Melissa L. Sevigny

Press

Book reviews

Brave the Wild River

  • Arizona Daily Sun by Sabrina Grimaldi, 2025.
  • Plant Science Bulletin, Botanical Society of America, 2024. “It should be in every school library and on every teaching botanist’s reading list.”
  • The Mercury by William Richter, 2023.
  • Flagstaff Business News by Bonnie Stevens, 2023. “Through her captivating storytelling skills, Sevigny allows us to vicariously dip our toes into the mighty Colorado while immersing us in a time that was really quite limiting for girls and women.” 
  • Boatman’s Quarterly Review by Rebecca Lawton, 2023.

“Sevigny’s long-overdue portrait of the first botanists to scientifically classify Grand Canyon flora both grips and informs us…. [L]ike any good trip down the challenging, deeply beloved Colorado, Brave the Wild River invites us to return again and again.”

— Rebecca Lawton

“The use of archival letters and diaries lends the tale a gripping you-are-there vibe.”

— People magazine

  • Arab News, 2023.
  • The Arizona Republic by Joan Meiners, 2023.“It’s a story so relevant to modern discussions about water resources, climate change, science, sexism and the impacts of recreation as to likely feel shocking to many readers that they have not heard much about these trailblazers before.” 
  • The New York Times by Deborah Blum, 2023
  • Associated Press by Anita Snow, 2023: “it pays homage to a pair of scientists far ahead of their time.”
  • Science magazine by Barbara J. King, 2023. “A page-turner in the adventure genre that also conveys rich detail about plant ecology of the US Southwest, sexism in science, and ethical issues in environmental science, the book is a marvelous and informative read.”
  • San Francisco Chronicle by Peter Fish, 2023.
  • The Explorers Journal, 2023: “full of the tribulations of river travel–avalanches, wild rapids, runaway boats, log jams, desertions, storms, lost gear, rising waters–but through it all runs the story of the collection of plants.”

“Thrilling, expertly paced, warmhearted, it’s at once an adventure tale and a dual biography of two unusually determined, capable heroines.”

— Peter Fish, San Francisco Chroncile

Mythical River

  • Western American Literature by Hal Crimmel, 2017: “the author’s gift for storytelling, her delightful turns of phrase, well- researched histories, and updates to ongoing controversies make the book a most enjoyable, worthwhile, and— not least of all— hopeful read.”
  • Edible Baja Arizona by Marguerite Happe, 2017.
  • Natural Resources Journal by Logan Gasenapp, 2017
  • Fresh Fiction by Clara O’Beara,2016
  • Orion Magazine by Taylor Brorby, 2016

“Sevigny’s deeply rooted love for the Sonoran Desert pulses through every page … Her prose is abundantly graceful.”

— Marguerite Happe, Edible Baja Arizona

Under Desert Skies

Podcasts

Radio and magazine interviews

“[A] rollicking, keep-you-up-at-night adventure story, told in utterly enveloping and immediate prose.”

— Jeva Lange, Heatmap

Live Q&As and film

“Best of” lists

“Sevigny’s writing is poetic and compelling—this is a book you’ll want to keep reading way past your bedtime.”

— Sarah Boon, author of Meltdown

Articles and press releases

“[A] fine Western adventure tale, lush with exquisite descriptions of the Grand Canyon.” 

— Mark Athiatakis, Southwest Books of the Year

People talking about me….

Maddie Woda

“Reading about Clover and Jotter’s momentous achievement nudged me to step further into the unknown.” – Pinch of Dirt

Anne Bogel

“I don’t think you’ve read anything like this, because nothing quite like this exists.” – Modern Mrs. Darcy podcast

Christie Aschwanden

“Sevigny makes Clover and Jotter come alive and will make plant lovers out of any reader.” – The Last Word on Nothing

Don Van Natta Jr.

“I’m a fan of intelligent, lyrical stories that excavate timeless truths from the distant past.” – The Sunday Long Read