Go as a River by Shelley Read

Go As A River by Shelley Read 

ARC from Spiegel and Grau and Netgalley for an honest review 

Book Blurb:

Victoria Nash is just a teenager in the 1940s, but she runs the household on her family’s peach farm in the ranch town of Iola, Colorado—the sole surviving female in a family of troubled men. Wilson Moon is a young drifter with a mysterious past, displaced from his tribal land in the Four Corners region, who wants to believe one place is just like another. When Victoria encounters Wil on a street corner, their unexpected connection ignites as much passion as danger and as many revelations as secrets. Victoria flees into the beautiful but harsh wilderness of the nearby mountains when tragedy strikes. Living in a small hut, she struggles to survive in the unforgiving conditions with no clear notion of what her future will be. What happens afterward is her quest to regain all that she has lost, even as the Gunnison River rises to submerge her homeland and the only life she has ever known. 

My Review: 4.5 stars

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Go as a River by Shelley Read was a powerful, tender and compelling coming of age story about love, loss, motherhood, bigotry and survival. Victoria is a character to root for and one you won’t soon forget.

In small towns, any outsider is immediately seen, sized up and often loathed for no other reason than his or her differences. When Victoria stumbles into dark skinned Wil, she sees a kindness in him that she’s never seen before. The community and Victoria’s brother see to it that he is  ostracized and judge him solely on his otherness.  

This is what initially drives the story forward followed by monumental and life-altering choices that Victoria makes as she pushes forward through the life. The peaches on the cover have great symbolism and Victoria’s care of them is insurmountable. Watching Victoria grow from Torie to Victoria and become a strong, independent woman made for a beautiful story.

The second half of the book moves much faster than the first, but the first half sets the scenarios for the story. I really enjoyed this book and think it’ll make a fabulous book club pick. Also, I had to Google to find out if peaches could really grow in Colorado, and alas, they certainly can. Who knew? Definitely pick this one up. You wont’ be sorry. 

Quotes I liked:

The landscapes of our youths create us, and we carry them with us, storied by all they gave and stole, in who we became.”

“…love is a matter, to be nurtured, and even mourned, between two beings alone.”

“Sorrow tried but did not claim me.”