‘Go As A River’ by Shelley Read

Hey there, book lovers!

I hope you’re all enjoying this spring sunshine while it lasts! This is the perfect weather for getting out in the garden with a book, settling on a park bench with a book, or maybe lounging on your window seat, you guessed it, with a book! And let me tell you, I have the perfect book for all those little scenes you just pictured: Shelley Read’s debut novel, ‘Go As A River’.

Now, I should preface this review with a warning: this book broke me. It takes a lot for a book to make me cry. I have to feel completely invested, for one thing, as though I believe the characters are real-life people I’m reading about. I also have to feel that their experiences are real. Not too dramatic, not misery for the sake of it, but true to life.

This book had both of these things in spades!

Let me set the scene. It’s 1948 and seventeen-year-old Victoria Nash is living on her family’s peach farm in Iola, Colarado (a real town which was later drowned out by a reservoir) with her widowed father, her drunk, cruel brother and her injured, war veteran uncle. One day, out walking in town, she meets Wilson Moon, a Native American boy who changes her life and her view of the world she lives in. They develop one of the most tender, heart-warming connections I’ve ever read, but not everyone in this small town is as enamoured by this new relationship. Through love, discrimination and desperation, Victoria is thrust into womanhood and set on a path she never imagined for herself.

So what did I love about this book, besides everything? I’ll start with the characters. The story is narrated by Victoria, and I think she has been catapulted straight up to one of my favourite characters ever written. Her patience, her understanding and her resilience far outway anything most people could achieve, and yet her journey is so believable because we see how deeply she struggles; nothing is rushed and there are no clichés here! Victoria’s family were also perfectly written. Although her brother, Seth, and Uncle Ogden were particularly horrible men, they each had their reasons. Seth, whilst described as rebellious and nasty from childhood, lost his mother and clearly did not have the emotional intelligence to manage this loss. Her Uncle Ogden suffered from PTSD after a tragic stint in the army, then lost his wife. Both of these characters, however, showed tiny glimmers of hope or kindness – only minute moments but just enough for Shelley Read to have me convinced that they were products of their circumstances. I even felt sympathy for each of them at rare points – not an easy task for a writer! Finally, Victoria’s father. I think he broke my heart the most. A man of his time, he obviously did not have the capacity to act as both parents in the absence of his wife, but it he tried. I couldn’t have loved him or the way he was written more.

Another aspect of this novel I loved was Read’s adoration for nature and all its glory. There are clear messages in this book about what humans are capable of doing, both to the world and each other, when we act selfishly and thoughtlessly. But what shone through was what any one person can do for the world and for someone else with even a little kindness and consideration. Victoria’s connection with nature, particularly her family peaches and the wilderness she makes her home for a while, is simply stunning and I absolutely devoured Read’s picturesque imagery.

One more element of this book I thought was beautifully written was her depiction of love. I won’t say too much about Wilson Moon, but I will say that Victoria’s description of him and her feelings upon meeting/being with him were absolutely spot-on. Her pondering over what makes the difference between a boy you pass in the street and a boy who changes your life hit me hard. And that is the kind of realism that has me hooked.

Last, but certainly not least, I couldn’t end this review without a special shout-out to Abel the horse. When you’ve read this beauty of a book, tell me you didn’t bawl your eyes out with him at THAT particular point!

All in all, a stunning exploration of love in all its forms, growing up and the importance of nature – a must-read debut.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Back soon!

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