Goodreads Choice Awards Book Club discussion

A sweeping, heart-stopping epic of a young woman's journey to becoming, set against the harsh beauty of mid-century Colorado.

On a cool autumn day in 1948, Victoria Nash delivers late-season peaches from her family's farm set amid the wild beauty of Colorado. As she heads into her village, a disheveled stranger stops to ask her the way. How she chooses to answer will unknowingly alter the course of both their young lives.

So begins the mesmerizing story of split-second choices and courageous acts that propel Victoria away from the only home she has ever known and towards a reckoning with loss, hope and her own untapped strength.

Gathering all the pieces of her small and extraordinary existence, spinning through the eddies of desire, heartbreak and betrayal, she will arrive at a single rocky decision that will change her life forever.

Go as a River is a heart-wrenching coming-of-age story and a drama of enthralling power. Combining unforgettable characters and a breathtaking natural setting, it is a sweeping story of survival and becoming, of the deepest mysteries of love, truth and fate.

Vicki and I plan to start this buddy read on 1/14
we typically check back every 25% or so - so 4 updates to finish a book

I just got this one yesterday, so I'll start it tomorrow hopefully. I will be watching my grandkids but Lily will be in school so I should be able to read.

no worries I was sick today so not much reading

Through Part 1

(view spoiler)[ the racism is pretty brutal. I can't believe Seth found and killed Wil. so awful

so she's pregnant. no way that's going to go well - I wonder if Seth or her dad will actually beat her until she loses it. awful

I wonder about this neighbor. I hope she was okay (hide spoiler)]

I am on my phone so I can’t read your spoilers, but I will read them when I get home and.

Through Part I

I love it so far! (view spoiler)[Poor Torie, losing her mother at 12 years old and taking on the responsibilities of the woman of the house. It would be so difficult growing up in a house, full of men, and no one to help you through your coming-of-age/womanhood.

I was worried about Wil and the men who were looking for him, essentially Seth who is very cruel. I am hoping that the body they found wasn’t Wil but I’m afraid it is. I worry about what might happen to Torie when they find out she is pregnant by an Indian, if that actually is his ethnicity. I don’t like the way all the men and other people hate on Wil and make him the culprit of everything bad without having any evidence.

I also felt bad that Og not only lost his leg in war but also his foot to gangrene. I think having gangrene would be just horrific! (hide spoiler)]

Through Part II

(view spoiler)[OH.MY. GOD. My heart broke when Wil turned out to be dead and Torie took off into the wilderness on her own. What she went through, starving and eventually leaving her baby like she did was just so sad! I understand why she left him at that point and with that family, but it was heartbreaking! I really hope she reunites with her son.

I love how she’s growing and is a lot stronger than she used to be. It’s sad that she & Seth are still estranged but I am not surprised either. So she’s lost her entire family and her home, too. I’m curious how this ends. I don’t feel the need for her and Seth to make up, but I do want her to find her son. (hide spoiler)]

Through Part III

(view spoiler)[LUKAS! I am so glad the “other mother” left that note for her. I hope she gets to see him again! I have a feeling she will. (hide spoiler)]

Finished

I loved this one!

(view spoiler)[I was so sad about Max's death, so awful!

I'm so glad that Zelda convinced Torie to look for Lukas. (hide spoiler)]

Trisha wrote: "no worries I was sick today so not much reading

Through Part 1

the racism is pretty brutal. I can't believe Seth found and killed Wil. so awful

so she's pregnant. no way that's going to go well..."

(view spoiler)[When you think about racism and all the horrible things it produces, it is nothing short of absolutely disgusting! The racism was definitely brutal and the description of his body "skinless" was very graphic. I felt for Torie to hear all of that. Plus being pregnant back in what, 1948? We never talked about sex in the 60's when I was a teen let alone pregnancy. (hide spoiler)]

Part II

wow, that was heartbreaking (view spoiler)[wow, her living alone in the hut and then having baby blue! She was so strong and brave to give him away! I don't know if I could have done it

so sad, she'd only been gone 5 months but so much had changed. the change in her dad plus the empty rooms must have been shocking

I don't like her brother and I don't trust him. I hope he's secretly a good person but I worry he's not. I wonder how he will handle - her taking the trees. I worry he'll hunter her down

that's interesting, I wonder how she would even find her son. If they do work everyone out of that town due to the dam, I'm not sure how she'd track the family down (hide spoiler)]

Part III

(view spoiler)[ wow, this life she's made for herself. She's so strong. I'm so sad she's never let anyone in, never found a family for herself along with all her trees. I thought maybe the tree scientist but. . .alas.

I love her new bookish friend

and yes, WOW! After so many years and so many pilgrimages, she finally has a note! and a name! I can't wait to read the rest (hide spoiler)]

and I'm finished too!!
that was a good one!

(view spoiler)[ what an emotional story she told
the fights and anger with Max and Lukas was heartbreaking
and yes, the ultimate end for Max was just awful

I'm so glad it ended with her meeting her son (hide spoiler)]

Trisha wrote: "Part II

wow, that was heartbreaking wow, her living alone in the hut and then having baby blue! She was so strong and brave to give him away! I don't know if I could have done it

so sad, she'd on..."

(view spoiler)[Now that you've read it all, you (we) know how she tracked him down. I loved it. And Seth was awful and I can't blame her for not allowing him back into her life. (hide spoiler)]

Trisha wrote: "and I'm finished too!!
that was a good one!

(view spoiler)[Yes! I was so happy! At first when the police came to tell the other mother about Max, I thought it was two servicemen to tell her that Lukas was killed in the war. I hate that Max died, but I especially didn't want Lukas to die. Torie suffered enough! (hide spoiler)]

Just finished part one. oh my gosh, this book is heart wrenching.

Yes, it's really heartbreaking. Glad you joined us!