Reviews tagging 'Terminal illness'

Daar waar de rivierkreeften zingen by Delia Owens

15 reviews

parcoeur's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

The book is beautifully written with a strong rapport between nature and humanity. One cannot help but root for the main character, Kya, through all of her trials and tribulations. The reader is kept on the edge of their throughout the second half of the book and is stunned by the end of the story. Somehow, the ending provides closure and more questions, further cementing Kya as an enigma, the Marsh Girl. Where the Crawdads Sing puts a lesser-discussed part of the US on display with a cast of complex, human characters alongside the marsh at it story's core.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Toxic relationship, Violence, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Abandonment

Moderate: Bullying, Confinement, and Death of parent

Minor: Terminal illness and War

jodar's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

The novel was an enjoyable and easy read. The MC, Kya, is engaging, albeit a bit unbelievable in terms of practical plausibility and psychology. The ending had a melodramatic twist to resolve the mystery – for a while before that I had up to four characters I had suspicions about. At least I was right about one of them!

The novel focuses quite a bit on the beauty of the natural world, which weaves in well with the plot line. I thought the pacing of the plot was good, though more use of foreshadowing would have worked more powerfully. Also, the musings by the MC on evolutionary biology and human behaviour struck me as quite reductionist, and seemed to be a way of explaining away the characters’ actions without psychological depth or ambiguity. The interweaved poetry occasionally worked well, but more often felt a bit jarring.

Overall, if you don’t expect too much, it is a great “airport read”.

CW: Extramarital sex.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Grief, and Abandonment

Moderate: Confinement, Infidelity, Mental illness, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Infertility, Racial slurs, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, and Death of parent

calyssat's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Murder

zams's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.5

Such an atmospheric and beautiful read, I absolutely loved the descriptions of the scenery and what they meant for Kya.
Kya's story definitly had me in my feelings and the murder had me guessing who did it in-between, but I felt like the main focus was on her life and how the surroundings played such a huge role in it.
All in all a great scenic story, an atmospheric read with the tension of a murder mystery woven in.
Allthough the ending wasn't really surprising to me, I still think it was fitting, however, definitly could have used a little more work, it was rather quick and didn't feel very thought through, but as I said the focus was more on the story than the murder-mystery in my opinion.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Racism, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Violence and Murder

Minor: Infertility, Infidelity, Sexual content, Terminal illness, and War

auburn_phoenix_15's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful informative mysterious tense fast-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Rape, Sexual content, Violence, Grief, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Addiction, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Physical abuse, Racism, Terminal illness, Car accident, and Death of parent

saoreads's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.5

The loneliness was truly enveloping and seemed to hum a tune. I was ecstatic to read the book as soon as I saw the novel release of the film adaptation, as I'd been hearing good things about it from various people. When it came to the storytelling, the indication of how nature complements humans in their way of life was a striking part. In the character's mind, her security was more important than anything else than being left alone for all she knew, and rather than living in fear, she displayed that instance of survival instincts display that could be observed in the nature of animals. Poetry, knowledge, art, relationship dynamics, failures, and true and deep familial love—this novel will serve as a reminder.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Bullying, Death, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, and War

lauryn_amber26's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Abandonment

Moderate: Death, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Murder

Minor: Cancer, Infertility, Mental illness, Terminal illness, Car accident, and Death of parent

sohma4uesugi's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment

Moderate: Alcoholism, Cancer, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Emotional abuse, Infertility, Rape, Sexual violence, and Terminal illness

m0czy's review against another edition

emotional mysterious reflective slow-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

5.0

A beautifully descriptive journey into the marshlands of North Carolina. 

The real stand out content of the novel is the way that nature and its inhabitants are described with such detail, and such reverence. Delia Owens truly captures the beauty of the environment, and creates a love letter to the southeastern coast. 

The main character, Kya, is a protagonist you can root for, weep with, relate to, and cherish. 

The mystery itself is one that will keep you guessing and puzzling until the very end. 

I did feel that the novel had a bit of a slow start, but the exposition is useful later on in the overall storytelling and world building that occurs. Once I hit my stride, I could not put it down!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Domestic abuse, and Abandonment

Moderate: Alcoholism, Bullying, Cursing, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, and Sexual content

Minor: Hate crime, Terminal illness, Stalking, and Car accident

maiadunleavy's review against another edition

emotional hopeful mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Murder, and Abandonment

Moderate: Alcoholism, Confinement, Death, Infertility, Infidelity, Grief, and Death of parent

Minor: Cancer, Racism, Sexual content, Terminal illness, and Car accident