As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Price: $19.00 - $16.99
(as of Oct 14, 2025 14:00:18 UTC – Details)
B0B71C17R4,
NATIONAL BESTSELLER and BOOK CLUB FAVORITE * Over 1 million copies sold worldwide!
* 2024 High Plains Book Award Winner * 2023 Reading the West Book Award Winner * Finalist for Goodreads Choice Award * Colorado Public Radio 2023 Books We Love * 2025 Prix de l’Union Interalliée *
Set amid Colorado’s wild beauty, the 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…
, 4.5,
Reviewer: mnmloveli
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: AWESOME READ ! Can’t believe it’s a DEBUT book !
Review: ‘23 – DEBUT NOVEL – 5 STARSDESCRIPTION : Inspired by true events surrounding the destruction of the town of Iola, Colorado in the 1960s. Compared to The Four Winds and Where the Crawdads Sing. 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.REVIEW : Recommended by gottapeanow who loved it 5/5 stars; best book of ‘23; left her completely gutted; “Honestly, how can this be the author’s first novel? It’s totally brilliant. What a peach! (Pun intended.) Gorgeous prose, riveting characters, and a mesmerizing plot that grabs you from the first sentence and doesn’t let you go til the very last word”. Because of this great review I spotted on Amazon on sale for $1.99 (reg 14.99)m grabbed it and jumped right-in.LOVED THIS LAST PARAGRAPH IN THE PROLOGUE……“Imagine a town silent, forgotten, decomposing at the bottom of a lake that once was a river. If this makes you wonder whether the joys and pain of a place wash away as the floodwaters rise and swallow, I can tell you they do not. The landscapes of our youths create us, and we carry them within us, storied by all they gave and stole, in who we become”.ANOTHER BEAUTIFUL DESCRIPTION OF HOW WILSON LOOKS AT LIFE…..“He rarely looked to the future, and to the past even less, but gathered up the current moment in both hands to admire its particulars, with no apology and no sense it should be otherwise”.The writing is beautiful and flows so well. I found myself reading slower to feel every word. Victoria was such a memorable character and her experiences should inspire strength and determination in all of us. All these feelings at only 40%. I wanted this book to go on for another 300 pages. I really would LOVE a sequel ! I can only hope and dream.GO AS A RIVER, PEACE.
Reviewer: Sheila the Reader
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Heartbreaking, Hopeful, and Amazing
Review: 4-1/2 StarsShelley Read’s Go As a River is a painfully beautiful story set against the breathtaking backdrop of rural Colorado. The novel follows Victoria (Torie) Nash, a young woman whose life is shaped by love, loss, and resilience. Torie’s journey is marked by a forbidden romance that alters her path forever, leading to heartbreak and ultimately hope. Later, the introduction of Inga adds another layer of emotional depth, making the story even more poignant.The descriptions of Colorado’s natural beauty are stunningly atmospheric and transportive, immersing readers in the vivid scenery. The character development is extraordinary; both Torie and Inga left an indelible mark on my heart. Their struggles and triumphs are portrayed with such raw authenticity that I couldn’t help but feel deeply connected to their stories.This novel is as heartbreaking as it is hopeful, balancing pain with perseverance in a way that leaves a lasting impression. It was a phenomenal choice to close out my 2024 reading goals, a fitting tribute to a year filled with amazing books. Go As a River is a stunning read that I highly recommend.
Reviewer: Lynne M. Spreen
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Exquisite
Review: Victoria Nash lives with her silent father, her disabled uncle, and her malicious brother on a farm whose peaches are legendary and renowned. This is Colorado, 1940s, and the men treat Torie as a servant–worse, almost as an animal. The father would be kind but he’s consumed by grief. The brother is a psychopath, and the uncle is just a bitter jerk. Torie has such a hard life–the description of her first menstrual period without womanly guidance is absolutely wrenching–but she suffers in obedient silence. Her mother, aunt, and beloved other brother died in a car wreck, leaving her to grow up in this situation. When as a seventeen year old, she meets a young Native American man in town, the two of them start a relationship that’s fated for tragedy. This story covers so many years and so many incredible events, it’s hard for me to even describe it, but the writer is talented and the descriptions rich and evocative, not just of the human condition (injustice, jealousy, betrayal, found family, coming-of-age, etc.) but also of the exquisite beauty of Colorado. I wish the story hadn’t ended so abruptly, but that’s because it was so good, I could have used a few more pages of looking into the future. Well done.
Reviewer: Kasmah McDermott
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Exquisitely and beautifully written tale of love and loss and resilience.
Review: Some books just touch your soul in a way that stays with you. Such beautifully written words of the beauty and harshness of life. The landscape comes alive in Shelley’s carefully chosen words of the beauty of the Western Slope. I feel so lucky to have come across this lovely tale.
Reviewer: Valerie J Reeves
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: great read
Review: Starts out as just a story, but grabs your attention. I read it in one sitting. Lots to ponder and thoughtfully written.
Reviewer: Latasha Worrell
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title: heartbreaking story
Review: Go As a River is an incredibly moving story that revolves around themes of family, identity, loss, hope, and grief.Equally heart-wrenching and emotional, the author did a phenomenal job fleshing out each of the main characters, making her highly impactful narrative. I was invested in this story from the very start, and my interest never wavered. The plot is heavy yet hopeful.This story will forever be etched in my memory. It stirred my thoughts and emotions, transporting me to a realm that felt tangible and real. What more could we possibly desire from a literary masterpiece?
Reviewer: susan
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Love and loss
Review: A poignant narrative of profound love that transcends familial cruelty and societal prejudice. This deeply moving tale explores the transformative power of compassion, revealing how empathy and understanding can break through the barriers of hatred and discrimination. Through resilience and unwavering kindness, the protagonist demonstrates that love has the potential to heal wounds, challenge deeply ingrained biases, and ultimately reshape the world around us.
Reviewer: Ekaterina Koruzina
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Go as a River is a beautifully written, emotionally resonant debut that weaves together love, loss, resilience, and the enduring connection to nature. Set in post-war Colorado, the story follows Victoria Nash, a young woman navigating personal tragedy and societal expectations as she carves out her own path. Shelley Read’s lyrical prose and vivid sense of place bring the landscape—and Victoria’s quiet strength—to life. It’s a moving coming-of-age novel that stays with you long after the final page.
Reviewer: Kindle Customer
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: This is a coming of age story of a lonely,overworked, motherless teenage girl – the hardships she faces, the heartbreaks ,but still rises above all to be an independent, strong woman.
Reviewer: Ricardo
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: He leído cientos de libros y esto es uno de mis favoritos.Es una lástima que la autora, Shelley Read, solo haya escrito un libro.
Reviewer: MM Reviewer
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: “Flowing forward against obstacles 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, and doing this had delivered me here”While some of the storyline and events in the book felt less plausible, I was able to overlook them with this haunting but sad human story of love, survival, courage, family, and impossible choices. The beauty of the book was to be found in the natural landscape and the writing, but most of all within the character of the central female character, Victoria. A very memorable read.The Plot – “Just as a single rainstorm can erode the banks and change the course of a river, so can a single circumstance of a girl’s life erase who she was before.” and this ‘single circumstance’ was when Torie met Wilson Moon, a native American that was to become her first love and enduring soulmate. Rejected by society, Wil was forbidden to have any relationships, work and a life in this mid Colorado town, lola. Not to be dissuaded by the prejudice to be found in others, Torie embarks on an adventure that can only end in tragedy.Review and Comments – This wonderful book is brimming with themes that draws the reader in from the beginning and holds you there to the final moments – hopeful, willing, and anxious about the life that should have been.A coming of age story? – Yes, but with themes of motherhood, survival, nature, abandonment, murder, and racism, the tides of time force the young Torie to accept those things she cannot change but also gives her the courage to take fate into her own hands and in search of her son. Moving and evocative. Both heart-warming and heart wrenching. A beauty of a book. Sentimental but not gushing with over dramatic scenes either.
Reviewer: Desney King
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: I am too full of emotion and admiration, overwhelmed by a sense of synchronicity, to begin to describe the moving and profound impact this glorious novel has had on me. It’s tenderness, beauty and courage resonate deeply.Thank you, Shelley Read.What a gift!
, Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Coming of Age, #River,
Instantly Access Your FREE Children’s Books Here!
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases; I may earn a commission from qualifying purchases as an affiliate.
