Many thanks to my friends at @spiegelandgrau for the #gifted copy of this book.  

 

I grew up in Georgia.  Peaches are a way of life for us.  There’s really nothing like that first bite… juice dripping down your chin, the sweetness hitting your tongue… 

 

But in the middle of the juiciest, sweetest crop of peaches, there’s always the potential for one that is underdeveloped, with less robust flavor.  

 

Like most things in life, the difference between the two is reliant on timing and opinion.    

 

For me, Go As a River was much like that peach that needed a bit more development, and it failed to live up to its hype for two main reasons:

 

🍑 In a story about hardship and overcoming, I want to feel the story as though experiencing it first hand, deeply connected with the main character.  Lacking in dialogue and created with broad strokes, I found Victoria to be very one-dimensional.  And because she fell flat to me, I found it hard to empathize with her or appreciate her growth throughout the storyline.      

 

🍑 But most concerning for me was the unnecessary addition of an indigenous character.  Diverse characterization is important when purposefully used to create awareness and necessary perspective.  Instead, this representation tokenizes the indigenous and simply provides a platform for racial slurs and a white character’s growth.  

 

This book made for thoughtful conversation in my buddy read with @backporchpages @bookmarked.by.becky @chicagobooklover and @thats.one.for.the.books.

 

While this wasn’t as juicy and sweet as I’d expected, it’s worth noting that my opinion is the outlier.