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Appraisals: A Novel
Financial and ecological realities tear at the heart of a multigenerational farm family in this debut novel from a “deft and daring” (Los Angeles Times) Whiting Award winner.
Maggie Brandt, a third-generation farmer, is cultivating a few acres of organic vegetables in rural Colorado―a place where industrial farming reigns supreme―when the Great Recession hits. After months of unemployment, her husband, Fish, takes a job with an oil and gas company, a decision that threatens their once happy marriage and alienates their teenage daughter, Ozzie, a budding environmental crusader. As the wider community organizes against a billionaire outsider who is buying farmland and, more worryingly, water rights in the moisture-starved county, Maggie’s grandmother Flora grapples with the painful echoes of her own past. Flora and Ozzie’s already close bond deepens as they join a local activist group, but Fish and Maggie’s conflicting approaches to surviving circumstances that are out of their control drive them further apart. Faced with intolerable layers of loss, each member of the family is forced to consider what they are willing to compromise and what they are, or are not, able to forgive.
At once tender and urgent, Appraisals is a moving portrayal of ecological and financial catastrophe, the powerful generational bonds between women, and the fierce impulse to protect the places we love.
Maggie Brandt, a third-generation farmer, is cultivating a few acres of organic vegetables in rural Colorado―a place where industrial farming reigns supreme―when the Great Recession hits. After months of unemployment, her husband, Fish, takes a job with an oil and gas company, a decision that threatens their once happy marriage and alienates their teenage daughter, Ozzie, a budding environmental crusader. As the wider community organizes against a billionaire outsider who is buying farmland and, more worryingly, water rights in the moisture-starved county, Maggie’s grandmother Flora grapples with the painful echoes of her own past. Flora and Ozzie’s already close bond deepens as they join a local activist group, but Fish and Maggie’s conflicting approaches to surviving circumstances that are out of their control drive them further apart. Faced with intolerable layers of loss, each member of the family is forced to consider what they are willing to compromise and what they are, or are not, able to forgive.
At once tender and urgent, Appraisals is a moving portrayal of ecological and financial catastrophe, the powerful generational bonds between women, and the fierce impulse to protect the places we love.
288 pages, Hardcover
Published August 4, 2026
About the author
Claire Boyles
3 books63 followersClaire Boyles (she/her) is a writer and former farmer. A 2022 Whiting Award winner in fiction, she is the author of Site Fidelity, which won the High Plains Book Award and was longlisted for the PEN/Robert W. Bingham Award, the Colorado Book Award, and the Reading the West Award. Her nonfiction has appeared in Sierra Magazine and Virginia Quarterly Review, among other journals, and she is a screenwriter with multiple credits on the Hallmark Channel. She teaches in low-residency MFA programs at both Eastern Oregon University and Western Colorado University. Her debut novel, Appraisals, is forthcoming in 2026.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
October 17, 2026
One of my neighbors likes to buy books, especially those by debut authors, and then graciously donates them to my Little Free Library Shed when she is finished. Sometimes, she will leave a note with her donation letting me know whether she enjoyed the book. This one did not come with a note.
In many ways, this is a heartfelt tale about the love of farming and the environment, and the struggles to preserve both without compromising one’s values.
Told through three points of view, the story explores relationship struggles and the determination of women who believe farming can be for them, too, despite the challenges they face.
It is also a story about fighting against those in power, and recognizing the need to remain adaptable, even when compromise isn’t the first choice. Woven throughout is the theme of accepting change through generations.
The novel also tackles relevant issues, including fracking, ecological and financial catastrophe, and the struggle to survive during the Great Recession.
Not an easy read, but one that would be well-suited for book discussion groups, given the contemporary issues it explores.
In many ways, this is a heartfelt tale about the love of farming and the environment, and the struggles to preserve both without compromising one’s values.
Told through three points of view, the story explores relationship struggles and the determination of women who believe farming can be for them, too, despite the challenges they face.
It is also a story about fighting against those in power, and recognizing the need to remain adaptable, even when compromise isn’t the first choice. Woven throughout is the theme of accepting change through generations.
The novel also tackles relevant issues, including fracking, ecological and financial catastrophe, and the struggle to survive during the Great Recession.
Not an easy read, but one that would be well-suited for book discussion groups, given the contemporary issues it explores.
August 22, 2026
Appraisals is a heartfelt tale of the ups and downs of small family farms, and how they affect the farm, the farmer, their relationships, and their community. The tribulations bring out both the best and worst in the characters and the trials elicit character responses they themselves may not have seen coming. The insightful characters will remind you of ones from your own life, and may just teach you something about them that matters, after the last page is turned you will miss them dearly.
About so much more than farming, the thorough account of daily work, and the problems ruminating in the farmer, Claire's, mind helps to characterize how committed she is to serving her community, her family, both past and present, and her goal of sustainability. When the weather, the neighbors, and politics, both big and small, can either push you towards your goal or send you in a back slide, every day is unwritten, and nothing is promised.
A great work of fiction that you forget you are not, in fact, actually living.
About so much more than farming, the thorough account of daily work, and the problems ruminating in the farmer, Claire's, mind helps to characterize how committed she is to serving her community, her family, both past and present, and her goal of sustainability. When the weather, the neighbors, and politics, both big and small, can either push you towards your goal or send you in a back slide, every day is unwritten, and nothing is promised.
A great work of fiction that you forget you are not, in fact, actually living.
Did Not Finish
August 14, 2026NO: A book I borrowed from the library to try before I buy (tired buying hundreds books and hating half)
I do not rate these “tested”
books. This is really for me. I will not be buying, reading borrowing this book.
I read first ch or more -first 10-100 pages skim around at times. I read many of my GR friend’s reviews. This is what I did and didn’t like:
Love the cover.
Not available at my library. At all! ITS A COOPERATIVE. Meaning we have 14 different branches you can borrow from. You put it on hold they have a currier that gets it and you pick it up at the one close to you. MEANING I can borrow any book in existence!!!! So if they don’t have it, it’s prob crap.
I read many reviews and they complain there is too much about farming. Ugh. I keep looking for more like Go as a River by Read! The perfect ch driven book on a farm. I loved it!
Next!
I do not rate these “tested”
books. This is really for me. I will not be buying, reading borrowing this book.
I read first ch or more -first 10-100 pages skim around at times. I read many of my GR friend’s reviews. This is what I did and didn’t like:
Love the cover.
Not available at my library. At all! ITS A COOPERATIVE. Meaning we have 14 different branches you can borrow from. You put it on hold they have a currier that gets it and you pick it up at the one close to you. MEANING I can borrow any book in existence!!!! So if they don’t have it, it’s prob crap.
I read many reviews and they complain there is too much about farming. Ugh. I keep looking for more like Go as a River by Read! The perfect ch driven book on a farm. I loved it!
Next!
September 1, 2026
As a (fourth gen?) Vermont farm kid, this was a hard read. When I was growing up, family farms were selling up and down the river valley. I remember hearing in high school (early 2000's) that only 2% of the US population made a living off of agriculture. Part of my family still makes a living off dairy farming, while one of my parents has a farm and a full-time job.
It's a complicated, all-consuming life. Appraisals does a great job of capturing a time, a place, and a lifestyle. The connection to the land, the difficult choices, the predatory lending of the early 2000's and the catastrophic impacts on farmers and homeowners nationwide.
I like that while Maggie is an organic farmer, there is nuance around the concept of organic vs. conventional farming. The acknowledgment that there are organic farmers who take everything out of the land and there are conventional farmers who have a deep connection and care for the land, the complications of leaving farm life for a different (problematic) occupation, and the heartbreak of losing a generation you hoped would take over while desperately wishing they would find something easier...
So, do I recommend? It's heavy on the farming. If that's something you're open to reading, the character work here is great. It's also hard to read at times, because I have a lot of sadness around the subjects within. It's hard to feel a connection to the land, know what's happening to it, and feel powerless to turn around such a huge ship.
Read on audio via library.
It's a complicated, all-consuming life. Appraisals does a great job of capturing a time, a place, and a lifestyle. The connection to the land, the difficult choices, the predatory lending of the early 2000's and the catastrophic impacts on farmers and homeowners nationwide.
I like that while Maggie is an organic farmer, there is nuance around the concept of organic vs. conventional farming. The acknowledgment that there are organic farmers who take everything out of the land and there are conventional farmers who have a deep connection and care for the land, the complications of leaving farm life for a different (problematic) occupation, and the heartbreak of losing a generation you hoped would take over while desperately wishing they would find something easier...
So, do I recommend? It's heavy on the farming. If that's something you're open to reading, the character work here is great. It's also hard to read at times, because I have a lot of sadness around the subjects within. It's hard to feel a connection to the land, know what's happening to it, and feel powerless to turn around such a huge ship.
Read on audio via library.
Review of advance copy received from Author
This is a thought-provoking read about farmland in the American West and the people who love it while struggling to make a living from it. I enjoyed Boyles’ book “Site Fidelity,” a collection of short stories, so I was curious how her style would translate to novel form. “Appraisals” returns to her theme of how to protect our threatened lands in the face of climate change and issues like land consolidation, water rights, and fracking. In the novel, Boyes digs more deeply into her characters, as she weaves the story of a little family that is slowly unraveling as they choose what they should fight to save. A farm? A marriage? The respect of a child?
Boyles beautifully conveys the starkness of the land and the grinding work it takes to make it produce. The novel follows Maggie, an organic farmer in rural Colorado who is barely scraping by when the 2008 recession hits. Her husband Fish takes a job in oil and gas, which rocks Maggie and their teenage daughter Ozzie, a budding activist. Maggie’s elderly grandmother, Flora, has lost both a farm and a daughter before. There is no romanticism here. I come from five generations of farmers, and I feel like I understand these people, even if I don’t always agree with them.
In addition to immersing the reader in a sense of place, Boyles does a great job of putting us inside her characters' heads, and she nails the politics, and the occasional pettiness, of small-town life. I wanted more insight into Ozzie, but the point may be that teenagers are impossible to read. I grew up with strong, stubborn women like Flora, who refuses to give in to her regrets, and I wanted to ride along (maybe not with her driving) on her adventures. “Appraisals” made me think deeply about how we decide what to walk away from and what we battle to keep. And I’ll never look at a Saturday farmer’s market the same way again. Highly recommend.
Boyles beautifully conveys the starkness of the land and the grinding work it takes to make it produce. The novel follows Maggie, an organic farmer in rural Colorado who is barely scraping by when the 2008 recession hits. Her husband Fish takes a job in oil and gas, which rocks Maggie and their teenage daughter Ozzie, a budding activist. Maggie’s elderly grandmother, Flora, has lost both a farm and a daughter before. There is no romanticism here. I come from five generations of farmers, and I feel like I understand these people, even if I don’t always agree with them.
In addition to immersing the reader in a sense of place, Boyles does a great job of putting us inside her characters' heads, and she nails the politics, and the occasional pettiness, of small-town life. I wanted more insight into Ozzie, but the point may be that teenagers are impossible to read. I grew up with strong, stubborn women like Flora, who refuses to give in to her regrets, and I wanted to ride along (maybe not with her driving) on her adventures. “Appraisals” made me think deeply about how we decide what to walk away from and what we battle to keep. And I’ll never look at a Saturday farmer’s market the same way again. Highly recommend.
October 6, 2026
Kind of a slow start, and there are sections that just get way, way too in the weeds about water rights policies, but in the end i did overall enjoy this look at four family members and how the family history with the land impacts that. And liked the great grandmother's reconciling with the end of her years on Earth.
Review of advance copy
This book is set in the state that I live in so the setting and question of water rights and water shortage were quite familiar to me. However, I am not a farmer and have never lived on a farm. All this being said, the story revolves around a woman, Maggie, who is determined to maintain a sustainable, organic farm while facing the multitude of difficulties such farming presents. As the story begins, Maggie is happily married to a man, Fish, who is willing to share this work but who recognizes the impossible financial difficulties they are facing. He is unemployed but receives a very good offer from a company that is buying up farmland in order to convert it into residential land. There is also a teenage daughter, Ozzie, who is very concerned about the environment and a feisty ninety-year old grandmother, Flora, who had difficult situation with her own daughter and is determined not to make the same mistakes with her granddaughter and great-granddaughter.
Conflicts quickly arose between Fish and Maggie and Fish and Ozzie due to Fish’s decision to accept the employment offer. These conflicts soon involved others in the community, particularly,a teenage activist group that Ozzie organized. I thought that the family relationships were very well described and played out. I especially appreciated the advice given by Flora to Maggie about raising a teenage daughter and that Flora did a good job of staying out of the husband and wife interchanges between Maggie and Fish. Flora was my favorite charactor, especially, her insistence on independence, making her own life choices and her sense of both humor and adventure.
I did find a little too much farming detail and began skimming some of those passages. I also questioned a couple of things, namely, Flora’s strength in opening the diversion gates and the racing and trail ability of even a restored Schwinn bike of the 1960s. Most of those bikes were rather heavy. I also do not think the blue Mustang, known to some as the Devil Horse, on the appraoch to Denver International airport is “creepy,” though I admit some people might.
Overall, this was a pleasant read and might be a good book club choice as it does present several problem situations and solutions that could be good discussion points.
Conflicts quickly arose between Fish and Maggie and Fish and Ozzie due to Fish’s decision to accept the employment offer. These conflicts soon involved others in the community, particularly,a teenage activist group that Ozzie organized. I thought that the family relationships were very well described and played out. I especially appreciated the advice given by Flora to Maggie about raising a teenage daughter and that Flora did a good job of staying out of the husband and wife interchanges between Maggie and Fish. Flora was my favorite charactor, especially, her insistence on independence, making her own life choices and her sense of both humor and adventure.
I did find a little too much farming detail and began skimming some of those passages. I also questioned a couple of things, namely, Flora’s strength in opening the diversion gates and the racing and trail ability of even a restored Schwinn bike of the 1960s. Most of those bikes were rather heavy. I also do not think the blue Mustang, known to some as the Devil Horse, on the appraoch to Denver International airport is “creepy,” though I admit some people might.
Overall, this was a pleasant read and might be a good book club choice as it does present several problem situations and solutions that could be good discussion points.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
This was a terrific read, lush with characterizations and description. The people and the issues they face, in their families and their community, are not simple and not black & white. Boyles’ thoughtful exploration and willingness to show flaws at times is masterful.
This is the story of Maggie, her husband Fish, and their daughter Ozzie and their life on the farm. They believe, Maggie especially, that sustainably working their land and selling organic produce and flowers locally is a smart and responsible way of life which benefits them, the land, and their neighbors.
But they and this way of life are under pressure from financial debt, weather, local zoning hassles, predatory developers and from the sheer massive physical effort to keep things going. Maggie’s dream has pre-empted everything else, and she is pretty stiff-necked about realizing that. Her husband and her daughter are committed as well but Maggie is wearing them out and using them up. She is an admirable but not always a likable character.
When Fish takes an outside job with an oil and gas company his family strongly disapproves of in order to keep paying the mortgage, they freeze him out. Fish is a good man, but he is bone weary and feels guilty about appreciating a real salary, a decent vehicle and normal hours. His daughter Ozzie is passionately concerned about global warming, fracking, and the future of the planet and becomes an outspoken opponent and monkey wrencher.
And Maggie’s grandmother Flora, who raised her, is also a rich character. She is 91 and has strong opinions of her own, and is trying to absorb and pass on lessons from her own life while enjoying the time she has left. She is strong, adventurous and wise.
Maggie and family’s connection to the land and their knowledge of the natural world is beautifully conveyed as this family struggles with its hassles. Boyles doesn’t give us an unrealistic happily ever after ending, but she leaves us with hope and appreciation for their resilience. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
This is the story of Maggie, her husband Fish, and their daughter Ozzie and their life on the farm. They believe, Maggie especially, that sustainably working their land and selling organic produce and flowers locally is a smart and responsible way of life which benefits them, the land, and their neighbors.
But they and this way of life are under pressure from financial debt, weather, local zoning hassles, predatory developers and from the sheer massive physical effort to keep things going. Maggie’s dream has pre-empted everything else, and she is pretty stiff-necked about realizing that. Her husband and her daughter are committed as well but Maggie is wearing them out and using them up. She is an admirable but not always a likable character.
When Fish takes an outside job with an oil and gas company his family strongly disapproves of in order to keep paying the mortgage, they freeze him out. Fish is a good man, but he is bone weary and feels guilty about appreciating a real salary, a decent vehicle and normal hours. His daughter Ozzie is passionately concerned about global warming, fracking, and the future of the planet and becomes an outspoken opponent and monkey wrencher.
And Maggie’s grandmother Flora, who raised her, is also a rich character. She is 91 and has strong opinions of her own, and is trying to absorb and pass on lessons from her own life while enjoying the time she has left. She is strong, adventurous and wise.
Maggie and family’s connection to the land and their knowledge of the natural world is beautifully conveyed as this family struggles with its hassles. Boyles doesn’t give us an unrealistic happily ever after ending, but she leaves us with hope and appreciation for their resilience. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
June 24, 2026
What do you do if the one thing you want to do with your life is the thing that comes between you and the people you love?
Maggie is a dedicated - perhaps obsessive - organic farmer whose goal in life is make a success of the small farm where she raises vegetables, flowers, chickens, turkeys and pigs. She is convinced, incorrectly, that her family shares her ambition.
This is 2008 when the heavy loans banks encouraged farmers to take out are costing them their farms and this is Colorado where who gets to use the limited water supply is contentious at best. Maggie, as a woman farmer, has trouble being taken seriously, certainly when looking for funding. In addition there are gas and oil drills on what used to be farmland, wealthy Californians who can afford to buy up the land and who want to develop it, and when you are a farmer, there is always the weather.
Claire Boyles brings all of this together in the story of the Brandt family. She looks at what people will do to hold on to their dreams, however impossible they seem. She asks how much you can compromise your values and still be who you are? The story is told from the view of each of the four family members and Boyles is skilled enough to make you identify with all of them. The descriptions of the unending work required to run a farm are spot on as are her descriptions of the beauty of the land and the joy of growing your own food and food to share with your community.
I highly recommend this book.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
This book swept me right into the heart-wrenching struggles of a family in Colorado who is desperately trying to stay connected to the land and to each other, despite larger socioeconomic forces tearing them apart.
I particularly loved the multigenerational facets of this story. We see the perspectives of a woman organic farmer, her husband who takes an oil/gas job, her environmental activist teenage daughter, and her grandmother, who has left the farming life behind.
We feel real empathy for all of the main characters, who love each other and are doing their best in the face of the staggering economic and environmental injustices playing out in their own community. The author infuses the book with profound love for the landscape and farm, allowing larger conflicts to unfold in an intimate way within personal relationships.
I'm a Coloradan who cares deeply about these issues, and I appreciate how artfully and sensitively Boyles handles them, evoking compassion for farmers and rural community members facing hard choices. This is the kind of book that will provoke meaningful conversation and stay with you for a long time to come.
*I received a digital ARC from NetGalley for my honest review.
I particularly loved the multigenerational facets of this story. We see the perspectives of a woman organic farmer, her husband who takes an oil/gas job, her environmental activist teenage daughter, and her grandmother, who has left the farming life behind.
We feel real empathy for all of the main characters, who love each other and are doing their best in the face of the staggering economic and environmental injustices playing out in their own community. The author infuses the book with profound love for the landscape and farm, allowing larger conflicts to unfold in an intimate way within personal relationships.
I'm a Coloradan who cares deeply about these issues, and I appreciate how artfully and sensitively Boyles handles them, evoking compassion for farmers and rural community members facing hard choices. This is the kind of book that will provoke meaningful conversation and stay with you for a long time to come.
*I received a digital ARC from NetGalley for my honest review.
August 6, 2026
I enjoyed the many angles in this book and that there was no clear right or wrong to many of them. There is a multi-generational family at the core of the story with organic farmer Maggie at the center. She was raised by her grandmother after her mother died and you get to see their relationship from both sides. Maggie is married to Fish who is unemployed at the start of the book, but then takes a position in an oil/gas company putting him at odds with his family, but providing the income needed to sustain them. Fish and Maggie have a daughter Ozzie who struggles as a teenager figuring out what her core beliefs are, confused by the strain of her parents' marriage and seeking guidance from her great-grandmother. Beyond the family dynamics there are storylines about water rights (a huge topic in the West), the cost of organic farming and the expectations of local communities and finally an out of town developer with plans of his own. This book has left me thinking well after I finished it. I'm interested in how readers in non-water restricted areas or with less agricultural knowledge will respond to this story.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
The farmers of your farmers market come to life in this slow motion tragedy of family farming in 2008. Maggie was raised by her grandparents Flora and Oscar on their small farm in Eastern Colorado until it was lost. Now in 2008, she's working herself to the bone on her own farm with the reluctant help of her husband Fish and daughter Ozzie. Fish, who lost his job thanks to the economy, takes one as a landman for the company buying up easements across the county and their marriage fractures. Ozzie is protesting the company, Maggie is stealing water to keep the farm going. Flora, Maggie, and Fish tell the story, with each having a different perspective not only on the farm but on how they live. I learned a great deal about farming and water rights but it's the characters that make this novel the gem that it is. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.This is thoughtful, thought provoking, immersive, painful, and eloquent. Highly recommend.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
The book tackles weighty issues – family relationships, developers, corporations, small farmers, industrial farming, water rights, ecology, and economics. Yet these topics are handled with such a light touch that the book ultimately feels bland. I wanted sharper opinions, stronger characters, and clearer positions, whether or not I agreed with them. Perhaps the aim was to raise awareness of these substantial issues without alienating readers. If so, the book likely succeeded and I appreciated the attempt to heighten awareness of the issues. I didn’t dislike it, but I felt largely ambivalent. Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.
Review of advance copy received from Goodreads Giveaways
I received a gorgeous hardcover copy of this book for free via a Goodreads giveaway win and would like to thank anyone who had a hand in making that happen!
Claire Boyles is an immensely talented writer and I loved her first novel just as much as I loved her short stories. Having lived in Colorado my entire life, grown up on a family farm and lived in the area that this book is set in for the past 22 years, this one hit especially close to home! I loved all the characters and truly felt for them as they faced unfathomable loss and struggled to make impossible choices. The ending doesn't wrap everything up neatly, however, I loved how it leaves things on a hopeful note.
Claire Boyles is an immensely talented writer and I loved her first novel just as much as I loved her short stories. Having lived in Colorado my entire life, grown up on a family farm and lived in the area that this book is set in for the past 22 years, this one hit especially close to home! I loved all the characters and truly felt for them as they faced unfathomable loss and struggled to make impossible choices. The ending doesn't wrap everything up neatly, however, I loved how it leaves things on a hopeful note.
Review of advance copy received from Author
This was a wonderful book - sometimes funny and at others heart-wrenching. The generations of women in "Appraisals" felt fully realized. Claire Boyles explores a complicated emotional and physical landscape that I know well, and it is beautifully painted here. Though primarily set nearly two decades ago, the issues raised are only more important and increasingly pressing today. Highly recommended!
Review of advance copy
I really enjoyed this book. I’d give it a 4.4 or 4.5 rating. The characters were believable and brought me into a story about a group of people I haven’t met in my Washington city life. I got frustrated with Maggie’s stubbornness but it is probably one of the traits that kept her going. The family saga was beautiful and Fish and Maggie’s problems sad and inevitable. I also enjoyed the ending. It was real! Good read
September 1, 2026
Maggie Brandt’s husband accepts a job with an oil and gas company, her teenage daughter becomes an environmental activist, and when their farm begins to fail during the Great Recession, her family and whole way of life begin to unravel.
A touching story about modern rural life with a gritty protagonist, capturing the physical and mental grind of farming versus corporate land grabs, and the difficult decisions families must make to survive.
A touching story about modern rural life with a gritty protagonist, capturing the physical and mental grind of farming versus corporate land grabs, and the difficult decisions families must make to survive.
July 16, 2026
An exciting journey through the months, seasons and years of life on a Colorado farm. Generations of farmers, water and land rights, friends and family supporting each other and their community with the changes that time and money bring. If you grew up connected to farming or just going to farmer’s markets then you will enjoy connecting with this story!
August 13, 2026
This book is beautiful in every way!! The writing is beautiful, the characters, story and setting are beautiful! It’s rare that a book so honestly captures the raw suffering and deep love that are core to the human experience. I could not stop reading and plan to read it again soon! Oh, did I mention it is beautiful?!!!
November 7, 2026
A much different subject than most books but I was still annoyed by some of the attitudes expressed--the all-knowing, I'm always right--by certain characters. At least in this book, the person I considered the main character did eventually come to terms with this attitude which was a nice change from other recent books I've read.
Overall writing is good.
Overall writing is good.
August 16, 2026
Wonderful family drama about the struggle to keep their organic farm going in spite of a national economic downturn, clashing big business interests, storms, and lack of water resources. Emotionally nuanced narration by Hillary Huber.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Beautifully drawn characters, strong sense of place. This novel explores issues of climate change, energy, and gentrification. If you liked Go As A River, you will probably like this book too.
Review of advance copy received from Goodreads Giveaways
A sensitive and heartfelt look at the political and personal problems that face those who work the land.
Review of advance copy
Small organic vegetable farmer against wealthy outsider. Lying farm and water rights. Environmentalists against big money -today’s problems
September 18, 2026
A timely story of small scale organic family farmers struggling to survive.
September 20, 2026
Climate change and the environmentalist aspect was a bit over the top.
November 3, 2026
A very slow burn, but so well-developed and satisfying
Read
August 10, 2026I had to DNF this one at 34%. I’m sure others will enjoy it, but it just wasn’t for me.
Many thanks to the publisher, author and NetGalley for allowing me to read this in exchange for honest review.
Many thanks to the publisher, author and NetGalley for allowing me to read this in exchange for honest review.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 21, 2026
4.5 ⭐️
Review of advance copy
This is a beautifully written story. At first, it was hard for me to relate to the book, as I know practically nothing about running a farm. But as the story developed, the narrative pulled me in, and I became invested in the characters and the themes. “Appraisals” takes place in rural Colorado, on an organic farm run by Maggie, a passionate organic farmer. One of the main themes is the conflict between wanting to protect the environment vs. land development from outsiders. There are many other themes that are woven into the story: environmental activism; family dynamics; raising teenagers; marriage and money issues; economic turmoil of the 2008 great recession; and politics. The information about the challenges, the rewards, and the never-ending hard work it takes to run an organic farm was so descriptive and enlightening. The main characters were carefully developed, with each chapter focusing on one of the four main family members portrayed in the book. I think this book would be great for book clubs, with many timely topics to discuss. Thank you to @bookbrowse First Impressions, and @w.w.norton for the opportunity to read and review "Appraisals".
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews