. I found the writing so lyrical and soft that I find it surprise to read that it was a debut.

This book is for the thoughtful reader, the emotional one who can turn the mirror on oneself and see how woven all our stories are. I read this alone, with my family asleep, but I’m grateful I’m going to be able to buddy chat about this with a bunch of ladies.

Two quotes I had to jot down:

“Carrying your sorrows all alone isn’t strength… it’s punishment…”

“Loss had nothing to do with what you deserve or don’t deserve…”


TW: Racism, misogyny, indigenous slurs, loss of mother

I have Just finished reading Go as a River, by Author Shelley Read.

What a beautifully written, and descriptive story this is. It is mesmerizing storytelling.

It starts off in the 1940’s on a peach farm in Iola Colorado. Victoria Nash is 17, and the only female on her family farm.

She is walking in town one day and notices a young man – Wilson Moon and is intrigued by him.

It is a story of love, loneliness, and perseverance.

A story that takes us through the decades of Victoria’s (Torie’s) life.

I really enjoyed this book, I did find it a bit slow moving through the middle, but overall, an excellent read.

Thank You to NetGalley, the Author and Penguin Random House Canada for my advanced copy to read and review.

#netgalley # penguinrandomca

Loved this book by author Shelley Read. Beautiful story that explores motherhood and resilience. Love her descriptive narrative of nature. Very lyrically written. A beautiful coming of age novel that had me and tears and also warmed my heart. Highly recommend. Will be a “best of” book for me for 2023

What a story! I really enjoyed this one and the character of Victoria.. As I was telling someone about it, I realized how many layers there are to the story. It is was sad but beautiful. Something I wish there would have been a little more closer, like her relationship with her brother. But overall it was a wonderful, heartfelt story with a hopeful ending which are some of my favorite books.