Go as a River: A Novel
Set amid Colorado's wild beauty, a heartbreaking coming-of-age story of a resilient young woman whose life is changed forever by one chance encounter. A tragic and uplifting novel of love and loss, family and survival--and hope--for readers of Great Circle, The Four Winds, and Where the Crawdads Sing
"Shelley Read's lyrical voice is a force of nature.... Completely unforgettable." --Bonnie Garmus, author of Lessons in Chemistry
"A splendid American Gothic tale of a young woman broken by circumstances who must find a way to forgive before she can love."--Adriana Trigiani, author of The Good Left Undone
Seventeen-year-old Victoria Nash runs the household on her family's peach farm in the small 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 and determined to live as he chooses.
Victoria encounters Wil by chance on a street corner, a meeting that profoundly alters both of their young lives, unknowingly igniting as much passion as danger. When tragedy strikes, Victoria leaves the only life she has ever known. She flees into the surrounding mountains where she struggles to survive in the wilderness with no clear notion of what her future will bring. As the seasons change, she also charts the changes in herself, finding in the beautiful but harsh landscape the meaning and strength to move forward and rebuild all that she has lost, even as the Gunnison River threatens to submerge her homeland--its ranches, farms, and the beloved peach orchard that has been in her family for generations.
Inspired by true events surrounding the destruction of the town of Iola in the 1960s, Go as a River is a story of deeply held love in the face of hardship and loss, but also of finding courage, resilience, friendship, and, finally, home--where least expected. This stunning debut explores what it means to lead your life as if it were a river--gathering and flowing, finding a way forward even when a river is dammed.
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Community Reviews
Oh. My. God. I donât think Iâve even been this invested in a book where thereâs no romantic interest. I am Mexican. My family is from the north of Mexico (south of New Mexico and Texas, right on the boarder). Needless to say, my blood was boiling for the entire first half of the book. I wasn't sure if I could continue reading after all the blatant racism. I powered through because my heart ached for Victoria at every chapter and with each devastatingly gut-wrenching decision she had to make. The strength of a mother to give up her child because she knows she can't provide the life he deserves had me sobbing.
My only complaints are that I did not get a chance to fall in love with Will. I know it was not the main purpose of the story, but the love she felt for him carried on throughout the entire book. I also did not feel the imminent danger Victoria felt from Seth. Maybe once I thought he was a definite sociopath, but when he came to find Victoria after she had sold the farm to the government and wanted to collect his part of the money, I actually believed him.
Still, this was a beautiful story to read and I'd definitely recommend to others!
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