Reviews with content warning for Racial slurs - Go as a River

Reviews tagging 'Racial slurs'

Go as a River by Shelley Read

45 reviews

aaltsjeh's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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ryleee's review against another edition

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reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

This book is

'Teen Mom' set in 'Where the Crawdads Sing'

. The setting is established well and includes nice imagery of the scenery in rural Colorado, which makes it easy to imagine. The main protagonists are likeable enough, but I wish we had a bit more insight into some of the ancillary characters (Seth, their dad), to want to empathise with them through the series of unfortunate events that befall them towards the end. For example,

I wanted the dad to give us SOMETHING to say that he knew about the baby, and still loved Victoria, and acknowledge his failings as a father since the mum died. But alas, even on his deathbed the man was stoic.

It feels like four stories mashed together, supposedly linked through the impending flooding of Victoria's home town. Because of this, the pacing often lurches forward in places to get through the plot points at the expense of relationship-building between the characters. The ending is wholesome enough, but pretty far-fetched and abrupt.

If you're into internal-monologue-narration, and knowing the protagonist's feelings and experiences intimately, then you will probably enjoy this book!

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keppers_jax's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

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therainbowshelf's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Our library picked this as it's big community read, so I gave it a try. It's really well written and interesting, for sure. Beautiful prose, deep explorations of grief, women's issues, and displacement, and a Colorado setting make this book really shine. It did have the parade of painful tragedies that make me hate historic fiction. I didn’t feel that the ableism surrounding the uncle was warranted or served a purpose in this narrative. I loved hearing from the author during an author presentation at the library. She's wonderful.

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emmieanna's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

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.

It has taken me two months to properly review this book, and honestly I still don’t know what to say. One thing I know for sure is that it is CRIMINALLY underrated. This book affected me so incredibly deeply and I honestly don’t think I will be the same.

I wish I could give Victoria a massive hug because girl was going through it and became an incredibly strong woman despite, I would love to be her friend. She quietly absorbs and reflects, really staying true to her personal values, overall gaining a lot from the life she has built for herself.

Her eventual friendship and mutual understanding of Ruby-Alice Akers was one of my favourite elements to this story, a found family of sorts, which I thought perfectly reflected the need for silent companionship in two women who were grieving in different ways.

Shelley Read balanced plot and character development really well, I loved how encompassing and varied the topics she explored in the story. It deals with heavy themes, racism towards Indigenous Peoples and gender roles being two of the most prominent, but also highlighting familial trauma and selfless sacrifices, all of which broke my heart.

I found Victoria’s relationship with her father especially interesting, there was clearly so much each wanted to say to the other but never did. I think she did not give her father enough of a chance to step up for her in a meaningful way, and I believe that if she told him about Blue, he would have adored him. Alas, I think the beauty of this story lies in the tragic missed opportunities and experiences which she sacrificed to give her son a better life.

I found it bittersweet when she sold up and left Iola, a place she so clearly had fond memories of but was also soured by the people and what her brother did to Wil. We were robbed of a beautiful love story between two people who truly understood each other. Her resourcefulness and finding a way to keep her family and their life’s work alive in relocating the peach groves was beautiful symbolism for a fresh start and the flooding of Iola really felt like we were washing away her old life with her.

I have been and forever will recommend this book, my opinion has only inflated over time and I will never stop tell people to read it. If they don’t make a film starring Margaret Qualley or Emily Carey soon I will cry.

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kermittuesday's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated

4.75

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missmakaela's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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zreadz's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

I enjoyed this book. It was tough to get through the tragedy of Victoria’s life at first and it left me fearing for the worst at each page turn, but I think it wrapped up nicely in the end. I really enjoyed the authors descriptive language when talking about nature and the wilderness, tying these elements with love, fate and destiny. I just wish the pacing was a little better. The story went in a different direction than I thought it would based on the first half of the book but I still enjoyed it! It was a nice and heartfelt read.

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anarobin's review

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emotional sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

I had a really hard time connecting with this one. From the very beginning, the story between Victoria and Wil felt unbelievable and rushed. While I can understand the fast timeline of a first love (especially for teenagers), the love story here was not convincing for me. Wil’s character seemed more like the author’s vessel/tool for causing trauma to Victoria than being his own independent character with his own story.

It was hard to feel invested from the start.

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cmklaft's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

I truly enjoyed this story. I was very invested in Tories life path, felt her pain and emotions. The "flooding" of Iola seemed a very insignificant part of the story in my opinion. But still a good read.

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